Focus Chapters:
- Numbers 25-26
Standout Verse(s):
Numbers 25:1-3 NLT
While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women. These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the Lord ’s anger to blaze against his people.
Observation (s):
- The Israelite men started out with the sin of having sexual relations with foreign women who had different beliefs. Eventually, this sin morphed into an additional sin after they were invited to attend sacrifices and then enticed into worshipping the Moabite gods.
While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women. These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab.
Application:
A rolling stone gathers no moss…but sin does. The truth is, demons love to entertain. Letting one demon through the door gives him leeway to invite others in for a party. You start out with a small white lie and before you know it, it evolves into an unnecessary lying habit that you can’t seem to control. You take an occasional coin or dollar bill from your mom’s purse and before you know it, you graduate to stealing bigger things and battling jealousy and covetousness. This is the same trend that led to the downfall of the Israelite men:
- They sinned by sleeping with the Moabite women.
- On the periphery of idolatry, they were then invited to attend the sacrifices to the Moabite gods.
- They moved from the periphery into active participation by feasting with the Moabites and worshipping their gods.
- Their active participation in idol worship incited God’s anger against.
As Christians, sometimes sinning starts out small. A small ball of snow that gets bigger as we are enticed into getting deeper and deeper. Before we know it, we are in over our heads and have gone against everything that God expects of us. What sins are you entertaining? What demons are you giving leave to enter into your temple and entice you away from God? It is time to clean house and close the door.
