And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
On the borders of Canaan Israel was called by Moabite and Midianite women to an idolatrous feast, where they ate sacrificial food and bowed to foreign gods in the licentious worship of Baal-peor, joining fornication with idolatry. The snare was devised by Balaam after he was forbidden to curse Israel directly, suggested by Satan and carried out by Moab and Midian to seduce Israel into sin and separate them from God. Those sacrifices were offered to the dead as claimed communion with departed spirits, but the visitants were spirits of devils, so the work was witchcraft forbidden of God and the same as modern Spiritualism in a new disguise. The apostasy brought the wrath of God in plague and sword, when twenty-three thousand fell in one day, His blessing was withdrawn, and Israel was left vulnerable to its enemies. The same snare is laid for God's people now just before the heavenly Canaan, for Satan cannot overcome them while they keep God's commandments, so he still seeks to weaken them through impurity, worldly gain, and mingling with the ungodly.
Encampment Beside Jordan
Israel lay encamped in the vale of Shittim by the Jordan, a wide plain of acacia trees whose tropical climate and shelter weakened mental and physical activity and reminded many of Egypt, while across the river palm trees flourished toward Jericho the city of palm trees. The surrounding country was defiled by its inhabitants, with places on every side noted for idolatry and licentiousness under the chief god Baal, centered at Beth-peor on the heights above the valley where men and women enacted degrading and iniquitous scenes as part of the worship of their gods. Those surroundings exerted a polluting influence that familiarized minds with vile thoughts, while a life of ease and inaction had a demoralizing effect, so that Israel gradually and almost unconsciously departed from God and came into a condition where they would fall an easy prey to the temptations of Satan, an evil more deadly than mighty hosts of armed men or the wild beasts of the wilderness.
It happened on the very borders of Canaan, with only the Jordan separating Israel from the promised land, after the victorious armies had returned from Bashan with rich territories and with confidence from conquering the Amorites and the hosts of Bashan. While the cloudy pillar gave no sign of moving but hovered above the mountains overshadowing the tabernacle, Moses used the waiting time to prepare the people for permanent occupation of Canaan. The suspense proved trying to the people, and within weeks they broke into frightful departures from virtue and integrity, grave departures during the encampment beside the Jordan while they awaited the occupation of Canaan.
The worship to which they were called was centered at Baal-peor and Beth-peor on the heights above the valley, where Israel was drawn into idolatrous worship by joining the sacrifices of foreign gods, eating the sacrificial food, and bowing down to those gods. This took place near the close of the wilderness wandering, where many fell a prey to subtle temptation to break the covenant by joining in idol worship. There the conditions of the covenant were repeated, and those who remained faithful renewed their vows of allegiance, warned through Moses against temptations to come and earnestly exhorted to remain separate from the surrounding nations and to worship God alone. Its fearful results remained fresh in Israel's memory.
Balaam's Plan to Ensnare
As long as Israel stayed true to God and obedient to His law He was their shield, and no power in earth or hell could prevail against them. Balaam had been compelled to bless when his heart longed to curse, and had not been permitted to curse them directly. He succeeded at last in bringing a curse upon them by seducing them into sin, so that when they transgressed God's commandments they separated themselves from Him and were left to feel the power of the destroyer.
The plan to destroy Israel by enticing them to sin was suggested by Satan himself, proposed to the king, and immediately adopted. Balaam, disappointed of riches and honor, soon left for his distant home, but his counsel was immediately carried out. At his suggestion Moab and Midian laid a deceitful snare with wiles to entice Israel to sin, and the trespass in the matter of Peor was brought about through idolatrous and licentious women as the principal criminals in drawing Israel into idolatry.
The call was a concealed invitation to an idolatrous feast and to sacrifices to foreign gods. Beautiful Moabitish and Midianite women called the people, and many Israelites attended, ate the sacrificial food with the worshipers, and bowed down to their gods. Music and feasting, wine and sexual indulgence helped entice them and broke down restraint, leading them to sacrifice at heathen altars, to join in idolatry and sexual sin, and to show contempt for God's requirements.
