Read Numbers 25
Moab Seduces Israel
25 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.
4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”
5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”
6 Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9 but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them.18 They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incidentinvolving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”
Go Deeper
As we read this chapter, it is important to remember that God had just protected Israel against Balaam and Balak, and the Israelites’ actions in this chapter are an ungrateful response to His blessings. While Israel had sinned in many ways during the exodus, this was the first time they openly worshiped another god. This awoke the anger of the Lord and caused a plague that killed thousands (v. 9). As one commentary explains, “What an enemy set out to do but could never accomplish, Israel did to itself through disobedience.” This disobedience was so renowned that it is remembered and memorialized thousands of years later in Revelation 2 when the connection is drawn between Balaam’s unsuccessful attempts to curse Israel with the successful planting of temptation through idolatry and sexual immorality. When Balaam couldn’t curse Israel, he instead sent the Midianite women to tempt the men of Israel–and his plan worked.
God’s response was to instruct Moses to judge the sin openly, through execution of the offenders in broad daylight. We see in verses 6-8, however, that one righteous man was “zealous” for God’s honor and this zeal saved God’s people. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, witnessed an especially deliberate and provocative sin between an Israelite man and a Midianite woman in front of the tabernacle–a sin so blatant that it caused many to weep. Phinehas refused to accept this rebellion against God and killed them both with one spear.
Notice the language used in verse 11. Because Phinehas was “zealous for His honor”, the Lord made a covenant of peace with him and his family as well as provided atonement for the Israelites. The plague ended and lives were saved because of this one man’s zealous act for the Lord. There are similarities to be drawn with Jesus’s zealous anger and provision of atonement for the sins of many. But it is also important to note how the actions of one loyal man and his zeal for the honor of God make a big impact in his community.
We observe sinful behavior in and around us on a daily basis. Do those acts stir a similar response in us? Do we have such zeal for God’s honor that we are willing to defend His authority? For us that could be something as simple as refusing to engage in inappropriate conversations or speaking out against con-men practices or teachings that do not align with God’s word. It might lead us to a place of discomfort with those close to us, but God has shown He can and will honor one righteous act—and that can make all the difference.
Questions
- Would you consider yourself “zealous” in your defense of God’s honor? Why or why not?
- What do you think that looks like for you on a daily basis?
- What idols might you need to remove from your life in order to be less like the Israelite man and more like Phinehas?
A Quote
“Whereas it was Phinehas’ spear that pierced the sinners that made atonement for Israel, it was the nails and spear that pierced Jesus that made atonement for the sins of the whole world.” -Gordon Wenham
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8 thoughts on “Numbers 25”
Where we fail
What Balaam couldnt do by using evil spirits, he accomplished by appealing to the flesh. He invited the Jews to “enjoy themselves” at Baal Peor. Phinehas was courageous and full of zeal for God. Even though the couple he killed were a prince and princess, he was about honoring God. Balaam was about the Jewish history serving as a warning in the OT, for them(us) to not disobey, but also as an encouragment to build their(our) faith and hope. BUT Balaam is in the NT also trying to lead us astray, 2 Peter 2:15-16, Jude vs 11, Rev 2:14. False teachers are what lead people astray now because we do not know the Word of God. False teachers lead people into immorality. The biggest lie is that it is ok for saved people to live like unsaved people, that we are covered by God’s grace. It all starts with a subtle compromise, we entertain it and it grows. We are convicited by what is being said or done, but we push it aside. Before long we have opened our hearts to more of what we want and less of what God wants. 2 Chronicles 19:7 NASB “Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.” Once again what you say is one thing but what is in your heart is another. Prov 4:23 Keep your heart with ALL diigence, for out of it springs the issues of life.
God thank You for help me long for holiness, for the right fear, that HESED love!! God, please forgive me for not standing up or at least walking away, when those around me are speaking in an unworthy manner, that is not what You require in my life. God help me to hate sin more these minutes of this day than I did yesterday. God, make my thoughts, my desires, my words, my actions, my everything be holy and completely pleasing to You. God thank You for that conviction to not treat sin causally, today in these minutes. God thank You for HESED love, unfailing, unending, faithful, steadfast, loyal, covenant, undeserved, compassionate, everlasting, flowing from You God to show in my life and that I show it to others in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was struck that Israel was tempted by idolatry and immorality, and that these are still our biggest temptations today. Our pride and drive to run our lives, replacing God with our own plans and desires and being distracted by lusts for comfort, ease and pleasure all carry us away from the very best that God has for us. May our zeal for Him be restored this very day!
What grieves God’s heart is how comfortable and complacent we’ve become with blatant sin that Christ died for. We’ve swallowed the lie that God isn’t really good and that what he said is obsolete in our present culture. Like the Israelite, Zimri, we defy God without a trace of hesitation, turning a blind eye to God’s commands. Where has the slow drift began in our lives? What are the lies we’ve believed about God’s goodness and authority? Following Christ will come with a cost, but what is gained will far outweigh any temporal pleasure.
“Cursing isn’t working; let’s try corruption instead.”
And boy, was that ever an effective battle strategy! The fight moved from outside the Israelites to the sacred ground of sexual immorality and spiritual idolatry, effectively destroying them from the inside out.
Talk about being your own worst enemy!
“What an enemy could never accomplish against Israel, Israel did to itself through disobedience. The same principle works among the people of God today. The mightiest attack of Satan against us can never do as much damage as our own sin and rebellion against the LORD” (Enduring Word online commentary).
This story points to the current HCBC sermon series, “The State of Warfare.” If I’m to fight back, I need to stay focused.
The enemy is determined to take me down one way or another:
He can attack me.
Or he can ENTICE me.
“It is each person’s own desires and thoughts that drag them into evil and lure them away into darkness. Evil desires give birth to evil actions. And when sin is fully mature it can murder you! So my friends, don’t be fooled by your own desires!”
-James 1:14-16 TPT
If I would “stand firm against schemes of the enemy,” I would be vigilant about the care and protection of my own soul. While I can’t really control what goes on outside me or around me, I can be ruthlessly particular with what I take INTO me.
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”
-Philippians 4:8-9 MSG
2 “who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods”
To what gods am I being invited to make sacrifices, but don’t realize it?!
Great point!
Hmmm!! That’s really good. I have a new Christian in my life and I don’t always stand up to every sin because he is new to it all… I will definitely wrestle w this and try to also be gentle w the truth. Lord help me represent u rightly w him and these matters of sin. Ofc I’m not going to spear him so what do u want me to do Jesus…? Lol
This is a warning to be careful of who you keep company with. Desires for temporal pleasure will lead to destruction. Do not relax your spiritual standards.