The failure at Peor

...sounds like an episode of the Star Wars saga

Numbers 30:1 - 31:54

This story really has it's roots back in chapter 25 but I wanted to look at it here because this is where it comes to a conclusion.

While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with 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 Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them.
(Num 25:1-3)

Now, here's where it ties together in chapter 31:15
Moses speaking:
"Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advie and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that the plague struck the Lord's people."

So apparently Balaam, after pronouncing a blessing on the Hebrews three times, made a couple suggestions to the Moabites as to how they might corrupt the Israelites through immorality and idolatry. We don't have that explicitly from his story but we see the connection here.
There are several crucial things happening here all at once:

• Balaam has had direct revelation, a direct prophetic message from God, which he then puts behind him to scheme with the Moabites, ostensibly for profit.
• The Israelites are being tested. They've been instructed to be a "people apart" but they give in to temptation and the text says they became "joined" with Baal Peor.
• This is the kind of thing that will haunt them , almost generational sin, once they enter the land.
• I think there is something symbolic here too. The Moabites sought to bring about the direct destruction of Israel through what they hoped would be a curse from Balaam that would allow them to win in battle. The win in battle and destruction of the Hebrews being their aim. That fails. When the direct frontal assault approach fails they result to seduction, deception and subtle corruption...that succeeds and sets the stage for a struggle the nation of Israel will have throughout their history. Their flirtation with and falling into sin with Baal worship will be a constant theme and struggle.

How easy it is at times for us to dodge the direct assault only to turn around and fall prey to the subtle seduction, the sly temptation. And then how hard it is to completely rid ourselves of the effects and influence of those failings. Praise God that He can and does redeem us completely from those moments, but it is the sly aside that we have to be constantly vigilant against lest we, like Israel, fall into patterns of struggle which none of us want.