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Post by Josh on Jun 19, 2007 20:24:24 GMT -8
Post your comments and questions on Numbers chapters 25 and 31 here (these two chapters, though separated deal with similar/ continuing themes)
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Post by Josh on Jul 10, 2007 8:30:11 GMT -8
Sounds like Brian went into this in some detail on his teaching on Balaam. Whew... I'm glad. This is a grisly passage.
When we get to Joshua, we'll deal more with the thorny issue of the killing of women and children in warfare in the OT. But, the two things that stand out to me about this passage are:
1) Balaam was, after all, not a good guy. Apparently he felt he could thwart God's purposes in a much more subtle way
2) Sex/ Marriage is the highest form of intimacy and being "unequally yoked" (as Paul says) with unbelievers can easily pull someone away from their "first love". In this case, unchecked, the entire identity of the Israelites as God's chosen people was at stake
Oh, and also a side note:
We must not think of the story of Eleazer killing the Israelite man and his Midianite wife as justification for lawless acts of violence against "sinners" (ie, murdering abortion doctors, etc). Eleazer, being a priest, was a legal authority acting with his legal rights to execute captial punishment, however it might offend our modern sensibilities.
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