(Numbers 25:1) And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
In the past few chapters and posts, Israel was camped in the plains of Moab along the Jordan River across from Jericho. This is where they camped when Balak brought Balaam to see them in order to curse them because he feared them coming into his land. Instead Balaam, with God's words in his mouth, had greatly blessed them. Now we see more specifically that they dwelt in Shittim. "Shittiym" literally means "acacia trees", and Shittim was so named because of the abundance of acacia trees that grew there. Thanks to this wonderfully clear map compliments of Ralph F. Wilson, we see that Shittim was the same place in the plains of Moab where they had been in the past three chapters:
While they were encamped at Shittim, which would be their last station in the wilderness before they entered Canaan, it seems they began to mingle with the women of Moab, and Midian, too, as we'll soon see. They began to commit whoredom which probably meant sexually and spiritually. I still couldn't see why the old commentaries I study still wanted to blame Balaam for this, until Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, referenced Revelation 2:14, when the Lord addressed the churches, and said this:
“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication."
If the Lord said it, I know it is true! That verse in Revelation shows that the whoredom was both sexual and spiritual. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote that records of the neighboring cities of the plain suggest that these people were more than just "ordinarily licentious". In his prophecy, Balaam had said that whoever blessed Israel would be blessed, and that those who cursed Israel would be cursed. Perhaps he encouraged the Moabites and Midianites to charm the Israelites by sending in their women. Matthew Henry wrote so eloquently and truthfully:
"Those are our worst enemies that draw us to sin, for that is the greatest mischief any man can do us. If Balak had drawn out his armed men against them to fight them, Israel had bravely resisted, and no doubt had been more than conquerors; but now that he sends his beautiful women among them, and invites them to his idolatrous feasts, the Israelites basely yield, and are shamefully overcome: those are smitten with his harlots that could not be smitten with his sword. Note, we are more endangered by the charms of a smiling world than by the terrors of a frowning world."
(2) And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
Indeed, we see that the charming women of Moab coaxed many of the Israelites to commit spiritual whoredom by eating things sacrificed to idols and bowing down to them.
(3) And Israel joined to Baal-peor, and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
It seems Israel wholly accepted the false god Baal-peor, so called probably because Baal was worshiped at the top of Peor. The righteous anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. No sin could be worse than idolatry. There is only salvation and life in the one true God; any other god leads only to sin and death.
Recently, I have reflected on how all people innately know that there is something larger than themselves, and they feel a need to worship it. We all instinctively know there is a God; it's just many follow false ones. Even atheists who think they don't believe in a god, believe in something, whether it's nature or something within themselves that has to be cultivated and reached at a higher level. We know there is something higher than ourselves. What makes it higher? Why do we think it needs to be worshiped? To me, it only makes sense that we instinctively know that there was a Creator God who created us and everything around us and we owe everything to Him. The egotistical part of us sometimes wants to run from that. We may listen to Satan, who whispers the same lies as he did in the garden of Eden, "Did God really say that? You won't die. God knows you can be as God." We instinctively know God; God in His mercy, gave us that innate knowledge, so that we may all accept Him. When you think about it, why would anyone go anywhere else to look for that Higher Being? What other god has ever been so historically written about and tested with such scrutiny? Why would God who wants us to seek and find Him be obscure and hard to find, as some would believe in an obscure god and believe they have found the true answer? There is none but Him, and we all know it, although some choose to reject it.
(4) And the LORD said to 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."
The Lord told Moses to take all the leaders of the people and hang them up before the Lord. I don't believe as some that they were to be hung by the neck. The original word "yaqa" means "to be dislocated, be alienated" and can also mean "hang up". I think this hanging up was more to put them on display before the Lord and having them face the sun. Being in full sunshine might have been to make them public and in full view of the congregation, but it may have also been as Dr. John Gill suggested in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, "...and if it was the sun that was worshipped in this idol, as some think, they were hanged against the sun, to show that the idol they worshipped was not able to deliver them; but, in the face of it, and as it were in defiance of it, they were ordered to be hanged up." This was done to hopefully begin to remedy the situation and appease the fierce anger of the Lord.
