Spirituality and Sexuality

There is a PG rated story (actually lots of them in the Bible)  that I read the other day that really hit me.  In Numbers twenty-five the Moabites were at war with the Israelites.  The weapon of war that the Moabites used was sexuality.

What hit me about it was this:  we are in a very highly sexualized culture.  Sex sells everything.  Sex is very important.  Sexuality of any and all description is flaunted in our culture.  This story in Numbers twenty-five would fit into our culture.

The Moabites used sex to literally seduce the Israelite army.  The Israelites attended a Moabite public worship event and ended up having sexual relations with the Moabite women.  This was wrong.  God is upset at their blatant disrespect of their own sexuality and God issues this command: “Seize all the ring leaders and execute them before the Lord…(Number 25:4)”.

What happened next is really mind blowing. Numbers 25:6-9 (NLT) "Just then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into his tent, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as everyone was weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle.  When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. He took a spear and rushed after the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, but not before 24,000 people had died.”

1. One of the Israelite men said in essence: ‘My sexuality is my business.  No one is going to tell me what is right or wrong.  Everyone needs to mind their own business.’
2. Phinehas,  the high priest is pronouncing judgment and he responds quickly.
3. Notice something else about the attitude of the Israelite man:  “Just then …. Right before the eyes of Moses and all the people…”. It seems that there was a flaunting of this guy’s immorality.  His actions clearly stated—my sexuality is my business!
4. Phinehas actually goes into this guy’s tent and kills this guy who is being intimate with the Moabite girl. “Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach.”
5. This guy’s sexual appetite governed or overpowered his spiritual appetite.  His sexuality dominated his spirituality.  

This story reveals an abandonment of sexual morality.  Something so powerful was happening sexually with the Israelite man that he was willing to throw caution to the wind.  He would fit in fine with our culture!

Surely there is a caution to all in this story.  Guard yourself and guard your sexuality.  Your sexuality is strong power in you.  It that has the capability of making you oblivious to morality.  Immorality of all descriptions has a tremendous powerful effect upon a person. 

Provers 5 says it this way:

Proverbs 5:1-6 (NLT) 1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

listen carefully to my wise counsel.

2 Then you will show discernment,

and your lips will express what you’ve learned.

3 For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey,

and her mouth is smoother than oil.

4 But in the end she is as bitter as poison,

as dangerous as a double-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death;

her steps lead straight to the grave.

6 For she cares nothing about the path to life.

She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.