(21) “They forgat God their Saviour, Who had done great things in Egypt,
(22) Wondrous works in the land of Ham, And terrible things by the Red Sea.
(23) Therefore He said that He would destroy them. Had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them.
(24) Yea, they despised the pleasant land, They believed not His word,
(25) But murmured in their tents, And hearkened not unto the voice of Jehovah.
(26) Therefore He sware unto them, That He would overthrow them in the wilderness,
(27) And that He would overthrow their seed among the nations, And scatter them in the lands.
(28) They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, And ate the sacrifices of the dead.
(29) Thus they provoked Him to anger with their doings; And the plague brake in upon them.
(30) Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment; And so the plague was stayed.
(31) And that was reckoned unto him for righteousness, Unto all generations for evermore.
(32) They angered Him also at the waters of Meribah, So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes;
(33) Because they were rebellious against his spirit, And he spake unadvisedly with his lips.”
QUESTIONS.
How far did God’s people neglect Him?
What reason had God given them for remembering Him?
What was the character of the works He had wrought for them?
In what other place had He shown His power in their behalf?
To what decision did this lead?
What attitude did Moses assume? For what purpose?
How did the people regard the promised land?
How did they show their lack of faith in God?
What was the climax of their rebellious course?
What did God declare that He would do unto them?
What would become of their seed?
How would He bring an end to their national existence?
In what way did they show their complete apostasy to idolatry?
What was stirred up by their wicked course?
What came upon them in consequence of this?
What course did Phinehas take?
What was the result of his action?
What permanent blessing did the mediation of Phinehas bring to him?
What course did the people pursue when the water failed?
What influence did this have upon the experience of Moses?
How did the people treat Moses?
What did this lead him to do?
NOTES.
1. UNSANCTIFIED memory is a treacherous thing. Notice how continually the people forgot God and His deliverances, and remembered the trials and difficulties. They remembered the leeks and onions of Egypt, but forgot the bitterness of their bondage. Let us count the mercies, and forget not the Lord’s benefits.
2. WHEN Moses plead with God for the people, he based his plea for pardon upon the covenant with Abraham (Ex. 32:11-13), the promise of forgiveness and righteousness by faith in Christ.
3. MANY of the people, as they journeyed, lost sight of the aim of the movement, and did not believe the promise of an inheritance, hence the murmuring by the way. Now, with the inheritance just before us, let no one murmur in his tent. There is where it usually begins,—in the home.
4. At Baal-peor they ate the sacrifices that had been offered to the dead, joined in the heathen rites of ancient Spiritualism. As ancient Israel had to contend with this delusion, so in these last days the deceptive doctrines of Spiritualism, Theosophy, and such like, are spreading abroad to ensnare souls. But the very increase of Satan’s deceptions is evidence that the time is short.