(5) And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you slay his men who were joined to Baal-peor.”
Moses told each of the judges of Israel to kill or order to be killed his men who had joined themselves to Baal-peor. There are varying interpretations of these verses. I originally felt like the rulers were hung up in view of the people and then Moses told the judges to find the guilty ones under each one's jurisdiction and kill just the guilty ones. It might be as some suggested, that the literal heads of the people were hung before the Lord. Note the Lord said to take all the heads of the people, and Moses, in response, told the judges to slay the guilty parties. It may have been just the guilty heads were hung, or it might be that the leaders of the people were hung because they were, if not guilty themselves, at least complicit by doing nothing to rein in the behavior of the people under their charge. Our rulers are held to higher standards.
(6) And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to 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.
While the congregation stood weeping before the door of the tabernacle with Moses, because of all that was going on with the heads and the slaying of the people joined with Baal-peor, one of the Israelites actually had the audacity to bring a Midianite woman with him in the sight of Moses and all 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.
When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, saw this man and this Midianite woman, he took his javelin and went after the man and woman and killed them both. Phinehas was in line to be high priest, and obviously a righteous judge to follow the order of Moses to slay all those who had joined themselves to Baal-peor. Indeed, the Lord approved of this righteous act to cleanse the camp of those who had joined themselves to Baal-peor, and stayed the plague from the children of Israel. Whether this was an actual pestilence that had broken out among the people because of their physical and spiritual adultery, as the historian Josephus suggested, or a plague of death ordered by the Lord to kill all those who had allowed themselves to be joined to Baal-peor, this judgment was stopped because of the zealous act of Phinehas.
(9) And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
24,000 died in this "plague". Much attention was given by the commentaries I study to the fact that the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:8 about this incident, "Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day twenty-three thousand." I personally didn't see a need to reconcile the numbers, but the commentators did, and as they did so with almost unanimity, I will consider it important enough to note here. They seem to agree that Paul spoke of the ones who "fell" as opposed to Moses counting all who died, by hanging, slaying, or some immediate plague of the Lord. I would think those who were slain by the judges would be considered fallen, so maybe the additional 1000 were those hung before the Lord before the slaying began. Any way you look at it, a great number of Israelites were killed because of their great sin of idolatry and adultery.
(10) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (11) “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for My sake among them, that I did not consume the children of Israel in My jealousy."
The Lord told Moses that it was the zeal of Phinehas that turned His wrath away from the children of Israel. It was because he was zealous for his Lord's sake. The original word "qinah" that was translated as "sake" can also mean "zeal". Phinehas acted with the zeal of the Lord; he was zealous with the Lord's zeal. The Lord knows the heart, and because of the terrible affront and disrespect for his Lord, Phinehas had jumped up and acted decisively to destroy those who had acted so irreverently. Some of the commentators I study made it a point to say that Phinehas's deed of vengeance cannot be condoned as a routine way of handling such instances, condemning revenge. Once again, I say that God knows the heart, and this was, after all, a different time when the Lord actually dwelt among His people. Phinehas could not allow such a detestable act to be done in the presence of His Lord. Now we have Jesus and the teaching that we love our enemies and do good for them and let vengeance be the Lord's. It's not that the law changed; it's that Jesus's blood now covers sin. Phinehas shed blood to cover the sin of Israel for the Lord's sake, and that was a picture of the Christ to come who would have His blood shed to cover our sins.
Note that the Lord's jealousy is not as trivial as what we think of jealousy today. We think of jealousy as envy. The Lord is certainly not envious that people look to false idols rather than to Him! As I have explored before, there are two other dictionary definitions of "jealous", "solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something" and "intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry". I believe these are the more accurate descriptions of God's jealousy for His people. God loved His people as the most loving husband would love his spouse, actually much more, and He is jealous for their fidelity, solicitous and vigilant in guarding it, because that is what is best for His people. It's not that He is envious and needs His children's love and fidelity; it's because His children need it! He loves His children and in His mercy, He is jealous and zealous to turn them back to their only source of eternal life with Him.