The surrounding country was defiled by its inhabitants, with places on every side noted for idolatry and licentiousness under the chief god Baal, centered at Beth-peor on the heights where men and women enacted degrading and iniquitous scenes as part of worship. A life of ease and inaction had a demoralizing effect, while those polluting surroundings familiarized minds with vile thoughts. So Israel gradually and almost unconsciously departed from God and came into a condition where they would fall an easy prey to the temptations of Satan, an evil more deadly than mighty hosts of armed men, with their omnipotent Protector become their enemy and themselves an easy prey to the fierce nations around them.
The apostasy began with the leaders and spread through the people, so that heathen worship began to be practiced even in Israel's camp. Sexual immorality was brought boldly into the camp through temptation as Israel neared the promised land. Only the harshest and most severe punishments could stop that advance of impurity and crime.
Eating and Bowing Described
To eat and bow down was to join in the sacrifices offered to false gods and to take part in the licentious worship of Baal-peor, of Baal and Asheroth. The people attended the idolatrous feast, ate the sacrificial food with the worshipers, and bowed to their gods. That indulgence in idolatrous worship dishonored God and drew the people from obedience, preparing the way for licentiousness by joining fornication with idolatry.
Those sacrifices were offered to the dead, for the heathen held their gods to be the deified spirits of departed heroes. In eating and bowing, therefore, Israel took part in claimed communion with the dead through familiar spirits. Those visitants from the other world were not the dead at all but spirits of devils and demonic powers. The work was witchcraft, an abomination solemnly forbidden under penalty of death, and it is the same work as modern Spiritualism, which is only its revival in a new disguise.
By this turning Israel broke the covenant and brought disease, death, disaster, and the wrath of God upon the guilty, while those who remained loyal to Him were spared. Though all were under the cloud and through the sea and baptized unto Moses, eating the same spiritual meat and drinking the same spiritual drink from the spiritual Rock that followed them, which was Christ, they lusted after evil things, sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, and were overthrown in the wilderness. These things happened as examples to keep from lusting, idolatry, fornication, tempting Christ, and murmuring, and they were written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come, so that he who thinks he stands must take heed lest he fall.
Judgment That Followed
Those who joined themselves to Baal-peor in disobedience were destroyed, while those who held fast their loyalty to the Lord lived. The judgment warned Israel not to disregard God's honor and it restrained the spread of corruption.
At God's command through Moses twenty-three thousand were slain by the sword and fell in one day for the licentious worship connected with the feast of Baal-peor. Many were overthrown in the wilderness and their polluted bodies were left there because God was not well pleased with them. That heinous sin of fornication joined with idolatry brought a signal manifestation of God's displeasure, with judgments following close upon it. These things happened as examples to keep from lusting after evil things, from idolatry and fornication, from tempting Christ and murmuring, written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come, so that he who thinks he stands must take heed lest he fall.
Many thousands of Israelites were destroyed under God's wrath, and a plague came upon the congregation of the Lord with terrible judgments upon the guilty for rebelling and joining themselves to Baal-peor. By turning to the worship of Baal and Ashtaroth Israel separated themselves from God, His blessing no longer rested on them, and they were left to feel the power of the destroyer. Their power for good was weakened, their unity was marred, and the purity of character was defiled. The presence of the Lord of hosts was no longer with their armies so their enemies no longer feared them, and having lost divine protection they became vulnerable and an easy prey to the fierce nations around them.
By this deliberate hellish art the Midianites revealed sin as a deadly leprosy contaminating all brought into contact with it. By that act they filled up the measure of their iniquities, their day of probation ended and the door of mercy was closed to them. God's command for Israel to vex and smite Midian and make war on them was therefore both justice visiting judgment on the guilty and mercy giving Israel victory over those seeking their ruin, with Israel acting as God's instruments for the divine glory and not from malice or revenge. The women of Midian, idolatrous and licentious, were through Balaam's counsel the principal criminals in drawing Israel into idolatry, so the war against Midian was just retribution upon a guilty people. Sparing them as captives showed lack of thoroughness in executing God's commands and would have constantly endangered the morals of Israel. The friendship of the wicked is more dangerous than their enmity, for none can prevail against the servants of the living God except by tempting them to disobedience, and sentiment that excuses wrong and shields the guilty is not the charity of the Bible.
