by:
06/18/2025
0
“These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods” (v2). Terrible things happened when the Israelites turned away from the Lord, married pagan women, and threw themselves into worshiping the idol Baal of Peor. God’s wrath was kindled, and Moses and other leaders denounced and punished the evildoers. Yet even amid the weeping, repentant community (v6,14), Zimri boldly brought a new pagan woman into the camp, resulting in God’s punishment (through Phineas) and a plague.
“Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace” (v12). Zimri’s harsh consequence reminds us that God does not overlook sin. Instead, he took the cost of forgiveness on himself, so that we can repent and experience real peace.