1. Israel seduced by Moabite women (1-5)

Balaam could not defeat Israel with a curse, so he made another suggestion--that the Moabites use women (31:16). They followed his advice. The Moabite women seduced the men of Israel to participate in Baal worship-especially free sex. Many Israelites were deceived by their own physical desires. God was angry, so he ordered Moses to put to death those who had joined in Baal worship. He also sent a plague among the people and 24,000 died (9).

2. The zeal of Phinehas (6-18)

When Moses told the judges to put to death those who joined in Baal worship, no one moved. Then a tribal leader openly brought the daughter of a Moabite chief into his tent. Phinehas could take it no longer. He was zealous for the Lord's honor. He followed them into the tent and drove a spear through them both. God stopped the plague because of Phinehas (Ps 106:28-31), and he made a covenant with the house of Phinehas.

Application: Lord, in these relativistic times of moral anarchy, teach me how to be zealous for your honor.
One Word: Zeal for God's honor