Numbers 31:16, commentary and pictures

Through Balaam's counsel the Midianite women drew Israel into trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and a plague struck the congregation. The snare came through an idolatrous feast and licentious worship of Baal and Asheroth with those women, joining idolatry to sexual sin. Balaam knew Israel's safety and prosperity depended on obedience to God's law, so he advised Moab and Midian to seduce them away from God and forfeit His protection. By that seduction he brought upon them the curse he could not pronounce, separating them from God and leaving them exposed to judgment and to their enemies. The history stands as a warning that misleading influence can bring apostasy with grave consequences and must be met with decided action.

Counsel, Sin, and Punishment

Through the counsel of Balaam the Midianite women caused the children of Israel to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and a plague came upon the congregation. Moses rebuked the officers of Israel after the battle for saving those women alive, because those same women had enticed Israel to transgress through idolatry and fornication. The counsel was to draw the Israelites into idolatry and sexual sin through an idolatrous feast and the enticement of the Midianite women. The verse thus identifies Balaam's counsel as the cause of Israel's trespass and of the plague that followed.

The enticement came through licentious worship of Baal and Asheroth, also called Ashtaroth, by which a barrier was created between the people and God. By turning to that idolatry the people were led to transgress the law of God through both idolatry and fornication. Balaam knew that Israel's prosperity and safety depended on obedience to God's law, so he advised the Moabites and Midianites to draw Israel away from God. His plan succeeded in part because many Israelites trusted him as a prophet of God, and he exploited that trust to help bring about their transgression.

Moses commanded the men of war to destroy the women and the male children, since the spared women had been principal offenders and keeping them would have continued to endanger Israel by drawing the people back into idolatry and sexual sin. Balaam had sold Israel for Balak's reward and promotion, and he perished with the Midianites whose favor he had bought at the cost of twenty-four thousand Israelites. He was also killed in the campaign against Midian that judged those who had seduced Israel into sin. This sin through Balaam's counsel happened shortly before Israel entered the promised land, as they prepared to enter Canaan.

The Midianites were judged because they had seduced Israel into sin and were dangerous enemies seeking Israel's destruction, and Israel's victory held them accountable for enticing Israel. God's command to make war and punish the Midianites who vexed and seduced Israel into idolatry was not cruelty contrary to His benevolent character, but the just right of Him who made the world and rules it to punish wicked nations after they filled up the measure of iniquity, using His people as instruments of His wrath. The episode marked the Midianites' final rejection of the light and mercy they had received and the end of their probation.

Protection Lost Through Disobedience

While Israel remained faithful and obedient, God protected them, for their safety and prosperity depended on obedience to His law. Balaam knew this, and therefore advised the Moabites to draw Israel away from God into idolatry and sexual sin at Peor through licentious worship of Baal and Asheroth or Ashtaroth. His plan succeeded in part because many Israelites trusted him as a prophet of God. That counsel caused Israel's trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor and brought a plague upon the congregation.

The scheme was to create a barrier between the people and God by enticing them away from Him into idolatry and sin. By turning to idolatry they would lose divine protection and become vulnerable to their enemies. In this way Balaam sought to bring God's judgment upon them whom he could not curse by word.

Unable to speak a curse against Israel, Balaam brought that curse into effect by seducing the people into sin. When Israel disobeyed God's commandments they separated themselves from Him and were left exposed to the destroyer's power. Ungodly people can likewise use influence and schemes to lead God's people into sin and into open contempt for God's law and rebellion against His authority, bringing guilt upon them and judgment upon the congregation.

Warning Against Misleading Influence

Israel's fall through Balaam's counsel came just before entry into the promised land, and for that reason it stands as a warning to God's people in a like position on the borders of Canaan. Exalting or elevating a man confuses minds regarding the truths God has given His people and leads them away from truth. Misleading counsel and influence can turn God's people from truth into apostasy, with grave consequences for the congregation. That history therefore calls for decided and decisive action against such influence now.

To lead God's people into dangerous paths as they prepare to enter Canaan is to repeat Satan's work against Israel at Peor, where Balaam's counsel drew them into sin and brought the plague upon the congregation. The present apostasy that misleads in the same way is compared to that danger at Peor.