July 22, 2019
It's a Slow Fade
Numbers 25
Kenny Rodgers
Central Truth
Nobody simply wakes up and decides to commit adultery, murder, or theft. Long before acts such as these are committed, the individual has entertained lust, anger, or greed in his mind.
Key Verse | Numbers 25:1
While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.
Numbers 25
Baal Worship at Peor
1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang 1 25:4 Or impale them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”
6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
The Zeal of Phinehas
10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”
14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.
16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”
Dive Deeper | Numbers 25
How did this happen? Have you ever asked yourself that question when faced with the effects of your sin choices? I have, and I am sure the Israelites in this passage did as well.
So how did this happen? How did 24,000 people die by a plague here? Well, let's start from the beginning. We see that "[w]hile Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women" (Numbers 25:1, NIV). This, in turn, led to the worship of foreign, false gods, stirring the Lord's anger and causing Him to bring judgment upon the land.
There are numerous reasons that many of these Israelites chose to pursue false gods. I want to focus on the Israelites that likely never really planned on doing this—the ones that thought they would never arrive at a place like that. Rather, they just "wound up" committing these egregious acts. For them, the critical point was not at the end, but at the beginning, when they chose to entertain lust in their mind. It is the same with all of us.
I have been a believer for most of my life and have been especially on mission for Christ since I joined Watermark. I am also married to an amazing woman.
But I am not immune to committing adultery. I cannot imagine ever actually doing that. But I can imagine allowing my eyes to lustfully linger on an NFL cheerleader, an act that is equally disgusting to God (see Matthew 5:27-28).
If I then chose to give into those lustful thoughts and feed them on a consistent basis, it would only be a matter of time before my sin progressed into something much more. Sins of the mind would ultimately turn into sins of the flesh, and the consequences would grow and grow. So today, I must win the battle of the mind by taking all of my thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We all need to. Otherwise, sometime in the future, we will be asking ourselves, "How did this happen?"
Discussion Questions
1. What sinful thoughts are you currently struggling with: anger, lust, greed, ungratefulness, jealousy? Any others? Whom can you share this with today?
2. Are you overwhelmed by past sin choices and current struggles, asking yourself, "How did this happen?" If so, know that you are not alone and that there is no sin too great for God to forgive. Today is the day to repent and turn to Him. I would also encourage you to check out re:generation, Watermark’s spiritual recovery ministry. For additional information on re:generation, follow the hyperlink, or click here.
3. In this chapter, we also see Phinehas dealing with the sin around him and showing great zeal for the Lord in confronting it. Is there sin occurring around you that you need to confront? Pray through how you can humbly approach the situation.
4. Have you heard the Casting Crowns song titled "Slow Fade"? If not, give it a listen. It ably illustrates the idea of sin’s progression.