Reflections on Numbers 25

Numbers 25 (Contemporary English Version)

1. While the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men had sex with Moabite women.
   
2. These women then invited the men to ceremonies where sacrifices were offered to their gods. The men ate the meat from the sacrifices and worshiped the Moabite gods.
   
3. The LORD was angry with Israel because they had worshiped the god Baal Peor.
   
4. So he said to Moses, "Take the Israelite leaders who are responsible for this and have them killed in front of my sacred tent where everyone can see. Maybe then I will stop being angry with the Israelites."
   
5. Moses told Israel's officials, "Each of you must put to death any of your men who worshiped Baal."
   
6. Later, Moses and the people were at the sacred tent, crying, when one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman to meet his family.
   
7. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the priest, saw the couple and left the crowd. He found a spear
   
8. and followed the man into his tent, where he ran the spear through the man and into the woman's stomach. The LORD immediately stopped punishing Israel with a deadly disease,
   
9. but twenty-four thousand Israelites had already died.
   
10. The LORD said to Moses,
    
11. "In my anger, I would have wiped out the Israelites if Phinehas had not been faithful to me.
    
12. But instead of punishing them, I forgave them. So because of the loyalty that Phinehas showed, I solemnly promise that he and his descendants will always be my priests."
    
13. (SEE 25:12)
    
14. The Israelite man that was killed was Zimri son of Salu, who was one of the leaders of the Simeon tribe.
    
15. And the Midianite woman killed with him was Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite clan leader named Zur.
    
16. The LORD told Moses,
    
17. "The Midianites are now enemies of Israel, so attack and defeat them! They tricked the people of Israel into worshiping their god at Peor, and they are responsible for the death of Cozbi, the daughter of one of their own leaders."
    
18. (SEE 25:17)
    
    

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    At the conclusion of Balaam's efforts to evoke a curse on the Israelites on behalf of the Moabite king, Numbers 24:25 says, "Balaam then arose and went back to his homeland, and Balak also went his way," suggesting that their dealings on this matter were concluded. But the events of chapter 25 are a result of Balaam's advice. Although he couldn't elicit a curse on Israel from Israel's God, Balaam no doubt still received his reward from the king by suggesting the way they could weaken the Israelites - seduce them.
    
    It was through their temple prostitutes that the Moabites seduced the Israelites, drawing them not only into immorality but also into idolatry. Idolatry was the worse sin Israel could commit, bringing on them the strongest and swiftest action from God.  When God told Moses of His judgment on the Israelites, Moses made no plea on their behalf as he had done in previous incidents. God told Moses to "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD so that His burning anger may turn away from Israel." But this was not all. Evidently the Lord had already started a plague among the people. Verse 8 says that once this judgment by the sword was completed, "the plague on the Israelites was stopped."
    
    Apparently the tribe of Simeon was the main perpetrator of this sin. Whether it was this tribe that was most susceptible to the sin or the tribe into which the seduction was introduced is not known. But the involvement of the Simeonite men in this sin was influenced by their tribal leader, Zimri. The text tells us how Zimri brazenly brought a Moabite woman into the Israelite camp and into his tent in full view of the people. This was just after the judgment by sword had taken place and the people were still weeping as a result. Phinehas, a Levite, saw the couple enter Zimri's tent, and was so incensed that he grabbed up a spear, went into the tent, and ran it through both Zimri and the woman, Cozbi. This pleased the Lord and He stopped the plague that had broken out in the camp. But not before it killed 24,000 people.
    
    By human standards we may judge this to be unjust and violent action. I cannot claim to fully understand or explain God's actions in this incident or with any others, for that matter. But I know God to be just in all His dealings and choose not to be so presumptuous as to be His judge. As Creator of the universe who is all-wise and all-knowing, I accept that He has sufficient reason, of which I know nothing, for such judgments.