"Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.' We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day."
As slaves in Egypt, the Israelites saw the powerlessness of the Egyptian gods. When the Lord sent the plagues, the false gods of the Egyptians could do nothing. But the Israelites’ hearts were still inclined toward idolatry. After the Israelites saw the impotence of the gods of wood, stone, and metal and after they saw the Lord deliver them with a mighty hand, they called upon Aaron to make them an idol.
How quickly our hearts forget what God has taught us. How quickly we turn away towards our own sinful desires. Those desires are strong and ever present. But God would not have given us these negative examples, admonishing us not to follow them, if the situation were hopeless.
We do not have to give in to our sinful desires. We do not have to fall as so many others have fallen. I remember talking with a friend who was discouraged about the large number of Christian friends he had who were making bad choices. He asked “with all these people falling, what is the point even trying to stand true?” That perspective is backwards. When we see or hear of failures, we should be spurred on to increased faithfulness.
1 comment:
thank you for this
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