Sermon: The cost of salvation (Num 25:1-18)

THE HIGH COST OF SIN AND SALVATION (Num 25:1-18):

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2015

Many people rack up more bills than they have money to pay, but sometimes it is unavoidable.

Jack and his wife Jill, both graduate students, recently celebrated the arrival of their first child. At Jill’s insistence, they paid their entire medical bill and were now worried about meeting other payments. They were discussing their sad financial situation one evening when their son demanded a diaper change. As Jill leaned over the baby's crib, Jack heard her mutter, “The only thing in the house that’s paid for…and it leaks.”

Many people encounter the common difficulty of having more bills than money to pay, but sometimes it is avoidable. Israel got involved with idolatry before realizing (or ignoring) what it would exact from them, especially given The High Cost of Sin and Salvation.

The people of Israel had left Egypt the previous year¹ and had encountered few peoples on their trek through the wilderness. A year had also passed since they left Mount Sinai, where Moses received the prohibition in the Decalogue against idolatry.² The Israelites disobeyed that command with the golden calf incident soon after they received it, and they suffered for it.³ Nevertheless…

I. The Problem of Paganism in Israel (Num 25:1-3)

…continued to haunt the nation.

Num 25:1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.⁴ And the LORD’S anger burned against them.⁵

This was the first group of people they encountered since leaving Egypt, people who seemed glad to meet them and who went out of their way to greet them.⁶ Unfortunately, this encounter led the Israelites away from God. He had previously warned them against fraternizing with the pagans they would meet.⁷

Exod 23:24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices.

In Num 25, the Lord is angry with the people because they have disobeyed a cardinal yet simple rule: “Do not worship any other god” (Exod 34:14a).⁸

But is idol worship all that bad? Should people not be tolerant of others, even accepting and inclusive of their beliefs? Surely God would prefer that everyone just “get along.” What is His objection? …Idolatry is bad because…

A. It defiles the people.

…and…

B. It displeases the Lord.

Idolatry is not a neutral activity, a victimless crime. It contaminates the person who engages in it, not physically but ritually, rendering him unfit for inclusion among God’s holy people. Although the Lord had not yet defined explicitly all the sources of ceremonial impurity, He would indicate later (what people already understood) that one of those sources is contact with idols, which He would eventually remedy:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. (Ezek 36:25b) Cf. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols…. (Ezek 37:23a)

Moreover, God had made clear His distaste for it by His many prohibitions of it.⁹ Such was the problem of paganism in Israel.

You will probably not have any contact with idol worship, but there are other sources of defilement you will encounter and must guard against. Jesus speaks about what comes from the heart: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’” (Matt 15:19-20a). You must guard against your own evil inclinations. Even if you surrendered to God years ago and have walked with Him since then, you “have [not] already been made perfect” yet (as those closest to you will probably confirm; Phil 3:12).¹⁰ Stay vigilant and guard your heart.

The problem of paganism in Israel is external as much as internal. Nevertheless, God’s disapproval does not dissuade His people from disobeying Him, and they suffer…

II. The Penalty of Paganism in Israel (Num 25:4-5)

Num 25:4 The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD’S fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” 5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.”¹¹

God does not leave dealing with this crime to Moses’ discretion but gives him detailed instructions how he should proceed. For the perpetrators, there is no getting off with a stern scolding or with a slap on the wrist. Idolatry is not a misdemeanor; it is one of the most serious offences in Israelite law, along with…

• Premeditated murder

If a man schemes and kills another man deliberately…put him to death. (Exod 21:14)

• Kidnapping

Anyone who kidnaps another…must be put to death. (Exod 21:16)

• Sodomy

Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death. (Exod 22:19)

• Sabbath desecration¹²

Anyone who desecrates [the Sabbath] must be put to death. (Exod 31:14b)

• Child sacrifice¹³

Any[one] who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. (Lev 20:2a)

• Abusing one’s parents¹⁴

If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. (Lev 20:9a)

• Adultery

Both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. (Lev 20:10b)

• Homosexuality

If a man lies with a man…both of them….must be put to death. (Lev 20:13)

The inclusion of idolatry among other capital crimes lends weight to the gravity of this offense. It is an affront against God, who says, “I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isa 42:8b). Hence, the consequence must fit the crime. Note also those God holds most responsible: “the leaders of these people” (v. 4). “It is a serious thing to be a leader” (Ashley 1993:518).

A. The sentence will be public.

The Israelites will carry it out “in broad daylight before the LORD,” probably near the tabernacle, where Moses receives other instructions from God.

B. The sentence will be prominent.

The major offenders are “the leaders of these people,” but their elevated social status accords them no immunity or leniency in this matter.

C. The sentence will be personal.

The head of the guilty party’s own clan must carry out the sentence, a figure well known to the condemned, and not some anonymous, hooded executioner.

However much you may be aware of these transgressions happening in society, God does not expect you to execute the guilty (which is surely a relief to them and to you). What God does want is for you to eschew and expose the guilty: “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph 5:11). When others question or approve of activities that God condemns, you should speak out lest they interpret your silence as approval.

