While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them.

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."

Numbers 25:1-4, NIV 

I must warn you at the outset that the lesson from today's study is no fun at all. But learn it we must if we are to ever repent and live in the way that God commands.

We are often tempted to think that God is not serious when it comes to joining the worldly in their sin. Israel had been cooped up for a long time in Egypt and the desert and were ready to cut loose a bit. So they decided that it would be okay to take part in a little sexual immorality and idol worship - after all, what could be the harm? 

They soon found out!

In our modern times, we do not see many people attempting to serve Baal, but we have just about everything else. We celebrate the cutting loose with sexual immorality and the chasing after the idols of our modern age and we think, "what could be the harm?" We celebrate people living together in sin and children out of wedlock and homosexuality and men who say they are women and visa versa. And we think that since God does not punish us immediately that the rules no longer apply... but someday we will find out otherwise, if we do not repent.

Sometimes the study of the Old Testament is no fun because it makes us realize that God does not share our view of worldly behavior, but such studies are important because they remind us that God really is serious about sin. For those who might be tempted to think, "That's just Old Testament times", they might want to consider the following passage from the New Testament for God's views on immorality today:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

I Corinthians 7:7-10, NIV

Today is day 22 of the 30 day challenge to study through the books of Moses, with Numbers 23-25 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you seek His will and do your best to live your life according to His holy Word!