I hope you didn’t miss the miracle of inspiration in the previous lessons. Look who’s listening!
Did you wonder how Moses recorded the dignitaries’ conversation to Balaam in far-off Mesopotamia? Or heard the mountaintop arguments between Balak and Balaam? God was standing by, of course, and dictated it all to Moses. Just a reminder: God is standing by as well when we grouse or gossip, too. Being the only creatures on the planet who can speak, God considers our words a stewardship. Jesus warned “that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Mt 12:36). Just saying. Now it looked like Israel had escaped unscathed from Balak’s attempts to weaken them. But not so fast. In the up-close telling of the events of Numbers 25, it may be hard to see Balaam’s and Balak’s influence in corrupting the Israelites, but here’s how the Lord Jesus assesses it. “Balaam…taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality” (Rev 2:14). Israelite men noticed some attractive Moabite women. We imagine them being invited for supper. “There’s this little thing we do before we eat,” says the young lady’s father, “and we’d appreciate it if you would join us. We offer some of the dinner to our god, Baal. You do something similar, don’t you?” It’s described like this. “The people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor” (Num 25:1-3). Strong men may be able to stand in the face of battle, but then fall to the wiles of a woman. Such was the case here. “These things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted” (1 Cor 10:6).