Warning for Last Days
The enticement to idol feasts came just before entrance into Canaan, when the adversary sought to seduce the people into idolatry in order to compass their ruin, and the same snare is laid for God's people now who are repeating that history. He works in the same way now by the prospect of worldly advantage. Young men whom God would accept as workers together with Him become absorbed in the real-estate craze and sell their interest in the truth, and many hold themselves back from God's service through desire for worldly gain. Even those claiming to believe the truth are used to seduce souls, as the glory of the world once presented to Jesus is presented to men, so that a measure of success makes them greedy for more gain. Then spirituality dies, love for the truth is lost, and the immortal inheritance and the love of Jesus are eclipsed by fleeting prospects of the world.
Balaam caused Israel to sin just before they entered the promised land, and the same development is now seen in the cause of God. To exalt any man is dangerous, for he becomes confused and confuses the minds of others regarding the truths given to God's people, and misleading influence that turns God's people from Him and from the truth calls for decided action and for voices lifted in warning now. That issue forces a choice between acknowledging God as the supreme Ruler and choosing misleading arguments and views that, when fully developed, make Him as nothingness in the minds of those who accept them. It is an apostasy whose meaning few can see and whose result will be destructive if allowed to continue.
The adversary and his agents cannot overcome God's people while they follow righteousness and true holiness and keep all God's commandments with no cherished iniquity, so he still lays snares in a thousand ways to draw them into impurity and weaken them. The history just before Canaan is being repeated in dangers of lightness, vanity, ease, pleasure, selfishness, and impurity, calling for watchful, sober, fearless faithfulness. Choosing close company with the ungodly and forbidden association with the heathen exposes God's people to temptation and can lead them away from Him, for joining in pagan sacrifices, eating, and bowing down shows how such mingling leads into sin. His scheme to confuse youth and elders is carried on through those who have lost their bearings and lead others in strange paths by drawing God's people in great numbers to mingle with unconverted people where the truth loses its force. The judgment at Peor stands as a warning not to depart from God into false worship, and those who remain faithful are earnestly exhorted to remain separate from surrounding nations and to worship God alone.
On the borders of Canaan Israel was called by Moabite and Midianite women to an idolatrous feast, where they ate sacrificial food and bowed to foreign gods in the licentious worship of Baal-peor, joining fornication with idolatry. The snare was devised by Balaam after he was forbidden to curse Israel directly, suggested by Satan and carried out by Moab and Midian to seduce Israel into sin and separate them from God. Those sacrifices were offered to the dead as claimed communion with departed spirits, but the visitants were spirits of devils, so the work was witchcraft forbidden of God and the same as modern Spiritualism in a new disguise. The apostasy brought the wrath of God in plague and sword, when twenty-three thousand fell in one day, His blessing was withdrawn, and Israel was left vulnerable to its enemies. The same snare is laid for God's people now just before the heavenly Canaan, for Satan cannot overcome them while they keep God's commandments, so he still seeks to weaken them through impurity, worldly gain, and mingling with the ungodly.
Encampment Beside Jordan
Israel lay encamped in the vale of Shittim by the Jordan, a wide plain of acacia trees whose tropical climate and shelter weakened mental and physical activity and reminded many of Egypt, while across the river palm trees flourished toward Jericho the city of palm trees. The surrounding country was defiled by its inhabitants, with places on every side noted for idolatry and licentiousness under the chief god Baal, centered at Beth-peor on the heights above the valley where men and women enacted degrading and iniquitous scenes as part of the worship of their gods. Those surroundings exerted a polluting influence that familiarized minds with vile thoughts, while a life of ease and inaction had a demoralizing effect, so that Israel gradually and almost unconsciously departed from God and came into a condition where they would fall an easy prey to the temptations of Satan, an evil more deadly than mighty hosts of armed men or the wild beasts of the wilderness.
It happened on the very borders of Canaan, with only the Jordan separating Israel from the promised land, after the victorious armies had returned from Bashan with rich territories and with confidence from conquering the Amorites and the hosts of Bashan. While the cloudy pillar gave no sign of moving but hovered above the mountains overshadowing the tabernacle, Moses used the waiting time to prepare the people for permanent occupation of Canaan. The suspense proved trying to the people, and within weeks they broke into frightful departures from virtue and integrity, grave departures during the encampment beside the Jordan while they awaited the occupation of Canaan.
