And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Israel on the very border of Canaan in the vale of Shittim joined himself to Baal-peor by eating idolatrous sacrifices, bowing to the gods of Moab, and committing fornication and licentious rites, a national apostasy that kindled the anger of the Lord against Israel.
Unable to curse Israel directly while they obeyed God, Balaam at Satan's suggestion counseled Balak to entice them to break God's law through beautiful women and the worship of Baal, so their Protector would become their enemy and they would fall an easy prey.
The transgression separated Israel from God and brought terrible judgment by sword and plague, in one account twenty-four thousand dead, while those who cleaved to the Lord were kept alive.
In other accounts twenty-three thousand fell in one day, though all had been under the cloud and drunk from the spiritual Rock which was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).
The joining was fellowship with spirits claiming to be the dead, the same as modern Spiritualism, and stands written as admonition upon those on whom the ends of the world are come to remain separate, keep all God's commandments, and take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:6-12).
Place and Time of Apostasy
Israel stood encamped beside the Jordan on the very borders of Canaan, with only the river between the people and the promised land. This was near the close of the wilderness wandering, after victorious conquests of the Amorites and the hosts of Bashan had given rich territories and confidence of easy success beyond the river. While Israel waited with eager expectation for the cloudy pillar hovering over the tabernacle to move and lead onward, Moses used the delay to prepare them for permanent occupation of Canaan and to repeat the conditions of the covenant. To the people the suspense was most trying, and within a few weeks they fell into most frightful departures from virtue and integrity.
The encampment lay in the vale of Shittim by the Jordan, a wide plain shaded by acacia trees with a tropical climate unfavorable to mental and physical activity. The place reminded many of Egypt by the Nile and of the many palm trees across the river around Jericho. Baal was the chief god of that region, and on the heights above the valley stood Beth-peor, where the apostasy occurred and where Israel's sin left fresh memories of the fearful results of idolatry and sexual immorality.
The surrounding country was defiled by common Baal worship, idolatry and licentiousness whose very place-names suggested vileness and corruption. Men and women enacted the most degrading and iniquitous scenes as part of the worship of their gods. Ease and inaction had a demoralizing effect, and the trying suspense weakened the people, while surrounding idolatry and immorality polluted their thoughts and familiarized minds with constantly suggested vile thoughts. The joining to Baal-peor was therefore gradual and almost unconscious, as Israel drifted from God until ready to fall an easy prey to temptation. In that state they met an evil more deadly than mighty hosts of armed men or the wild beasts of the wilderness.
What Joining Baal-peor Meant
Joining himself to Baal-peor was national apostasy in which Israel abandoned loyalty to Jehovah and went over into idolatrous rites. Many of the people took part, including rulers and leading men, so that the guilt rested on the nation and not on a few stragglers. By that choice Israel departed from the Lord's commandments, placed itself on a level with idolatrous nations, and brought the anger of the Lord upon the people.
The joining came through forbidden association with the heathen, when the people were drawn into Moabite worship, ate of their sacrifices, and bowed down to their gods. They were lured by an idolatrous feast and by the enticements of Midianite women acting on Balaam's advice to entice Israel to break God's law. That luxurious feast was followed by fornication, licentious rites and defiant impurity, and in that setting of fornication the transgression kindled the Lord's anger against Israel. The judgment that followed was meant to punish those who had joined Baal-peor, to stop the bold advance of impurity and crime, and to warn the people against following their example, while the Midianites were also to be punished for leading Israel into disobedience by deceit.
The sacrifices Israel ate at that feast were offered to the dead, reflecting the heathen belief that their gods were the deified spirits of departed people.
How Balaam Brought the Sin
So long as Israel remained true and obedient to God's law He was their shield, and no power in earth or hell could prevail to harm them. Balaam had been compelled to bless when his heart longed to curse, and was not permitted to pronounce a curse against them directly. Disappointed in his hope of riches and honor and grieved at the result almost as deeply as Balak, he devised an indirect snare suggested by Satan himself, proposed it to the king where it was immediately adopted, and then left for his distant home while the scheme was carried out.
On Balaam's advice and counsel the plan was carried out by Moabite and Midianite women and by an idolatrous feast with beautiful women and enticements. The design was to raise a barrier between Israel and God by enticing them to break the law through the licentious worship of Baal, Baal-peor and Asheroth or Ashtaroth, and through deceit. By that iniquity their omnipotent Protector would become their enemy, His blessing would not rest on them, their forces would be greatly weakened so their enemies no longer feared their power because the presence of the Lord of hosts was not with their armies, and they would fall an easy prey to the fierce warlike nations around them. By that sin in transgressing God's commandments in the idolatry of Baal-peor Israel separated itself from Him.
