Wicked Advice, Numbers 25:1

This post concerns wicked advice given by Balaam.

Wicked Advice discusses what Balaam suggested to Balak, king of the Moabites.

As the Children of Israel traveled northward toward the promised land they came to Moab, a country that bordered the Dead Sea and the future land of Rueben. Previously, they had completely obliterated the Amorites. This caused Balak, the Moabite king, to fear. So, he sent for a seer, Balaam, to curse Israel.

At first, Balaam would not go and curse Israel, because God said ‘no.’ Balak again sent for Balaam. God told Balaam he could go. But he could only say what God directed him to say.

During Balaam’s trip to Barak, God gave him a strong warning by allowing his donkey to speak and by sending an angel who could destroy him. This verbal and visible warning, no doubt, caused Balaam to firmly determine that he would only say what God allowed him to say.

Subsequently, Balaam blessed Israel on four occasions.

But before Balaam went home, he gave wicked advice to Balak as to how to trip up Israel. It happened, Numbers 25:1. “While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.”

Subsequently, a number of Israelites accepted this invitation and sinned against God by eating food offered to the idol and committing sexual immorality. Therefore, God sent a plague and 24,000 died.

Later, God directed the complete destruction of the Midianites in Moab. All the males including Balaam were killed, but not the females. Moses remembered and showed anger, Numbers 31:16. “Have you let all the women live? …on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor…”

Thereafter, they killed all the females that had known men. Only the young girls remained alive.

Let us live faithfully to God and repel the temptations to sin sexually.

So, what did we learn?

1.We must obey God exactly, including laws on sexuality.

2.Balaam’s desire for fame and fortune caused him to suggest that eating idol sacrifices and sexual impurity would bring Israel into sin.

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