The worship to which they were called was centered at Baal-peor and Beth-peor on the heights above the valley, where Israel was drawn into idolatrous worship by joining the sacrifices of foreign gods, eating the sacrificial food, and bowing down to those gods. This took place near the close of the wilderness wandering, where many fell a prey to subtle temptation to break the covenant by joining in idol worship. There the conditions of the covenant were repeated, and those who remained faithful renewed their vows of allegiance, warned through Moses against temptations to come and earnestly exhorted to remain separate from the surrounding nations and to worship God alone. Its fearful results remained fresh in Israel's memory.
Balaam's Plan to Ensnare
As long as Israel stayed true to God and obedient to His law He was their shield, and no power in earth or hell could prevail against them. Balaam had been compelled to bless when his heart longed to curse, and had not been permitted to curse them directly. He succeeded at last in bringing a curse upon them by seducing them into sin, so that when they transgressed God's commandments they separated themselves from Him and were left to feel the power of the destroyer.
The plan to destroy Israel by enticing them to sin was suggested by Satan himself, proposed to the king, and immediately adopted. Balaam, disappointed of riches and honor, soon left for his distant home, but his counsel was immediately carried out. At his suggestion Moab and Midian laid a deceitful snare with wiles to entice Israel to sin, and the trespass in the matter of Peor was brought about through idolatrous and licentious women as the principal criminals in drawing Israel into idolatry.
The call was a concealed invitation to an idolatrous feast and to sacrifices to foreign gods. Beautiful Moabitish and Midianite women called the people, and many Israelites attended, ate the sacrificial food with the worshipers, and bowed down to their gods. Music and feasting, wine and sexual indulgence helped entice them and broke down restraint, leading them to sacrifice at heathen altars, to join in idolatry and sexual sin, and to show contempt for God's requirements.
The surrounding country was defiled by its inhabitants, with places on every side noted for idolatry and licentiousness under the chief god Baal, centered at Beth-peor on the heights where men and women enacted degrading and iniquitous scenes as part of worship. A life of ease and inaction had a demoralizing effect, while those polluting surroundings familiarized minds with vile thoughts. So Israel gradually and almost unconsciously departed from God and came into a condition where they would fall an easy prey to the temptations of Satan, an evil more deadly than mighty hosts of armed men, with their omnipotent Protector become their enemy and themselves an easy prey to the fierce nations around them.
The apostasy began with the leaders and spread through the people, so that heathen worship began to be practiced even in Israel's camp. Sexual immorality was brought boldly into the camp through temptation as Israel neared the promised land. Only the harshest and most severe punishments could stop that advance of impurity and crime.
Eating and Bowing Described
To eat and bow down was to join in the sacrifices offered to false gods and to take part in the licentious worship of Baal-peor, of Baal and Asheroth. The people attended the idolatrous feast, ate the sacrificial food with the worshipers, and bowed to their gods. That indulgence in idolatrous worship dishonored God and drew the people from obedience, preparing the way for licentiousness by joining fornication with idolatry.
Those sacrifices were offered to the dead, for the heathen held their gods to be the deified spirits of departed heroes. In eating and bowing, therefore, Israel took part in claimed communion with the dead through familiar spirits. Those visitants from the other world were not the dead at all but spirits of devils and demonic powers. The work was witchcraft, an abomination solemnly forbidden under penalty of death, and it is the same work as modern Spiritualism, which is only its revival in a new disguise.
By this turning Israel broke the covenant and brought disease, death, disaster, and the wrath of God upon the guilty, while those who remained loyal to Him were spared. Though all were under the cloud and through the sea and baptized unto Moses, eating the same spiritual meat and drinking the same spiritual drink from the spiritual Rock that followed them, which was Christ, they lusted after evil things, sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, and were overthrown in the wilderness. These things happened as examples to keep from lusting, idolatry, fornication, tempting Christ, and murmuring, and they were written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come, so that he who thinks he stands must take heed lest he fall.
