Balaam refuses to curse Israel because the Lord is with them. All good, right? Well, Balaam is worried about them dolla-dolla bills, and they are on the line because he was unable to give the King of Moab what he was after. So he concocts a plot to draw the Israelites away from their God and — thus ‚ His protection (cf. Rev 2:14). His plan? To use the potent male libido against the Israelites. The King of Moab sent down women to seduce the Hebrew men and draw their hearts away from God.
Things get a little confusing here as the author doesn’t provide as many details as I would like to see attached to this story (unlike the census information in the following chapter, very robust and complete). So stick with me as I try to tease this out…
Some of the Israelites are engaging in ritual sexual intercourse with Moabites, Midianites, and other worshippers of Baal. This was… not great. So God tells Moses to round up the leaders who were sending their people astray. While there is some contention about what this word “leaders” means (some suggest “ringleaders”, others suggest that these are the leaders Moses appointed in Exodus 18:5 to watch over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens) but I favour the ringleader reading, only because it makes a clear differentiation between these leaders and the judges. So, Moses tells his judges (I think these are the men from Exodus 18:5) to gather up the ringleaders of this rebellion within their cohort of responsibility, kill them, and display their bodies before the people.
While that is happening, God has sent a plague to kill those who are engaging in ritual sexual intercourse and worship of the fertility god Baal. Hence the title of today’s devotional. One particularly egregious example of which is this fellow who take a Midianite girl right into his tent WHILE Moses and the leaders and discussing what needs to be done to address this situation. So Phinehas charges in and spears the guy — not like Goldberg, more like a javelin — and also the girl underneath him. They must have gotten right down to business. And with this decisive act, God was satisfied that the issue would be handled with due seriousness and decisiveness, so that he stopped the plague.
Of course, I also suspect that this was divine timing, because God’s plague had already done its work.
So what do we take from this?
I think we can see how rebellion tests leadership. How we (you, me, whoever) deal with open rebellion against the authority and responsibility God has given us will show what kind of leaders we are.
So grab your spears, people! Let’s go heresy-hunting! <- NO. DO NOT DO THAT.
But while I think the time for capital punishment has passed, we should still give rebellion its due weight. Do we stand by and allow things to occur right under our noses, or do we boldly step out and address it? Do we turn a blind eye to sin in the name of some misguided altruism, or are we willing to sacrifice a human relationship to preserve a divine one?
Satan wants to draw us away from God. It probably won’t be clear and obvious that he is doing so. Satan certainly will not be TELLING us that is his plan, but instead he is okay to play the long game and draw us away slowly. Don’t allow that to happen. Stand watch. Be on guard. Be prepared to fight. Keep your sword1 at the ready!
Numbers 25-26 | 066/365
- Sword of the Spirit, that is. ↩︎