Why would the people of Moab invite the Israelites to the sacrifices of their gods, when they saw them as threatening enemies? Look at the outcome: 24,000 people died in judgment, a number that would have made any military leader proud if he had killed them in battle. Numbers 31:16 reveals that they did it on the advice of Balaam.
Why would the Israelites accept such an invitation? They likely did not intend to abandon God. Some of their reasons likely included establishing peaceful relations with their new neighbors, and getting this potential power of Baal on their side. Both reasons were flawed, for God did not intend for them to have peace with Moab in that manner. Rather, His plan was just what He had already established, that their security would be the fear of Israel that He would put in the other nations’ hearts. He didn’t need the help of their humanly wise efforts to maintain their national security! And of course the power of Baal was nothing, since such a being was simply a figment of man’s imagination. We wonder how their choice could possibly have seemed wise to them, but once again we need to learn from them. Do we rely more heavily on man’s wisdom than on God’s in our own life choices and ways? Do we trust God to take care of us, or do we hedge our bets with building our own security as our culture teaches us to do?
Another reason the people accepted the Moabites’ invitation obviously was the lure of the temptation of sexual sin that was part of the worship of Baal. God called their worship of Baal “joining themselves to Baal.” His view, which is always true, is that alliance with the other god means total separation from the true God. If we think our intentions to split our devotion between God and any other person or thing make any difference, we are wrong. Further, we will fool ourselves if we think we can participate and overcome the temptation. Even if that is true, why would we risk so much?
The leaders had to kill those of their own men who “joined themselves to Baal.” Can you imagine, executing your own people? That is certainly harsh, harsher than our culture can accept. Aren’t you grateful that we are not called to judge our fellow believers? However, there are the directives for church discipline and resolving conflicts in the New Testament that seem harsh to us. Do we treat them as if God couldn’t really mean them?
After the death from the plague that resulted from their sin, they take another census, which verifies that all of the generation doomed to die in the wilderness were actually dead. We generally treasure the promises of God, but in this case, His keeping of His promise is a sobering reminder for us.