To this point in Israel’s journey in the wilderness, they have sinned in many and progressive ways. They murmured, grumbled and complained, and the most common words we hear were, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” Israel was ungrateful to Yahweh’s provision throughout the time they have left Egypt. They also worshipped Yahweh falsely, by building a golden calf, thinking that they could use the calf to represent Him. They were untrusting of God and his promises in that saga. However, before this, Israel had never forsaken Yahweh to worship another god. This sin of idolatry was unlike any previously seen.

In Numbers 25, Israel was lured into the worship of Baal of Peor. Baal was the great Canaanite fertility god, and the worship of Baal was through sexual relationships with the daughters of Moab. They could not resist the constant temptations and whored with these woman, bowing down to the idol of Baal. As a result, the anger of the Lord was against His people. He instructed the leaders of the tribes to kill those who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor and hung them in public shame. This was a severe judgement laid on the people, but it was consistent to the covenant that God had made with Israel at Mount Sinai.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.” Exodus 32:33-34

To our contemporary eyes, we might think that God is harsh, but God knew that if such sin was to be tolerated, it will be a sure sign of decay for the future generations. He commanded the community to bring the offenders to be judged, to remind them that such sin cannot be condoned. In the recent sagas of possible corruption in Singapore, prime minister Lee assured the nation that the government has zero tolerance towards corruption and misconduct. He understood that once we allow signs of corruption to take place, the nation will fall into disarray and decay. God knew the weight of idol worship and the destructive consequences to the people of Israel. He needed to deal with the people strictly to prevent them from falling further into sin.

However, no one is immune to temptations and falls. Romans tells us that ALL has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It is easy to point our fingers at the man who has fallen short, and nailing him on the cross. However, Jesus reminds us, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7) If someone is caught in sin, God calls us who are spiritual to restore the person in gentleness. (Galatians 6:1) Dear brothers and sisters, when we hear of Christians falling into sin, do we restore in gentleness or do we condemned like the world?

Dear brothers and sisters, we must never condone sins and allow it to fester. However, we must love the sinner and restore the man back to Christ. This is the reason why Jesus died on the cross. The wages of sins has to be paid in judgement and not overlooked, but yet Christ paid the painful debts of our sins on our behalf because he love us and want to restore us back to Him. Help us to become such a man of Christ, to be righteous and merciful at the same time.

Pray : God, help us to flee from sins, but yet draw us close to sinners so that we might win them for you. Give us a heart of alertness against temptations, but a heart of tenderness towards those who has sinned against you. In Jesus most precious name we pray, amen.