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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.
And the Lord's anger burned against them. 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."
So Moses said to Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor."
Then an Israelite man brought to his family 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. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
The Lord said to Moses, "Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for My honor among them, so that in My zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making My covenant of peace with him. 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."
The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
The Lord said to Moses, "Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them, because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor."
Numbers 25
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Israel camped outside of Moab, we have studied how the nation’s king, Balak, had been trying to curse Israel through renowned diviner Balaam who he summoned to his country. Each time an attempt was made, we saw how Balaam ended up blessing Israel instead of cursing them, all because of His association with God who was unlike any god Balaam had ever encountered before. Through His messages, the scriptures showed us how God stood up for His people and portrayed them as a strong and formidable force, able to find victory over any opponent because they had Him on their side. They would continue to prosper and succeed as long as they remained obedient to Him.
And so as we finished the twenty-fourth chapter of the Book of Numbers, the Israelites were in God’s good graces and favor but as we turn the page to chapter 25, we see them falling back to their prior sinfulness, disregarding their Lord and His commands. Look again at those verses here:
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.
And the Lord's anger burned against them. 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."
So Moses said to Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor."
Then an Israelite man brought to his family 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. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
The Lord said to Moses, "Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for My honor among them, so that in My zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making My covenant of peace with him. 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."
The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
The Lord said to Moses, "Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them, because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor." Numbers 25
As this chapter opens, we find the people of Israel “staying in Shittim" and while there, we read where some of the men “began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women” who in turn “invited them to the sacrifices to their gods". The Israelite men accepted this invitation, eating and bowing down before the false gods while “worshiping the Baal of Peor". These men knew that openly disobeying God’s commandments could result in His disfavor and punishment, and yet they couldn’t resist the pull of their own sinful desires. These desires beckoned them to indulge in sexual immorality as well as idolatry and as you might imagine, this didn’t sit well with God.
For we read where the "Lord's anger burned against” the Israelite men as he said this 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."
And so Moses, ever obedient to the Lord’s commands gave the following orders to Israel's judges:
"Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor."
We also see where God sent a plague among the Israelites that killed 24,000 before it was stopped, a very heavy price paid for intentional disobedience with far greater death this time than when Korah and his allies rebelled against God in Numbers, chapter 16.
So what caused the plague to stop?
The scriptures tell us it was through the actions of "Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron" who saw an Israelite man flaunting a Moabite woman in front of "Moses and the whole assembly of Israel". Disgusted with the blatant public display of immorality that was taking place, Phinehas "took a spear in his hand" and drove it "through both” the Israelite man and Moabite woman. Because of His quick action, many of the Israelite people were saved.
God then commended the behavior of Phinehas in these words to Moses:
"Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 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."
In this passage, we once again see where God favors and blesses those who remain loyal to His will, word, and way. Conversely, He sends judgment on those who willingly and willfully choose to disobey Him by pursuing their own sinful desires. The people of Israel were fully aware of this truth and yet still chose to test God, leaving one wondering if they would ever get it.
Friends, I think we can all relate well to the Israelites for if we’re truly honest with ourselves, we will see how we too know what God expects of us and yet too often decide to do what we want to do. We choose disobedience over obedience despite knowing the possible consequences. We underestimate just how powerful the pull of sin is and how it can easily draw us in if we let our guard down.
So what can we do to avoid this?
Consider these recommendations supported by God’s word:
1. Watch and pray.
Jesus said, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Matthew 26:41
2. Turn to God for your way out.
"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
3. Enter into God’s rest.
"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." Hebrews 4:9-11
4. Stay strong in God’s word.
We need to follow Jesus’ lead as He used God’s word to combat Satan’s temptations in Matthew, Chapter 4:
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” He said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him. Matthew 4:1-11
In doing this, He showed us how to use the weapon Paul talks about in the Book of Ephesians within the context of the full armor of God believers need to put on as they step onto the spiritual battlefield each day.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17
5. Build your life on the Lord’s solid foundation.
Jesus had this to say in Matthew’s Gospel:
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the Rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
Brothers and sisters, we need to understand that Satan wants nothing more that to have us fall into sin and disobey our Lord. Conversely, the Lord wishes for nothing more that for us to be fully loyal and faithful to Him, obedient and strong in His Spirit as we live every day in accordance with His will.
In the end translation, the way to avoid falling into temptation is through being totally engaged in the Lord each and every day. For it’s there that Satan can’t abide or gain any victory over us. To that end, let us lift up to God the prayer Jesus taught, ever asking this:
"... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