God had long spared Moab and Midian because their cup of iniquity was not yet full, giving them evidence upon evidence that Jehovah was God. The last ray of light came when Balaam, hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel, was controlled by God's power to pronounce rich blessings upon Israel as God's chosen. By the deceitful wiles and hellish arts of the snare laid at Balaam's suggestion Midian filled up the measure of iniquity, ended its day of probation, closed the door of mercy, and called forth the divine mandate to vex and smite the Midianites and to avenge Israel upon them.
The Midianites were also to be punished for using deceit to lead Israel into disobedience. The Midianite women who carried out Balaam's counsel and brought the trespass against the Lord were idolatrous and licentious and are counted the principal criminals. The war against Midian was just retribution upon them, and to have spared them from false sympathy would have constantly endangered the morals of Israel and been contrary to the will of God.
God's Anger and Punishment
By breaking the commandments in the idolatry of Baal-peor Israel cut itself off from its Protector and was left to feel the power of the destroyer, and the anger and wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people and visited upon them in terrible judgments. That bringing of wrath upon themselves filled Moses with grief and indignation. The sin is a deadly, contaminating leprosy in its malignity.
Those who followed Baal-peor were destroyed, while those who cleaved to the Lord and remained faithful were kept alive and spared. Their fate shows the difference between disobedience and faithfulness. The disaster came through transgression and idolatry, not because the commandments were impossible or burdensome to those who remained faithful.
The judgment was sent to punish those who had joined Baal-peor and to rebuke rebellion against the Lord. It was meant to stop the bold advance of impurity and crime and to check the spread of corrupting influence through the congregation, and only the harshest punishment could stop them in their defiant impurity. It stands as a warning to the people and to others not to dishonor God, disobey His law, or follow that example, for turning to false worship brings wrath upon the whole nation. Those who reject given light and advantages and persist in sin face such judgment from God.
The attachment brought judgment in a plague that killed twenty-four thousand. Those who hold to the other reckoning teach that twenty-three thousand fell in one day. They were slain by the sword at the command of Moses and by plague with disease and death, and many thousands were destroyed. Thousands fell and their bodies were left overthrown in the wilderness, though all had been under the cloud and had passed through the sea and been baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all had eaten the same spiritual meat and drunk the same spiritual drink from the spiritual Rock that followed them, which was Christ. The Midianites who led Israel into disobedience by deceit were also to be punished.
The visitation of judgment on the guilty displays the justice of God and proves that God does punish transgressors of His law. It makes certain that divine wrath and retribution will come upon transgressors in the future Judgment upon every soul that does evil, according to deeds done in the body. The offensiveness of the sin is measured only in the light of the cross, where Christ took the guilt of the disobedient and suffered in the sinner's stead.
The sin at Beth-peor left fresh memories of the fearful results of idolatry and sexual immorality. Even after the punishment many still cherished the same sins, so that those dwelling surrounded by worshipers of the idol were in danger of again partaking of the iniquity.
Baal Worship as Spiritualism
To join himself to Baal-peor was to enter fellowship and dealing with familiar spirits. Those spirits claimed communication with the dead, presenting themselves as visitants from other worlds. The same claim is made by modern Spiritualists in present communication with the dead. Those visitants were not the dead nor departed men, but spirits of devils. The sin at Baal-peor belongs to witchcraft and to forbidden dealings with other powers that were condemned and prohibited of old. That condemned witchcraft is now revived in a new disguise as Spiritualism.
Warning for God's People Today
The joining to Baal-peor was a departure from the commandments that placed Israel on a level with idolatrous nations and brought anger and judgment, including a plague that killed twenty-four thousand, and it was to be remembered as a warning against forsaking God. Those who remained faithful renewed their vows of allegiance while the conditions of the covenant were repeated, for through Moses Israel was warned against temptations that would assail in the future and was earnestly exhorted to remain separate from the surrounding nations and to worship God alone. Although all had been under the cloud and had passed through the sea and been baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and had eaten the same spiritual meat and drunk the same spiritual drink from the spiritual Rock that followed them, which was Christ, God was not well pleased with those who committed fornication, and three and twenty thousand fell in one day and were overthrown in the wilderness. The event happened as an example to keep others from lusting after evil things and committing fornication, and it is written for admonition upon those on whom the ends of the world are come, warning him that thinketh he standeth to take heed lest he fall.
