Sin and Punishment
The fact that these men fell into a trap didn’t, obviously, excuse their sin. If they had obeyed the Lord to begin with, if they had kept His commandments, if they had done what they knew was right and not slowly opened themselves up to temptation, this dreadful apostasy and suffering never would have occurred. No doubt, at first, they had no intention of going as far as they did. After all, they were just going to a party, that’s all. And because Balaam, a prophet of their own God, had invited them, what could be wrong with that? How quickly, though, things got out of hand.
What other examples in the Bible can you find of people opening the door to sin that eventually led to horrific consequences, consequences that they probably never imagined would come?
No question, all through the Bible we see this same thing happening, again and again. From Eve in Eden to Judas in Jerusalem, those who should have known better, those who had been warned, those who had great light, nevertheless chose to ignore that light and—no doubt justifying and rationalizing their actions—fell into sins that brought devastating consequences. Who of us, perhaps, hasn’t experienced this same thing in their own lives? God calls us to obey Him, not because He’s a demanding tyrant, but because He loves His children and knows what’s best for us.
Read Numbers 25:4, 5. Why such a strong reaction? See also vss. 8, 9. What lesson can we take away from this for ourselves?
Think how painful it must have been for Israelites to have to kill other Israelites. Indeed, it seems as though each tribe may have had the responsibility of executing those of their own who were involved in this apostasy. Thus, some might have had to execute members of their immediate family! And to do it in broad daylight (literally “in front of the sun”). It must have been a terrible experience for the whole camp.
| What do you do with someone close to you who is partaking of a sinful practice that can have a harmful impact on you and others? What is your responsibility and duty in such a situation? To whom can you turn for help in knowing how to respond? |
No comments:
Post a Comment