To put things into context, back in Numbers 24, Balaam had uttered blessings over Israel three times, and Balak the king of Moab wasn't happy about it at all:
Num. 24:10-13: And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, "I called thee to curse thine enemies, and behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
"Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour, but lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour."
And Balaam said unto Balak, "Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?"
After Balaam and Balak depart, Balaam manages to talk the Midianite and Moabite women to entice Israel into sinning:
Num. 25:1-9, 16-18:
And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
And Israel joined himself unto Baal-Peor; and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Take all the heads of the people, and hang them before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel."
And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, "Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-Peor."
And behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, "Vex the Midianites, and smite them: for they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake."
Numbers 31
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Great stuff.
Okay, who is that being said to?
The Israelites, who had just taken the Midianite women captive after slaying Balaam and five Midianite kings.
Moses was God’s voice to the Israelites. By telling them to kill every woman who had sex and take every woman who didn’t for themselves, that’s basically as if God told them the same thing. In fact, that’s probably a God commandment outright.
In Numbers 31, the Israelites were commanded to fight the Midianites, killing Balaam along with the Midianite kings, and the Isralelites were rebuked when they brought some of the Midianite women as captives into the camp, and he ordered them to kill the boys and the women that "knew" the men, and spared the young virgin girls:
Num. 31:7-9, 14-19:
And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also, the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And the children of Israel took all the women captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.
And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, "Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore kill every male among the young ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves on the third day, and the seventh day."
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