King James Version

The Book of Numbers

Chapter 25

Commentary

Numbers 25

1          And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

            After all the time Israel had been in the good graces of God, they just now began to do the cursed thing. They began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

            How long have you been clean of your deliverance in your life? Has it been days? Has it been just hours? How about months, or years? How long have you been free of the corrupt things in your life? Are you still not free? Has there ever been a time that you were free or clean of the bondage in your life? What about that once when you thought you were free?

            There are times in a persons life when he does experience a "delivered-like" situation or condition of being. He will spend weeks or days testifying about how God has freed him from a situation or condition and people will become excited with him. Peace at last! Freedom at last!

            Not long after the party dies down, his problem returns. Perhaps not all at once, and perhaps it's lighter than it once was. What I want to make clear is not easy to explain, but it seems to be an underlying factor in anybody's life.

            God didn't just bring the Israelites out of Egypt and simply let them go along their way, nor did He let them  live as did the Egyptians. For 39-40 years God did teach the unlearned, uneducated, untamed and wild bunch of Egyptian slaves, and molded them into a people that even Balaam had taken notice of.

            What I am saying is, the deliverance is done, you are free of your cursed thing and just a few short weeks later, bamm, it's back. Maybe it is back stronger or worse than before. Whatever your case is, it is not new, and it is not hopeless.

            I encourage you to make a commitment today, and any other time it seems like you have fallen. Get up! You are delivered. You are healed. You have not gotten to your place of promise just yet. You will be trained along the way, so stand now and walk solidly onward!

            It's not even necessary to ponder this current thing. It's not important enough to examine, because it is not even noteworthy. It's an isolated situation and it is not a pattern that you think will return upon every cycle. This is what happens to countless others. It's not a free ticket to sin, and it's certainly not a pardon. It is, but it does still bear the consequience. The consequience by which God inflicts will bring you to a betterness. The consequience the world will inflict upon you will be unto bitterness. Emotions can be a help or a hurt because it is either the strength of your will or the weakness of your will. This powerful thing that wecall a will is that which WE control, based on our experiences, hopes, and our dreams, brought into an emotional state and then applied directly to our willpower, or motivation or drive.

            Emotions can cloud or clear up our current perspective, too.            The very thing that you find wonderful and endulgent today, you might find it to be repulsive after church on Sunday. If you give up now, you might not even make it to church on Sunday. the emotional state you are in when you are low might influence your decision to NOT receive the one thing that can make you well.

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.

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.

            This is one of the things that interests me. Somebody stands up and carries out an order by God. Even though the man that carried out the order was not directly instructed to do so. What he had seen had caused his heart to anger, not unlike the anger that God felt. He was moved by the same shocking revelation of such obscene activity in the camp. He was rewarded a covenant because of how he responded to his convictions. Surely he was moved by the wickedness, and not to indulgle, but to abhor.

            Notice that when God blesses, it is forever unto the person or people, but when He curses, it is only unto the second and the third generation. Surely this shows us a glimpse of the balance God has with Grace and Mercy.

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.

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.

(KJV)

            Balak tried to trick Balaam into cursing the People in chaper 24. At the end of chapter 23, Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor so he could see the People from there. It was supposed to bring to Balaam's attention some sort of heathen sight to behold, but Balaam found only an orderly and proper, organized People. Balak sought to curse the People but Balaam found only that which was blessed. He then went on to outline this blessing with details. These details are now being endorsed with the stamp of approval by God, Himself. The very things that was said to come to pass, will this day draw nigh the Midianites.

Friday, December 18, 2009