(12) “Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace.'"
The Lord continued speaking to Moses and told him to declare that the Lord gave Phinehas His covenant of peace, as he had certainly made peace between God and His people by his heroic action.
(13) "'And he shall have it, and his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.'"
The Lord said He gave Phinehas His covenant of peace. He may have meant the everlasting priesthood, as that is what His covenant with Levi was called in Malachi 2:5--"My covenant was with him (Levi) of life and peace." Even though Phinehas was in line for the priesthood and would have it upon his father's death, here the Lord had promised him at that moment an everlasting priesthood for him and his descendants after him because of his zeal for his Lord. And because he was zealous for his Lord, he had made atonement for the children of Israel, which was the duty of the priests.
(14) Now the name of the Israelite who was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.
The Israelite who was killed by Phinehas is identified as Zimri, son of Salu. The word "ab" translated as "chief" literally means "father", so Zimri was probably called a prince of his father Salu's house, one of the families of the Simeonites.
(15) And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a chief house in Midian.
The Midianite woman is also identified as Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, who was later said to be one of the five kings of the Midianites (Numbers 31:8).
(16) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (17) "Vex the Midianites, and smite them."
The Lord spoke again to Moses telling him to "vex" the Midianites. The original word used was "tsarar" and literally meant "to cramp an adversary", by implication "to besiege", and actually the Lord went on to tell Moses to smite or slay them.
(18) "For they vex you with their wiles, by which they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake."
The reason the Lord gave to slay the Midianites was because they had vexed the Israelites with their wiles, that is, with cunning methods to draw them into association and kinship with them. The Midianites had charmed and misled the Israelites into accepting the false idol Baal-peor, and in accepting the likes of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, who had been brought into their midst, but who was slain in the day of the plague that had been sent because of the worshiping of Baal-peor.
The moral of this story, or rather this historical event, as "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tmothy 3:16), is to show how easily we can be led astray by our fleshly desires. And the fact that satisfying our fleshly lusts will almost always lead to more sin and idolatry. Think about how Israel abode in Shittim with their promised land in full view. God had done so much for them, and they were finally at their destination, and yet they allowed themselves to be tempted by these women, and seemed to be happy to stay where they were. They enjoyed mingling with the beautiful women which led to committing lewdness with them, and then they were easily drawn into doing other things with them, like participating in the idolatrous feasts and eventually worshiping their god. Zimri had taken it a step further bringing a harlot boldly back to the Israelite camp. Moses and the congregation of Israel were weeping at the door of the tabernacle in sorrow and repentance for the sin they had committed and for the resulting plague. Zimri shamefully brought a harlot among them and went into a tent with her, which implies he planned on more than a casual visit. He declared his sin as Sodom, a reference to Isaiah 3:9, and gloried in his shameful act in dishonoring God.
Once we give into temptation, it becomes easier to pile on sin until the point we turn completely away from God or He turns His face from us and gives us over to our vile affections (Romans 1:26). Also in Romans 1 is the verse, "Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them" (Romans 1:32). This was an obvious censure by God to those who give approval to those who sin. Not only must we be vigilant against our own temptation to sin, but we must be zealous for God and His laws. God hates the lukewarm Christian (Revelation 3:16). This is not to say that we are to go around killing sinners, certainly not! As was discussed earlier, we are in a different age where Jesus now dwelt with sinners, and is an intercessor between sinful man and a righteous God who cannot look upon sin. In the Old Testament we get glimpses of Christ through the actions of OT heroes like Phinehas here who interceded for the people and rid them of the sin in their camp. Through his zealous act, Israel was saved from the plague. Although we don't take justice into our own hands now, we have plenty of references in the New Testament that tell us not to condone sin, but to be zealous for God's laws. We love the sinner, but hate the sin. We are all sinners, and we certainly don't want to be hated and shunned for our sins, but neither should we want to be left to wallow in it and die. It's a far more loving thing to want to remove the stumbling blocks that cause people to sin, such as sinful laws like abortion on demand and homosexual marriage. Let's be zealous for things that honor God and zealous to remove things that dishonor Him!
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