Numbers 25:1-18 - Unequal Yoking with Unbelievers

Numbers 25:1-18

Israel’s Harlotry in Moab

1 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel.

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”

6 And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. 9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

10 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. 12 Therefore say, Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; 13 and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”

14 Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian.

16 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 17 “Harass the Midianites, and attack them; 18 for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Unequal yoking with unbelievers leads to idolatrous and immoral worldly living as seen with God’s people here and warned of to us in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 for we of God who are in Christ.  This has warning not changed.  Israel began by sleeping with the ungodly women of Moab their adversary and it led to the adoption of their idolatrous worship of dead gods in place of the Living One, which led to spiritual adultery in addition to the physical sexual actions to their own corruption and demise.  This pattern is unfortunately seen among those who name the name of Christ today in direct disobedience (2 Timothy 2:19) to God’s word given for our good to keep us from the passing pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) of sin and their consequences.  Back under the Old Testament law the offenders were taken out and hung in the sun to appease the LORD; under the New Testament of grace in Christ, we are told to seek repentance and reconciliation or face the consequences of being put out of the church as discipline for future restoration to repentance.  The common theme is to keep from sexual immorality and adultery in body and soul, a recurring theme throughout the scriptures, especially observed in the lessons for us in the Old Testament accounts of God’s people struggling to learn these things.  We are hardly different since we still have that fallen nature of sin staining us, yet we have the Spirit of God in Christ to enable us to mortify these desires (Romans 8:12-13) instead of acting on them, and we have the grace to confess our sins (1 John 1:19) and be forgiven for such things which defy God’s goodwill for us as we grow to be like Him day by day (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Peter 1:15-16) in holiness that we do not offend our Lord with uncleanliness of body and soul.  We see in this passage that Phinehas the son the son of Aaron the priest, interceded to turn back God’s wrath from the children of Israel.  We have one far greater in the person of the Son of God who has turned back the wrath of God on our sin that we might come to Him not only for unbreakable salvation from sin’s eternal penalty, but also to find forgiveness when we continue to fall and fail afterwards.  He alone has made everlasting atonement to cover our sins (Romans 5:15, 18), both inherited at birth through Adam (Romans 5:12, 14) and committed daily now as we confess and forsake them.  We certainly do not kill the unbelievers who have relations with our brothers and sisters in Christ as was expected under the covenant of works, for we can simply sever contact with the unbelievers whom the offenders were involved with.  There can be no doubt that continued sinning of sexual immorality will lead the weak believer to compromise the Lord and act contrary to His word if the relationships are allowed to continue.  We are told to flee from sin, not excuse it away or defy any attempt to dissuade the sinner from offending God.  This goes for all forms of sexual immorality as seen in many forms and accepted as acceptable today.   Repentance and faith of obedience to grace is the order of the day for all who name the name of Jesus Christ today, avoiding unequal yoking with unbelievers that leads to corruption and destruction.