Numbers, 25

Name: Numbers
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Sin Idols Judgment Peace Temptation God Worship Obedience Punishment Covenant Anger

Israelites commit idolatry and immorality with Moabite women, and a plague breaks out among them as punishment.

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Bible version

The Sin of Baal Peor

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.

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.

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.

Commentary

In Numbers 25, the Israelites are punished for their idolatry and immorality. The Lord commands Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, who had enticed the Israelites to worship their gods. Moses then sends a thousand men from each tribe to fight against the Midianites. The Israelites are victorious and bring back the spoils of war. The chapter then turns to the story of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar. Phinehas had seen an Israelite man and a Midianite woman together and had taken action to stop their immoral behavior. He had killed them both, thus preventing the spread of idolatry among the Israelites. The Lord rewards Phinehas for his zeal and grants him and his descendants a covenant of peace. The chapter ends with a reminder to the Israelites to remain faithful to the Lord and to avoid idolatry. This is a reminder to us today that we should remain faithful to God and avoid any behavior that would lead us away from Him.