Bible reading for May 22. Numbers 31. MIDIANITES DEFEATED. In a sense the invasion had begun, though the Israelites had not yet crossed the Jordan River. The tribes were located on the eastern plains opposite Jericho just north of the border of Moab (the Arnon valley). This land would become the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben. It was a region that had previously belonged to the Amorites, then taken by the Ammonites, and then ruled by King Sihon, recently defeated in battle. The Midianites, a semi-nomadic people, were living there, as well. The Moabites had recruited Midian to help stop the Israelite advance through idolatry and sexual immorality. This came in the form of an invitation to a peaceful, inclusive pluralism (also called religious syncretism). A people's ethnic identity would be embraced, but then their distinctiveness would be eventually lost. You remember all that we read about Israel needing to be separate and distinctive. ...