Numbers 25:3 kjv
And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Numbers 25:3 nkjv
So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel.
Numbers 25:3 niv
So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them.
Numbers 25:3 esv
So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Numbers 25:3 nlt
In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD's anger to blaze against his people.
Numbers 25 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ex 20:3-5 | You shall have no other gods before me... | First Commandment against idolatry |
| Ex 34:15-16 | ...do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land... lest you partake in their sacrifices and worship their gods. | Warning against covenant with idolaters |
| Dt 4:3 | Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for all the men who followed the Baal of Peor, the LORD your God destroyed them... | Deuteronomy's historical reference to Peor |
| Dt 6:15 | ...for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you and he destroy you... | God's jealousy against idolatry |
| Dt 29:18-21 | Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous fruit... and the anger of the LORD... will smoke against that man... | Consequences of turning away from God |
| Dt 32:16-17 | They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger... they sacrificed to demons that were no gods. | Israel's provocation of God |
| Ps 78:58 | For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their carved images. | Recalling Israel's idolatrous history |
| Ps 106:28-29 | Then they yoked themselves to Baal-peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. | Direct poetic recount of Peor incident |
| Hos 9:10 | I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe fruit... but when they came to Baal-peor, they devoted themselves to the shameful thing... | Prophetic indictment of Peor sin |
| Jer 7:18-20 | The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven... My wrath and my anger will be poured out... | God's anger against specific idolatry |
| Ez 20:28-29 | When I brought them into the land... they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices... there they aroused my anger. | Israel's consistent idolatry in the land |
| Jdg 2:11-12 | And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD... | The recurring sin of serving Baals |
| 1 Kgs 14:9 | You have done evil above all who were before you, and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger... | Idolatry provoking God's anger |
| Neh 13:26 | Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? ...yet even he was led astray by foreign women. | Influence of foreign women on kings to idolatry |
| Nu 31:16 | Behold, these, through the counsel of Balaam, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor... | Attributing the sin to Balaam's counsel |
| 1 Cor 10:7-8 | Do not be idolaters as some of them were... We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. | NT warning, drawing parallel to Peor incident |
| 2 Cor 6:14 | Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? | Spiritual "yoking" to unrighteousness |
| Eph 5:5-6 | For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral... has no inheritance in the kingdom... Let no one deceive you... because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. | Sexual immorality and God's wrath |
| Col 3:5-6 | Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality... greed, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. | Connecting greed to idolatry; warns of God's wrath |
| Jas 4:4 | You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. | Spiritual adultery through worldliness |
| Rev 2:14 | But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. | New Testament recollection of Balaam's counsel and Peor sin |
| Gal 5:19-21 | Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality... idolatry... and things like these. I warn you... those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. | Idolatry listed among works of the flesh |
Numbers 25 verses
Numbers 25 3 Meaning
The verse describes a pivotal moment where the people of Israel deliberately bound themselves in alliance and worship to the pagan deity Baal of Peor. This act of spiritual prostitution and idolatry deeply offended the Lord, resulting in His fierce and immediate anger being ignited against His own covenant people.
Numbers 25 3 Context
Numbers chapter 25 describes the final and most grievous rebellion of Israel during their wilderness journey before entering the promised land. Following the failed attempts by Balaam to curse Israel, he gave counsel to Balak (Nu 31:16, Rev 2:14) on how to cause Israel to fall by seduction rather than direct confrontation. This advice led the Moabite and Midianite women to entice the Israelite men into sexual immorality and, crucially, to participate in the worship of their pagan deities, particularly Baal of Peor. The entire incident at Peor, commencing with this spiritual compromise, stands as a stark warning against syncretism and idolatry at the threshold of receiving their inheritance. The chapter then details the immediate divine judgment—a plague—and the swift action of Phinehas to stop it, which averted a complete catastrophe.
Numbers 25 3 Word analysis
- So Israel: Refers to the collective nation, God's chosen covenant people. This emphasizes the widespread nature of the apostasy.
- yoked himself: Hebrew: vaYitsamned (וַיִּצָּמֶד), from the root ṣāmad (צָמַד).
- Meaning: To bind oneself, harness, join, tie closely. It implies a deliberate and intimate association.
- Significance: This is not accidental participation but a conscious, committed attachment. It metaphorically describes spiritual fornication or infidelity, suggesting an active entering into partnership with the pagan deity, as if like oxen pulling a plow together. It contrasts sharply with being yoked to the Lord.
