Numbers 25: Not Again!

Adultery and fornication are at the root of another heart-wrenching chapter. The Israelites, immediately after several prophecies from Balaam assuring that Moab would not prevail against them, choose to act as offensively as possible toward God: immorality and idolatry. God demands the death penalty, so 24,000 are killed. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul says that 23,000 of those deaths were in one day. And in Numbers 31:16, Moses adds the note that the whole thing was instigated by Balaam! These cross references make the story even more heart-wrenching.