“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 the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord ’s anger burned against them.

Numbers 25:1-3 NIV

Nothing grieves the heart our God than to see His children shift away from Him and gravitate toward worldly temptations. When we drift away from following the path of righteousness into worldly practices and begin to indulge ourselves in worldly pleasures, our God is deeply offended and He will not sit idly by and tolerate our backsliding.

It is very unfortunate to hear of the Lord’s indignation on His people whom He had jealously defended, protected and delivered from the plots of their enemy who had planned to truncate God’s purpose for their lives. Usually, sin comes with terrible consequences. It removes God’s protective power, reverses God’s blessing into curse, turns God’s approval to rejection and His pleasure to fierce anger.

Beware of Satan’s Trap

As a child of God, you must never be caught off guarded at any time and everywhere. The Devil, our adversary is always restless and doesn’t give up nor concede to you so easily. His desire is to have you at all cost, sift you like wheat and render you unfruitful, unfulfilled and defeated in life. This is why the Lord warned us to always be vigilant, sober and prayerful in order to escape his traps which he secretly sets for us.

It is striking that the feat Balak could not achieve with all his struggles and efforts for days became a possibility in just one day when God’s people yielded to the inordinate desires of their uncircumcised hearts through the doctrine of Balaam (Numbers 31:16; Rev.2;14). May the Lord help your heart to be truly circumcised and remain pure by the sanctifying power of God’s word you have committed yourself to hear, read, study, meditate on, memorize and obey always no matter the cost. Stay alive and stay safe.

Reflection

When inner desire responds to outward entitlement, sin becomes inevitably and sin will automatically leads to a fall.

Your brother,

Olufemi Babalola