Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Friday June 5 2026
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Psalm 106:28-They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to the dead.
As you will recall, Balaam the sorcerer had been hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the Jewish people. Being greatly tempted by the allure of promised riches (2 Peter 2:15-16), Balaam was rebuked by both an angel of God and even by his own donkey (Numbers 22). Afterward, to the consternation of king Balak, he instead blessed the Jewish people instead of cursing them (Numbers 22-24).
However, we then read that the people of Israel began practicing a very grievous sin: worship of pagan gods that culminated in ritual sexual immorality coupled with child sacrifice.
Numbers 25:1-3-Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel.
Prager reminds us of the seriousness of this situation.
It is almost certain Israelite men engaged in idolatrous temple sex. That is what the surrounding nations practiced, and that is almost certainly what the Torah is referring to when it says the Moabite women led the Israelite men to worship Moabite gods. Indeed, the god mentioned in the next verse, Baal-peor, was a fertility god. Therefore, the Israelite men not only abandoned God for a false god, but they also overthrew a central aim of the Torah—the de-sexualization of religion. The Torah is adamant that the family and religion be completely de-sexualized. Both were an uphill battle. In fact, incest is still widely practiced (particularly males with underage female family members).1…“What most angered God was not that Israelite men engaged in sex with, or even married, women of another nation. After all, Moses had married a Midianite woman (to be sure, he had no choice; he lived in Midian after fleeing Egypt). In this regard, Rashi cites the Talmud: “They [the sinning Israelite men] said to him: ‘Moses, is this Midianite woman forbidden or permissible as a wife? If you say she is forbidden, then who made Jethro’s daughter, a Midianite woman, permissible to you?’” 2 Rather, what most angered God was that the Israelite men worshiped a false god—a religion that included human sacrifice—and did so through temple prostitution. (Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Numbers: God and Man in the Wilderness, 461-462 (Kindle Edition): New York, NY: Regnery Faith)
The connection of the false gods (Baal) of Moab, especially in this location (Pepe), cannot be overstated.
Yeesh. But that’s what’s in view here: Baal-Peor was apparently lord of the entrance to the underworld. Yes, the Canaanites believed the entrance to the underworld was at Bashan. But both Molech (or Milcom) and Chemosh, the national gods of Ammon and Moab, which controlled most of the land east of the Jordan from the Dead Sea to Mount Hermon, demanded child sacrifice. Veneration of the dead and appeasing the gods of the dead through human sacrifice appear to have been the norm in this region east of the Dead Sea. This was also the general location of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, I try not to put too much stock in the influence of territorial spirits. After all, God created us with free will. But you have to admit this is an awful lot of evil concentrated in a small area. (Derek P. Gilbert, Last Clash of the Titans: The Second Coming of Hercules, Leviathan, and the Prophesied War Between Jesus Christ and the Gods of Antiquity, 194 (Kindle Edition): Crane, MO: Defender Publishing).
By seducing the Hebrew men into covenants of marriage with Moabite women and binding them to the false gods of that nation (which included ritual fornication and child sacrifice), king Balak could have destroyed the national identity of the Jewish people and destabilized God’s entire program to bring the Messiah into the world. God intervened, therefore, ordering the deaths of all the leaders of the Jewish people who were involved in these terrible actions (Numbers 25:4-5). He also killed by means of a plague all of the Jewish males who committed these foul deeds (Numbers 25:9).
What may we learn from all of this?
First, try to be more mindful of the mercies of God in your life. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), and how grateful we should be for every moment of life that we have (Psalm 90:12) and for every blessing (Psalm 100:4-5; James 1:17)!
While we are on the subject of gratitude, consider that the Bible makes it clear that Balaam was instrumental in advising king Balak that led to this plan of action.
Numbers 31:16-Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
How sad that Balaam did not turn to the Lord after the mercies and kindness that Gos had shown to the wayward prophet. The Jewish people also were often unthankful of the amazing grace that God displayed to them. May we always be a people who are humbly grateful (Psalm 107; Colossians 3:15).
Second, the enemies of God will often try and overcome you directly through adversaries and difficult times (as Balak did in hiring Balaam the sorcerer to curse God’s people so that they could be destroyed by his armies and driven from the land of Moab). Yet notice what happens! When that strategy failed, Balak (at the devious advice of Balaam) tried to destroy Israel in another way.
Make no mistake about it: the devil is out for blood!
If one plan doesn’t work in destroying you, Satan will try another. He is an expert at “switching gears” to achieve his goals.
If the serpent cannot defeat you by direct and obvious confrontation, then he will attempt the same through indirect and not-so-obvious manipulation. When termination fails, attempts at assimilation will follow. If his efforts to crush you do not succeed, then the enemy will attempt to compromise you. The devil will tempt you through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17).
Stand ready!
Father, help us to be wise to the deceptive strategies of Satan. Amen.