- to Baal of Peor: Hebrew: laBa'al Pe'or (לַבַּעַל פְּעוֹר).
- Meaning: Baal (meaning "lord," "master," or "owner") was a prominent fertility god in Canaanite religion, often associated with storm, agriculture, and procreation. Peor refers to the location, a mountain in Moab (Nu 23:28).
- Significance: This was a specific manifestation of Baal worship, notoriously linked with sexual immorality and cultic prostitution, as well as consumption of sacrifices offered to dead idols. The union with Baal was both religious and sexual, forming a direct antithesis to Israel's exclusive covenant relationship with YHWH. It highlights the direct polemic against the polytheistic and immoral practices of the surrounding cultures.
- And the anger of the LORD: Hebrew: vaYiḥar-'af YHWH (וַיִּחַר אַף יְהוָה).
- Meaning: 'Af (אַף) literally means "nose" or "nostril," and "burning nose" is an idiom for fierce, passionate anger, expressing the flaring of nostrils in rage. YHWH (יְהוָה) is the sacred covenant name of God.
- Significance: This depicts an intense, holy displeasure from a personal and covenant-keeping God. It is a righteous wrath, kindled because Israel, His beloved bride, had betrayed their exclusive covenant loyalty to Him for a pagan idol, polluting themselves and His holy name. This wrath is an inevitable divine response to direct rebellion against His nature and commands.
- was kindled: From the verb ḥārâ (חָרָה), related to ḥarôn (חָרוֹן) - "burning anger."
- Meaning: To burn, blaze, be hot, be kindled.
- Significance: The use of this word implies a rapid, intense, and destructive quality of God's anger. It was not a slow simmer but a sudden burst, reflecting the immediacy and severity of the judgment that followed (the plague).
- against Israel:
- Significance: The target of God's anger was not an enemy nation, but His own covenant people whom He had redeemed and nourished. This underscores the severity of their sin—it was an act of profound betrayal against their divine Protector and Provider, violating the very core of their unique relationship with Him.
- Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor: This phrase underscores the active and willing participation of the Israelites in the idolatry, making it an act of deliberate apostasy. It implies a deep spiritual bond or covenant entered into with the pagan deity, in direct opposition to their covenant with YHWH. This specific act highlights the dangers of syncretism—attempting to blend devotion to God with pagan practices. It also foreshadows later patterns of idolatry in Israel's history.
- the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel: This response illustrates God's unyielding demand for exclusive worship and His holy intolerance of spiritual infidelity. It conveys the gravity of the sin from the divine perspective and the swiftness of divine judgment for covenant violation. It serves as a potent theological declaration that God does not passively observe His people's unfaithfulness.
Numbers 25 3 Bonus section
The sin at Peor demonstrates how external enemies (like Balak and Moab) failed through direct attack but succeeded through indirect corruption, particularly through sexual immorality leading to idolatry. This highlights the insidious nature of spiritual warfare, often targeting a community's internal purity and loyalty to God. The immediate consequence was a plague that took 24,000 Israelite lives (Nu 25:9), showcasing the corporate accountability and swiftness of divine judgment. The incident also sets the stage for Phinehas' zealous act (Nu 25:7-8), which pleased God and secured a covenant of lasting priesthood for his line (Nu 25:12-13), underscoring the importance of holy zeal in defending God's honor against public sin. This entire narrative reinforces the foundational theological principle that Yahweh is a jealous God who demands exclusive worship and purity from His covenant people.
Numbers 25 3 Commentary
Numbers 25:3 marks a critical turning point where Israel, having been consistently protected by the Lord, proactively severed their loyalty by binding themselves to Baal of Peor. This act was not mere curiosity or minor transgression but a deep spiritual betrayal, likened to unholy marriage or servitude. The core of this sin was idolatry interwoven with sexual immorality, orchestrated through Balaam's counsel to weaken Israel from within. Such a blatant violation of the First Commandment—to have no other gods—ignited the Lord's fierce anger. God's response was swift and devastating, demonstrating that covenant breaking through spiritual adultery leads to immediate and severe divine judgment. The incident underscores the absolute necessity of undivided devotion to God and the profound danger of compromise with pagan practices, serving as a timeless warning for all who claim allegiance to Him.