Numbers 25-26

Numbers 25-26

Although Israel had definitely been blessed by God, which ultimately led to God becoming known among the surrounding nations, Numbers 25 reminds us that they still had consequences to pay. They had previously decided that they no longer trusted God, and He in turn took away their possession of the Promised Land. In the newly conquered land of Moab, Balak’s territory, several of the Israelites began living with and marrying the Moabites. This was their first mistake, for it was mentioned many times in Genesis how they were to marry within their own people. One of the primary reasons Abraham did not let Isaac marry a Canaanite was so that he would not be influenced by their culture that would draw him away from God. The same was true for Jacob, which is why he left Canaan for so long to find a wife back in their home lands. When the Israelites began living with the Moabites in Numbers 25, they fell to the cultural practices of the Moabites, once again forsaking God. They turned to the gods of the Moabites and angered God greatly. As a result, he had all those who had turned to Baal killed. The total was 24,000 Israelites. God takes His name and His glory seriously. They were specifically commanded to have no other “gods” before Him. He is all they needed, and He had proven that time and time again. We too need to take this command seriously in our own lives. How many times do we place our own “gods” above the only God? It is clear in this passage that God does takes idol worship seriously, and we need to really think about what might be idols in our own lives.

The end of Numbers 25 provides two contrasting images: a man jealous for God and men and women jealous of God. Consider these two distinctions and think about where you might currently stand. First, Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas, is blessed because of how he stood up for God. He did not allow the distractions of the Moabites to deter him from what he knew was right. He instead made atonement on the Israelites behalf, seeking forgiveness from God, recognizing the sin, and trying to set things right between God and Israel. He did not try to cover the sin; he did not try to pretend it did not exist. He instead confronted the sin and sought reconciliation with God. On the other hand, the Moabites were possibly jealous of Israel’s allegiance to God. They had just been overtaken by this God of the Israelites and could have some spite in their actions as well. As a result, they attempted and succeeded in drawing the Israelites away from Him. This led to their own demise in that God punished them for those actions. So the question for us is whether we are living a life that is jealous for God, where He is the only one we live for and we seek forgiveness when sin does come up in our lives, or jealous of God, where we are seeking after some other idol thinking that it will bring more pleasure and security in life than God? If we are not already, we need to be sure and live a life like that of Phinehas.

Most of Numbers 26 records a second census of the people of Israel. The difference between the two censuses is the generation. Whereas Numbers 1 reported what is now known as the older generation, Numbers 26 reported the new generation, the generation that will now inherit the Promised Land. Over those 40 years, the total number of “male” Israelites (for women and children are not counted in this total) only decreased by 2,000. But only Joshua and Caleb would have been in both censuses. So Israel is basically the same size as before, and this is the nation that will receive the fulfillment of God’s promise, the promise to enter the Promised Land. The last verse of the chapter makes note of the new generation, making it clear that everyone except Moses, Joshua, and Caleb had now died off as a result of their disobedience in the wilderness. Before the Israelites can enter the land, however, Moses too would have to die. But God was still using him in making the final preparations for Israel’s journey into the Promised Land. This is such a clear picture of the importance of obedience. It has taken several chapters to get to this point, but it is obvious that God does not put up with disobedience, and when He makes a promise He intends to keep it.

Matt