Satan laid the snare just before entrance into Canaan to seduce Israel into idolatry in order to compass their ruin, and the same snare is laid for God's people now, who are repeating the history of that people. The same seducing work continues in the present day, when young men whom God would accept as workers together with Him become absorbed in the craze for real estate and sell their interest in the truth for the prospect of worldly advantage. Satan works in the same way now by the desire for worldly gain to hold people away from the service of God, coming to men as he came to Jesus presenting the glory of the world, so that when success attends their ventures they become greedy for more gain, their spirituality dies, they lose their love for the truth, and the immortal inheritance and the love of Jesus are eclipsed by fleeting worldly prospects.
God's people today can likewise be led astray by forbidden association with the heathen, for choosing the company of unbelievers exposes them to temptation, fosters conformity to the world, and can leave them increasingly blind to the harm being done. That same work of confusing minds and leading into strange paths is repeated when ministers of the gospel lose their bearings and lead others to walk in strange paths, and when efforts draw youth and those who are older into mingling with unbelief that confuses their minds. Balaam causing Israel to sin just before entering the promised land matches a present development in the cause of God that calls for decided warning and decided action now, for it is dangerous so to exalt any man that he becomes confused and confuses the minds of others about the truths given for the last fifty years. Few can see the meaning of this apostasy and the result if allowed to continue, so God's people must decide whether to acknowledge God as the supreme Ruler or to choose misleading arguments and views that, when fully developed, make Him as nothingness in the minds of those who accept them.
Balaam, not permitted to curse Israel directly, laid an indirect snare by enchanting Israel with beautiful Moabitish women to lead them to transgress the law, so that iniquity would be found in them and God's blessing would not rest on them, their forces were greatly weakened, and their enemies no longer feared their power because the presence of the Lord of hosts was not with their armies. The warning for those living in the last days is that if they follow after righteousness and true holiness and keep all God's commandments Satan and his agents will not be permitted to overcome them, while Satan will ever employ his power and influence to mar their unity, defile the purity of their characters, weaken their power for good, and lay snares in a thousand ways. The same danger is applied to growing lightness, vanity, love of ease and pleasure, selfishness, and impurity by which God's people can be caught. The defiant impurity that required the harshest punishment to stop the advance of impurity and crime warns that those who reject the light and advantages given to them and persist in sin face God's judgment.
Israel on the very border of Canaan in the vale of Shittim joined himself to Baal-peor by eating idolatrous sacrifices, bowing to the gods of Moab, and committing fornication and licentious rites, a national apostasy that kindled the anger of the Lord against Israel.
Unable to curse Israel directly while they obeyed God, Balaam at Satan's suggestion counseled Balak to entice them to break God's law through beautiful women and the worship of Baal, so their Protector would become their enemy and they would fall an easy prey.
The transgression separated Israel from God and brought terrible judgment by sword and plague, in one account twenty-four thousand dead, while those who cleaved to the Lord were kept alive.
In other accounts twenty-three thousand fell in one day, though all had been under the cloud and drunk from the spiritual Rock which was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).
The joining was fellowship with spirits claiming to be the dead, the same as modern Spiritualism, and stands written as admonition upon those on whom the ends of the world are come to remain separate, keep all God's commandments, and take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:6-12).
Place and Time of Apostasy
Israel stood encamped beside the Jordan on the very borders of Canaan, with only the river between the people and the promised land. This was near the close of the wilderness wandering, after victorious conquests of the Amorites and the hosts of Bashan had given rich territories and confidence of easy success beyond the river. While Israel waited with eager expectation for the cloudy pillar hovering over the tabernacle to move and lead onward, Moses used the delay to prepare them for permanent occupation of Canaan and to repeat the conditions of the covenant. To the people the suspense was most trying, and within a few weeks they fell into most frightful departures from virtue and integrity.
The encampment lay in the vale of Shittim by the Jordan, a wide plain shaded by acacia trees with a tropical climate unfavorable to mental and physical activity. The place reminded many of Egypt by the Nile and of the many palm trees across the river around Jericho. Baal was the chief god of that region, and on the heights above the valley stood Beth-peor, where the apostasy occurred and where Israel's sin left fresh memories of the fearful results of idolatry and sexual immorality.
The surrounding country was defiled by common Baal worship, idolatry and licentiousness whose very place-names suggested vileness and corruption. Men and women enacted the most degrading and iniquitous scenes as part of the worship of their gods. Ease and inaction had a demoralizing effect, and the trying suspense weakened the people, while surrounding idolatry and immorality polluted their thoughts and familiarized minds with constantly suggested vile thoughts. The joining to Baal-peor was therefore gradual and almost unconscious, as Israel drifted from God until ready to fall an easy prey to temptation. In that state they met an evil more deadly than mighty hosts of armed men or the wild beasts of the wilderness.
