Numbers 25 -- Balaam Couldn't Curse Them, But He Knew How To Defile Them

“Balaam wasn’t able to curse Israel, but he knew how to defile them and seduce them into sin so great that Jehovah would judge them.  Balaam suggested to Balak that the Moabites and Midianites convene a religious feast to honor Baal, and that they invite the Jews to attend.  The feast would involve idolatry and abominable immorality and would be a flagrant violation of Israel’s covenant with the Lord … What Balaam couldn’t do by appealing to the demons, he accomplished by appealing to the flesh and inviting the Jews to enjoy themselves at Baal Peor,” my commentary said.

God sent a plague that began to kill people, and Moses had to act quickly at God’s command to kill the offending leaders. “One special act of judgment helped to bring the plague to an end and save the rest of the nation.”  Aaron’s grandson Phinehas saw a leader from Simeon taking a Midianite woman into his tent right in view of the tabernacle!  He entered the tent and killed them both and the plague stopped.  But 24,000 Israelites had died by that time.

My commentary also said the man killed had committed “a brazen high-handed sin for which there was no forgiveness.”

I also liked these quotes from my commentary: 

“If God isn’t allowed to rule in a person’s life, He overrules and accomplishes His purposes just the same, but the disobedient servant is the loser.”

“When we deliberately rebel against the revealed will of God and try to change it, we are ‘walking in the way of Balaam.’”

“The doctrine of Balaam is the lie that it’s permissible for saved people to live like unsaved people, that God’s grace gives us the right to disobey God’s law.”

“Any teaching that makes it easy and permissible to sin is false doctrine, because the Word of God was given to us to enable us to live holy lives.”

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

Father, help me to understand the seriousness of brazen, high-handed sin, and continue to remind me never to use Your grace as an excuse to sin.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford