Numbers

Numbers 25: God’s holy anger and peace

Begin in prayer

Before reading how Israel’s unfaithfulness brought judgment, please ask God for sober and humble hearts. Pray that we will hear His holy warning and see the peace Jesus gives through His sacrifice.

Then Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.

Psalm 106:30

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Help us hear the seriousness of sin, and show us the peace Jesus secured through His saving sacrifice. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

At Shittim, Israel joins in sexual unfaithfulness with Moabite women and bows before their gods. The Lord’s anger burns, and He commands the chiefs to be hanged before the sun and the guilty to be killed. While the congregation weeps at the Tent of Meeting, an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman before them. Phinehas follows them into the pavilion and kills them with a spear, and the plague stops after twenty-four thousand have died. God commends his zeal, saying he turned away wrath and made atonement, and promises him a covenant of peace and priesthood. The man was Zimri, a leader from Simeon, and the woman was Cozbi, daughter of a Midianite leader. God commands Israel to strike Midian for its deceit at Peor.

As you read Numbers 25, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God judges unfaithfulness and gives peace through the atonement He appoints.

God has guarded Israel from a curse, yet they now turn away from Him to idols. At Shittim, sexual unfaithfulness and idol worship draw them into serving Baal Peor. God’s jealousy is His holy claim to the people who belong to Him, and His anger brings judgment. While the congregation weeps, Zimri brings Cozbi before them in open defiance. Phinehas kills them, and God commends his zeal as turning away wrath and making atonement for Israel. God promises him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood for his descendants. The Lord also commands Israel to oppose Midian because its deceit led His people into this sin.

How does Numbers 25 show us that God judges unfaithfulness and gives peace through the atonement He appoints?

God’s holy claim means His people must not give themselves to idols.

The women invite Israel to their gods’ sacrifices, and the people eat and bow down. Their sexual unfaithfulness goes with spiritual unfaithfulness to the Lord. Israel joins itself to Baal Peor, and the LORD's anger burns against Israel (verse 3).

God’s anger against defiant sin brings judgment.

God orders judgment on the leaders and those joined to Baal Peor. Zimri brings Cozbi before the grieving congregation, and Phinehas kills them with a spear. Twenty-four thousand die in the plague, so the weight of God’s anger must be heard soberly.

God gives peace through the atonement He appoints.

God declares that Phinehas acted with His jealousy and turned His wrath away. He promises peace and an everlasting priesthood for Phinehas and his descendants because Phinehas made atonement for Israel. Because of this atonement, God does not consume the children of Israel in His jealousy (verse 11).

Memorise

Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.

Numbers 25:12

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what sin am I treating lightly that I need Jesus to forgive?

God tells Phinehas, “I give to him my covenant of peace.” The plague has stopped, and God says His wrath has been turned away. His holy anger against sin must be faced before there can be peace.

We have also given our hearts to what God forbids. Jesus suffered God’s anger for His people, bearing their guilt at the cross. Hebrews 7 verse 27 explains that He offered Himself once for all. He rose from the dead, and His completed sacrifice is sufficient for everyone who trusts Him.

So turn from your sin and believe in Jesus. Forgiveness and peace with God are given to those who come through Him. Please do not excuse the sin that made His death necessary. Come to the Savior who has borne judgment, and ask Him for a faithful heart that loves the Lord.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God’s judgment against unfaithfulness is serious, and please explain the events soberly without graphic detail. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for peace through atonement and the Savior who has borne His people’s judgment, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.”

Luke 13:5

Holy God, forgive us for treating sin lightly and giving our hearts to what You forbid. Thank You for the peace Jesus secured by bearing His people’s judgment. Please turn each of us from sin and teach us to trust Him. Give us faithful hearts that honour You this week. Amen.