Fooling around with Moabites 24,002 dead.
Today's smiting comes from
Numbers 25 verses 1-13.
Background
You may recall that Lot, the only righteous man saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, had a couple of virgin daughters. After their escape these virginal daughters get Lot rip roaring drunk two nights in a row and then raped him during this bender. The offspring of Lot and his oldest daughter was Moab. As Gen 19 tells us.
37And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
God tells the children of Israel to not disturb the land of the Moabites.
Deuteronomy 2:9 And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
God has blessed the Moabites by delivering their land up to them from giants.
12The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.
Moses and company, of course, comply with God's orders and only ask for passage through their cousins' territory to which the Moabites say no forcing the Israelis to march around. This act combined with the hiring of
Balaam (the only known man to have a conversation with a donkey) to attempt to curse the Israelites, caused God to exclude them from entering the congregation forever.
Deuteronomy 23:3-4 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:
Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
The story
I guess the Moabites learned that they could turn the people of Israel away from God by sending their women to seduce them because after the incident with Balaam (Numbers 22-24), the Word tells us.
Numbers 25
1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
Race mixing never ends well because it leads to following other gods.
2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor (a baal associated with Mount Pe‘or.)
: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
God demands an act of contrition.
4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
Moses is going to slaughter anyone who was involved in the worship of Baal.
And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
Talk about being stupid and arrogant. Zimri walks right in front of Moses and the assembled Israelites who are prostrate bowing and begging for forgiveness with some Midianite whore named Cozbi.
Not this Cozbi!
6And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Two dead by spear.
7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
Wait, what plague? The one that the author forgot to tell us that was raging through the Israelites as punishment for whoring with the daughters of Moab.
God only smites 24,000 for the transgression.
9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
Thank God Phinehas killed Zimri and Cozbi or God was going to kill everyone.
10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
Did God see Phinehas' act as murder? Of course not. God rewards him for stabbing the two God mockers.
12Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
13And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
Thus ends today's lesson. God hates race mixing and worshipers of other gods. God also rewards those willing to smite in his name, according to the Bible.