What Joining Baal-peor Meant
Joining himself to Baal-peor was national apostasy in which Israel abandoned loyalty to Jehovah and went over into idolatrous rites. Many of the people took part, including rulers and leading men, so that the guilt rested on the nation and not on a few stragglers. By that choice Israel departed from the Lord's commandments, placed itself on a level with idolatrous nations, and brought the anger of the Lord upon the people.
The joining came through forbidden association with the heathen, when the people were drawn into Moabite worship, ate of their sacrifices, and bowed down to their gods. They were lured by an idolatrous feast and by the enticements of Midianite women acting on Balaam's advice to entice Israel to break God's law. That luxurious feast was followed by fornication, licentious rites and defiant impurity, and in that setting of fornication the transgression kindled the Lord's anger against Israel. The judgment that followed was meant to punish those who had joined Baal-peor, to stop the bold advance of impurity and crime, and to warn the people against following their example, while the Midianites were also to be punished for leading Israel into disobedience by deceit.
The sacrifices Israel ate at that feast were offered to the dead, reflecting the heathen belief that their gods were the deified spirits of departed people.
How Balaam Brought the Sin
So long as Israel remained true and obedient to God's law He was their shield, and no power in earth or hell could prevail to harm them. Balaam had been compelled to bless when his heart longed to curse, and was not permitted to pronounce a curse against them directly. Disappointed in his hope of riches and honor and grieved at the result almost as deeply as Balak, he devised an indirect snare suggested by Satan himself, proposed it to the king where it was immediately adopted, and then left for his distant home while the scheme was carried out.
On Balaam's advice and counsel the plan was carried out by Moabite and Midianite women and by an idolatrous feast with beautiful women and enticements. The design was to raise a barrier between Israel and God by enticing them to break the law through the licentious worship of Baal, Baal-peor and Asheroth or Ashtaroth, and through deceit. By that iniquity their omnipotent Protector would become their enemy, His blessing would not rest on them, their forces would be greatly weakened so their enemies no longer feared their power because the presence of the Lord of hosts was not with their armies, and they would fall an easy prey to the fierce warlike nations around them. By that sin in transgressing God's commandments in the idolatry of Baal-peor Israel separated itself from Him.
God had long spared Moab and Midian because their cup of iniquity was not yet full, giving them evidence upon evidence that Jehovah was God. The last ray of light came when Balaam, hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel, was controlled by God's power to pronounce rich blessings upon Israel as God's chosen. By the deceitful wiles and hellish arts of the snare laid at Balaam's suggestion Midian filled up the measure of iniquity, ended its day of probation, closed the door of mercy, and called forth the divine mandate to vex and smite the Midianites and to avenge Israel upon them.
The Midianites were also to be punished for using deceit to lead Israel into disobedience. The Midianite women who carried out Balaam's counsel and brought the trespass against the Lord were idolatrous and licentious and are counted the principal criminals. The war against Midian was just retribution upon them, and to have spared them from false sympathy would have constantly endangered the morals of Israel and been contrary to the will of God.
God's Anger and Punishment
By breaking the commandments in the idolatry of Baal-peor Israel cut itself off from its Protector and was left to feel the power of the destroyer, and the anger and wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people and visited upon them in terrible judgments. That bringing of wrath upon themselves filled Moses with grief and indignation. The sin is a deadly, contaminating leprosy in its malignity.
Those who followed Baal-peor were destroyed, while those who cleaved to the Lord and remained faithful were kept alive and spared. Their fate shows the difference between disobedience and faithfulness. The disaster came through transgression and idolatry, not because the commandments were impossible or burdensome to those who remained faithful.
The judgment was sent to punish those who had joined Baal-peor and to rebuke rebellion against the Lord. It was meant to stop the bold advance of impurity and crime and to check the spread of corrupting influence through the congregation, and only the harshest punishment could stop them in their defiant impurity. It stands as a warning to the people and to others not to dishonor God, disobey His law, or follow that example, for turning to false worship brings wrath upon the whole nation. Those who reject given light and advantages and persist in sin face such judgment from God.
The attachment brought judgment in a plague that killed twenty-four thousand. Those who hold to the other reckoning teach that twenty-three thousand fell in one day. They were slain by the sword at the command of Moses and by plague with disease and death, and many thousands were destroyed. Thousands fell and their bodies were left overthrown in the wilderness, though all had been under the cloud and had passed through the sea and been baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all had eaten the same spiritual meat and drunk the same spiritual drink from the spiritual Rock that followed them, which was Christ. The Midianites who led Israel into disobedience by deceit were also to be punished.