Judgment That Followed
Those who joined themselves to Baal-peor in disobedience were destroyed, while those who held fast their loyalty to the Lord lived. The judgment warned Israel not to disregard God's honor and it restrained the spread of corruption.
At God's command through Moses twenty-three thousand were slain by the sword and fell in one day for the licentious worship connected with the feast of Baal-peor. Many were overthrown in the wilderness and their polluted bodies were left there because God was not well pleased with them. That heinous sin of fornication joined with idolatry brought a signal manifestation of God's displeasure, with judgments following close upon it. These things happened as examples to keep from lusting after evil things, from idolatry and fornication, from tempting Christ and murmuring, written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come, so that he who thinks he stands must take heed lest he fall.
Many thousands of Israelites were destroyed under God's wrath, and a plague came upon the congregation of the Lord with terrible judgments upon the guilty for rebelling and joining themselves to Baal-peor. By turning to the worship of Baal and Ashtaroth Israel separated themselves from God, His blessing no longer rested on them, and they were left to feel the power of the destroyer. Their power for good was weakened, their unity was marred, and the purity of character was defiled. The presence of the Lord of hosts was no longer with their armies so their enemies no longer feared them, and having lost divine protection they became vulnerable and an easy prey to the fierce nations around them.
By this deliberate hellish art the Midianites revealed sin as a deadly leprosy contaminating all brought into contact with it. By that act they filled up the measure of their iniquities, their day of probation ended and the door of mercy was closed to them. God's command for Israel to vex and smite Midian and make war on them was therefore both justice visiting judgment on the guilty and mercy giving Israel victory over those seeking their ruin, with Israel acting as God's instruments for the divine glory and not from malice or revenge. The women of Midian, idolatrous and licentious, were through Balaam's counsel the principal criminals in drawing Israel into idolatry, so the war against Midian was just retribution upon a guilty people. Sparing them as captives showed lack of thoroughness in executing God's commands and would have constantly endangered the morals of Israel. The friendship of the wicked is more dangerous than their enmity, for none can prevail against the servants of the living God except by tempting them to disobedience, and sentiment that excuses wrong and shields the guilty is not the charity of the Bible.
Warning for Last Days
The enticement to idol feasts came just before entrance into Canaan, when the adversary sought to seduce the people into idolatry in order to compass their ruin, and the same snare is laid for God's people now who are repeating that history. He works in the same way now by the prospect of worldly advantage. Young men whom God would accept as workers together with Him become absorbed in the real-estate craze and sell their interest in the truth, and many hold themselves back from God's service through desire for worldly gain. Even those claiming to believe the truth are used to seduce souls, as the glory of the world once presented to Jesus is presented to men, so that a measure of success makes them greedy for more gain. Then spirituality dies, love for the truth is lost, and the immortal inheritance and the love of Jesus are eclipsed by fleeting prospects of the world.
Balaam caused Israel to sin just before they entered the promised land, and the same development is now seen in the cause of God. To exalt any man is dangerous, for he becomes confused and confuses the minds of others regarding the truths given to God's people, and misleading influence that turns God's people from Him and from the truth calls for decided action and for voices lifted in warning now. That issue forces a choice between acknowledging God as the supreme Ruler and choosing misleading arguments and views that, when fully developed, make Him as nothingness in the minds of those who accept them. It is an apostasy whose meaning few can see and whose result will be destructive if allowed to continue.
The adversary and his agents cannot overcome God's people while they follow righteousness and true holiness and keep all God's commandments with no cherished iniquity, so he still lays snares in a thousand ways to draw them into impurity and weaken them. The history just before Canaan is being repeated in dangers of lightness, vanity, ease, pleasure, selfishness, and impurity, calling for watchful, sober, fearless faithfulness. Choosing close company with the ungodly and forbidden association with the heathen exposes God's people to temptation and can lead them away from Him, for joining in pagan sacrifices, eating, and bowing down shows how such mingling leads into sin. His scheme to confuse youth and elders is carried on through those who have lost their bearings and lead others in strange paths by drawing God's people in great numbers to mingle with unconverted people where the truth loses its force. The judgment at Peor stands as a warning not to depart from God into false worship, and those who remain faithful are earnestly exhorted to remain separate from surrounding nations and to worship God alone.