NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 25:1 Once again, Israel is unfaithful to the Lord. However, unlike earlier times when they were unfaithful—at Sinai (Exodus 25:1) and at Kadesh (Numbers 13:1)—in this case God does not threaten to destroy the whole nation or delay their entry into Canaan. God will fulfill his... [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 25:3 BAAL was the main Canaanite fertility god. ISRAEL was constantly tempted to worship Baal. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 25:4 THE FIERCE ANGER OF THE LORD. Drastic action was the only way to stop the BAAL worship and the prostitution that went with it. HANG THEM IN THE SUN. This most likely refers to the ancient Near Eastern practice of impaling dead bodies on a stick after execution. This was... [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 25:6 A chief’s son (v. Numbers 25:14) openly violates the ban on sexual relationships with foreign women by taking a MIDIANITE princess (v. Numbers 25:15) into a tent near the tabernacle. The Moabites and Midianites who had hired Balaam (Numbers 22:4, Numbers 22:7) had eviden... [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 25:7 PHINEHAS, the high priest’s son, executes the chief’s son and the princess. His action stopped the PLAGUE that God sent to punish the people. Phinehas was rewarded for this by becoming the head of a permanent priestly dynasty (vv. Numbers 25:10). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = docu... [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 25:9 A large number of people died because of the PLAGUE. This parallels the plagues at Sinai and Kadesh (Exodus 32:35; Numbers 14:37; Numbers 16:49). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsBy [ Continue Reading ]
NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 25:16 The ongoing struggle with MIDIAN is reported in ch. Numbers 31:1 and Judges 6:1. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]