Death is the penalty of paganism in Israel, but execution is not the only consequence of the nation’s sin. There is also…

III. The Plague of Paganism in Israel (Num 25:6-9)

Num 25:6 Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman’s body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9 but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.¹⁵

Both this display of sinful behavior and the divine judgment that follows are similar to the golden calf incident at Sinai. In Exod 32, the Israelites were alone in their sin, being encouraged by no other nation. There, the people “sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry” (v. 6).¹⁶ At that time, the Lord’s judgment was two-fold: the part the Levites did (a mass execution) and the part the Lord did (a devastating plague).¹⁷

In Num 25, the Israelites were not alone in their sin, being encouraged by the Moabites. Here, “the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods” (vv. 1b-2a).¹⁸ Again, the Lord’s judgment was two-fold: the part they did (a mass execution) and the part He did (a devastating plague).¹⁹

Even as disease ran rampant through the camp…

A. A disobedient couple paraded their defiance.

until…

B. A devout priest proved his devotion.

What made Phinehas think that killing the perpetrators would put an end to the plague? We do not know. There is no indication that he acted on God’s orders. Nevertheless, he did act in support of God’s interests, an understanding biblical authors acknowledge.²⁰ In any case, he acted in faith, and God honored his faith. Recalling this incident, the author of Psalm 106, in language strikingly similar to Moses’ description of Abraham (and to Paul’s in his letter to the Romans), writes: “Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the [disease] was checked. This was credited to him as righteousness….” (Ps 106:30-31).²¹

Your righteousness, like Abraham’s, is a product of your faith. As Paul writes, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom 4:3). Still, God expects you who claim to serve Him to demonstrate your faith by your actions. James writes, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do” (Jms 2:18). Just as Phinehas demonstrated his faith by acting in God’s interests when he intervened to stop the plague, so you must demonstrate your faith by acting in God’s interests, whatever they may be.²²

Countering the plague of paganism in Israel is the decisive action of Phineas, but that still leaves…

IV. The Punishment of Paganism in Israel

Num 25:10 The LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

Because engaging in pagan practices is contrary to God’s will, it invites a fearful divine response. God is angry, and He expresses that anger by afflicting Israel with a plague. Presumably death is quickly spreading throughout the community.²³

A. The priest redirects God’s rage.

Israel’s idolatry brings God’s wrath upon the nation, anger so great that it threatens to destroy all He has accomplished thus far for this people.²⁴ Were it not for Phinehas’s intervention the death toll would be worse. While God commends Phinehas’s action, He reveals something about the Levite’s motive that is rare: “he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them.”²⁵

B. The priest respects God’s reputation.²⁶

Perhaps Phinehas heard about how Moses successfully appealed to God’s reputation when Israel faced extinction for a similar transgression:

Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. (Exod 32:12)

Phinehas employs the same strategy here, albeit in deed rather than in word. It is a tactic that does more than rescue Israel from certain annihilation.

C. The priest receives God’s reward.

Not only does the quick action by Phinehas stop the plague, it earns him an enduring position among his fellow priests. The LORD calls it my “covenant of peace,” a term that signifies a relationship between God and man characterized by an intimate harmony.²⁷

When you address God in prayer, do not just present Him with a list of requests but give Him reason why He should grant your requests? The many prayers in scripture offer examples of how you can make your prayers effective. While you cannot compel God to respond, you can eliminate common impediments to answered prayer (e.g., personal gratification; Jms 4:3).²⁸ When the king of Assyria besieged Jerusalem, Hezekiah appealed to God’s reputation: “Deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God” (2 Kgs 19:19). This example and others show there is good precedence for strengthening your petition by appealing to God’s self-interest, such as how it would bolster His reputation.²⁹

Idolatry is a recurring problem, so God takes certain preemptive measures for…

V. The Prevention of Paganism in Israel (Num 25:14-18)

Num 25:14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family. 16 The LORD said to Moses, 17 “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them, 18 because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor.”

Whether it is Israel’s proximity to heathen cultures, having to live in relatively close contact with people who do not worship the Lord, or the general propensity people have to go their own way, God recommends that Moses take certain precautions to prevent a recurrence of the problem.

A. God’s people must recognize the ungodly.

The ungodly seem to follow a playbook designed to lure the weak and unsuspecting into a life of sin, doing what displeases the Lord. Being familiar with their tactics may prevent a recurrence of the problem.³⁰

B. God’s people must remember the ungodly.

Do not let them draw you into the same situations. Although they appeared to be friendly, “they treated you as enemies” by enticing you to sin.

What measures have you taken to prevent sin from gaining a foothold in your life? There are probably places you will not go and people you will not befriend. Are there other lines you will only cross occasionally, and are those lines moveable? Do they adjust as the situation changes? Should they? Some issues are morally neutral, and you may adapt to them as you wish. Other issues are not neutral, but you may treat them as if they are, until you get caught or until someone challenges you to look more carefully. In such doubtful matters, it is best that you “avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thess 5:22).

The Israelites’ enticement by the pagans of Moab and Midian almost ends in the complete destruction of God’s people, and only the death of two guilty individuals prevents the situation from getting much worse.³¹ Such is The High Cost of Sin and Salvation.³² Thankfully, someone else paid the high cost of your sin so that you could experience salvation.³³

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.