NOTES for Num 25:1-18
1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. |
2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. |
3 And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. |
4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. |
5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor. |
6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. |
7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up 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 belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. |
9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. |
10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. |
12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: |
13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. |
14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. |
15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian. |
16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them: |
18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake. |
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The story with the pagan wives is revealing and can, at first glance, become a good illustration of the widespread idea of God's punishment for sin. The sin is indeed evident, and one of the most terrible: the matter concerns apostasy, betrayal of God, and the Torah values faithfulness to God more than life. That is why the execution or killing of an apostate was not considered a sin; it was thought better for an apostate to die at once than to go on living in the state in which he found himself after apostasy.
It can seem that God too confirms the correctness of such a view: the epidemic that covers the camp because of the sin committed is excellent evidence of this. Meanwhile, already the Old Testament prophets said that God does not want the destruction of sinners; He wants their turning, their repentance, and their salvation. Why, then, do disasters like those described in this chapter occur? The answer to this question must be sought not so much in the religious sphere as in the realm of the spirit.
After all, it is not so important to God, and most often not important at all, whether we follow one or another religious rule. The commandments are another matter; here there are not rules, but God's will, God's intentions addressed to us so that we would know which spiritual and life path God considers best for us. We are free to follow this path or not; the choice here is completely ours. But in a fallen world God can guarantee us full spiritual life and normal relationships with Himself only on the path He Himself has determined.
The fallen world in general is a spiritually dangerous place, and God deliberately marks with His signs the safe path along which we will come to Him and not lose ourselves in emptiness. It is like a trail through a swamp: if you walk strictly following the marks left on the trees, there is a chance of getting out of the swamp, or at least of coming to a place where people will help and tell you what to do next. But if you neglect the marks, the rescue team, led by the Savior, will punish no one, but the chance of drowning in the swamp in that case approaches one hundred percent.
And once a person has ended up in the swamp because of his own disregard for the signs, it makes little sense to accuse the One who placed those signs: He did not want to harm anyone, but He also cannot force anyone to follow the signs by compulsion. The epidemic described in the book is one of the many disasters the people encounter when they leave God's path for a spiritual swamp. There anything at all can really happen, but what does God have to do with it?
Readings for 17 December 2025
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