The visitation of judgment on the guilty displays the justice of God and proves that God does punish transgressors of His law. It makes certain that divine wrath and retribution will come upon transgressors in the future Judgment upon every soul that does evil, according to deeds done in the body. The offensiveness of the sin is measured only in the light of the cross, where Christ took the guilt of the disobedient and suffered in the sinner's stead.
The sin at Beth-peor left fresh memories of the fearful results of idolatry and sexual immorality. Even after the punishment many still cherished the same sins, so that those dwelling surrounded by worshipers of the idol were in danger of again partaking of the iniquity.
Baal Worship as Spiritualism
To join himself to Baal-peor was to enter fellowship and dealing with familiar spirits. Those spirits claimed communication with the dead, presenting themselves as visitants from other worlds. The same claim is made by modern Spiritualists in present communication with the dead. Those visitants were not the dead nor departed men, but spirits of devils. The sin at Baal-peor belongs to witchcraft and to forbidden dealings with other powers that were condemned and prohibited of old. That condemned witchcraft is now revived in a new disguise as Spiritualism.
Warning for God's People Today
The joining to Baal-peor was a departure from the commandments that placed Israel on a level with idolatrous nations and brought anger and judgment, including a plague that killed twenty-four thousand, and it was to be remembered as a warning against forsaking God. Those who remained faithful renewed their vows of allegiance while the conditions of the covenant were repeated, for through Moses Israel was warned against temptations that would assail in the future and was earnestly exhorted to remain separate from the surrounding nations and to worship God alone. Although all had been under the cloud and had passed through the sea and been baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and had eaten the same spiritual meat and drunk the same spiritual drink from the spiritual Rock that followed them, which was Christ, God was not well pleased with those who committed fornication, and three and twenty thousand fell in one day and were overthrown in the wilderness. The event happened as an example to keep others from lusting after evil things and committing fornication, and it is written for admonition upon those on whom the ends of the world are come, warning him that thinketh he standeth to take heed lest he fall.
Satan laid the snare just before entrance into Canaan to seduce Israel into idolatry in order to compass their ruin, and the same snare is laid for God's people now, who are repeating the history of that people. The same seducing work continues in the present day, when young men whom God would accept as workers together with Him become absorbed in the craze for real estate and sell their interest in the truth for the prospect of worldly advantage. Satan works in the same way now by the desire for worldly gain to hold people away from the service of God, coming to men as he came to Jesus presenting the glory of the world, so that when success attends their ventures they become greedy for more gain, their spirituality dies, they lose their love for the truth, and the immortal inheritance and the love of Jesus are eclipsed by fleeting worldly prospects.
God's people today can likewise be led astray by forbidden association with the heathen, for choosing the company of unbelievers exposes them to temptation, fosters conformity to the world, and can leave them increasingly blind to the harm being done. That same work of confusing minds and leading into strange paths is repeated when ministers of the gospel lose their bearings and lead others to walk in strange paths, and when efforts draw youth and those who are older into mingling with unbelief that confuses their minds. Balaam causing Israel to sin just before entering the promised land matches a present development in the cause of God that calls for decided warning and decided action now, for it is dangerous so to exalt any man that he becomes confused and confuses the minds of others about the truths given for the last fifty years. Few can see the meaning of this apostasy and the result if allowed to continue, so God's people must decide whether to acknowledge God as the supreme Ruler or to choose misleading arguments and views that, when fully developed, make Him as nothingness in the minds of those who accept them.
Balaam, not permitted to curse Israel directly, laid an indirect snare by enchanting Israel with beautiful Moabitish women to lead them to transgress the law, so that iniquity would be found in them and God's blessing would not rest on them, their forces were greatly weakened, and their enemies no longer feared their power because the presence of the Lord of hosts was not with their armies. The warning for those living in the last days is that if they follow after righteousness and true holiness and keep all God's commandments Satan and his agents will not be permitted to overcome them, while Satan will ever employ his power and influence to mar their unity, defile the purity of their characters, weaken their power for good, and lay snares in a thousand ways. The same danger is applied to growing lightness, vanity, love of ease and pleasure, selfishness, and impurity by which God's people can be caught. The defiant impurity that required the harshest punishment to stop the advance of impurity and crime warns that those who reject the light and advantages given to them and persist in sin face God's judgment.