Chapter 25

You know, there’s not a lot about chapter 25 that is easy to write about. Even the name of the place is a swearword (I can remember that when my Grandad used to read the Bible to us, occasionally this place name would come up . . he’d always say “acacia” instead!). But remarkably, the Israelites have found something to do there that is more obscene than the name of the place!

The trouble begins (as it so often does) with a group of men who think with their genitals instead of their brains. And the next thing you know, you have an orgy happening.

Now, as evangelical Christians we’re generally fairly familiar with the concept of certain forms of sexual behaviour being sinful. So much so, in fact, that it’s almost what we’re known for in the USA – some of my atheist friends describe evangelical Christians as “Gay haters”. Frankly I’m not all that keen on being known mainly for what I’m against, but we’ll press on.

In this case, though, there’s more to things than what meets the eye. The religion followed by (at least some of) the Midianites was of a type that was fairly common in the ancient world – ancient people had noted the similarity between the fertility of the soil and the . . . fertility of people, so religions about fertility tended to be strongly tied up with sex.

A goddess whose worship will cause no end of trouble in later books is Astoreth (or Asherah), a fertility goddess. You may have noticed references to “Asherah poles”? Well, these long cylindrical objects were designed to appear similar to certain anatomical features involved in fertility rituals. I’ll give you three guesses what, but the first will probably be right!

One feature of worship found in these religions was literally prostitution. Sex was part of the sacrifices accepted by the god or goddess, and so it was convenient for prostitutes to wait for customers in or near the temple.

In verse 1 – 3 it is spelled out clearly – the men of the Israelites have been invited to participate in these sexual rituals, and they’re just too happy to join in.

God’s certainly not all that keen on promiscuous sex, that much is clear. But the key thing to understand here is that by participating in these acts, the men in question were doing far more than displeasing God by their sexual behaviour.

Bluntly, they were also worshipping other gods. And it wasn’t an accident. It was completely and utterly deliberate, a premeditated act.

This gives us the context to understand why God takes it so seriously. At this point in the history of God’s people, worshiping other gods is a capital offence (whether we are comfortable with it or not is beside the point); so it’s not surprising that a plague breaks out.

Now, God’s anger is obvious, and the people start to repent. It in this background that we hear that a person, IN FULL VIEW OF EVERYONE ELSE, takes a Midianite woman into his tent. I don’t have to paint a picture here. Every member of the assembly could see what was happening.

Why do you think he did this? Some might do it for the attention, some for the risk. But the impression I get is that this is a simple act of defiance – “You can’t tell me what to do.” This explains the seemingly severe actions of the Priest Phineas.

What does this mean for us?

Well, there’s the simple part – that sex is a powerful lure, and that we must be careful to guard our minds, and to make sure that we are in control of the sex drive, not the other way around. If we are not, the consequences can be terrible. Sexual sin can poison our relationships, make us doubt ourselves and if we’re not careful, we may end up doubting God.

More than that, though, is the fact that God does not tolerate open rebellion against Him. Today we live in an age characterized by God’s grace rather than His wrath, something for which we can and should be grateful; yet God is still the same. Our rebellion isn’t just illegal, it is offensive to our creator.

We may not end up with a spear through our chests, but there are other consequences of rebellion – ultimately unpleasant enough that we want to avoid them if we can.