Numbers 25:1-18 comments: the matter of Baalpeor

 

Numbers 25:1 ¶  And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2  And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3  And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. 5  And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.

 

The Israelites begin consorting with Moabite women. This also included the worship of their gods.

 

Here is what Balaam was able to accomplish against Israel. He would not curse them. He could not. But he could lay a stumblingblock in their path to service to God, a sexual stumblingblock as we have already learned about the sexual content of ancient religion. First, the point at from where this began would be when Balaam was with Balak who was demanding a curse but getting a blessing.

 

Numbers 23:28  And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon.

 

Numbers 31:16  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.

 

Revelation 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

 

Baalpeor  means obviously ‘god of Peor’ or ‘lord of Peor’, a physical location we have seen in the text. The context indicates the sexual nature of the worship of this local god which, unfortunately, like all of the hypersexualized worship of the Canaanites we’ve already looked at was a stumblingblock to this race of former slaves of Egypt. This is not a case of, “oh, them local girls sure are pretty,” considering what you and I have learned about religious customs in Canaan so far. God orders Moses to execute every one who fell to this very sensual worship of this local Canaanite god.

 

Once the Israelites began enjoying physical relations with the Canaanite women spiritual decline was inevitable.

 

1Kings 11:1  But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;

 

Nehemiah 13:26  Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

 

Put it in a modern perspective. You tried to raise your son or daughter right. You permitted them to go away to school. They announce to you at some point that they have fallen in love with a local girl or boy where they are. Marriage follows and then children, hopefully in that order. But you notice that the children seem to be raised with a different standard than the one you set for your child. Your grandchildren act very differently than your child did growing up, usually with less impulse-control and perhaps even acting a bit disrespectfully. You realize that if your child’s spouse was raised in a more liberal environment with less order than your child this will be reflected in your grandchildren’s behavior. We cannot underestimate the power of a child raised with a lower standard has on even a young person who you think is firm and solid in their beliefs and standards. It can be very disheartening. While you raised your child to be respectful of other’s property and a good guest in someone else’s home your grandchild acts like a Vandal sacking Rome when they visit. Maybe you notice that the family does not attend church faithfully or even, in some cases, bear any resemblance to a Christian family.

 

Numbers 25:6 ¶  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. 7  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; 8  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 the children of Israel. 9  And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. 10  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 11  Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12  Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: 13  And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. 14  Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. 15  And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.

 

After the command given by Moses, Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, obeyed and killed both an Israelite and the daughter of a Midianite prince who were engaged in sexual relations.

 

Regarding verse 9 notice this curious verse in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.

 

1Corinthians 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

 

Bibles typically say 1Corinthians 10:8 is referring to this passage in Numbers 25. The Modernist heresy in modern Christians then says, “those numbers aren’t the same! They should be exactly alike!” But, Paul is not wrong. The number he mentions is contained in the number given in Numbers. Paul is writing a letter and we have seen approximations before, conversational illustrations referring or alluding to the Old Testament writings. He does not have to be reading from the Scriptures when he writes this from memory as part of his argument. However, some commentators get around this by saying that 1Corinthians 10:8 is referring to a different event. That is fine as long as you don’t need a long, convoluted argument juggling numbers from different passages to get where you want to be.

 

Numbers 25:16 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17  Vex the Midianites, and smite them: 18  For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and 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.

 

To underscore that there was something religious in Zimri and Cozbi’s sexual dalliance notice what is written. This incident relates to the worship of the local god or lord of Peor which clearly is a reflection and confirmation of the sexual nature of Canaanite religion and the dangers, the very spiritual dangers that the Israelites faced.