Before we look at Psalm 106 today,
I wanted to share with you that I’m in Roanoke Virginia this morning to
participate in a memorial service for a dear friend, Don Parker. Please be in
prayer for his dear wife, Jane Parker and all the family and friends as they
celebrate his life and his faith that touched so many of us! Don loved the Lord
and his wife and family faithfully over the many years. Don was not a “upfront”
sort of person, but you could count on him to be faithful and loyal!
I’m convinced that I’m probably
alive today because of Don’s willingness to help me any time I ask, especially
to cut down large trees on my property over the years. He was the expert that
could tell me exactly how a tree would fall and the best way to do the cut. I am
convinced that he could sharpen the chain saw blades faster and better than
anyone else in the world! Don has been a dear loyal friend to me over these
past 27 plus years and he will be greatly missed by all. But we are also
assured of his salvation through Jesus Christ by his life of faith and
testimony and we know we will see him again in heaven one day!
Now in Psalm 106, if you want
to get the full story of the history that we find there, I would encourage you
to read and study the Old Testament books of Exodus and Numbers. If you want to
know and understand the spiritual applications of this chapter, I would
encourage you to read and study the New Testament book of Hebrews, especially
chapters three and four. Another passage in the New Testament that also uses
this history and how we can apply it to our lives in dealing with the temptation
to be disobedient is 1 Corinthians 10:1-13.
By the way, the very first
verse in the Bible that I memorized is 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation
has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, ..."
In
this passage we are also told that “Now these things became our examples, to
the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And
do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The
people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." (1 Corinthians
10:6-7).
Today we are looking at the verses
in Psalm 106:28-33. These two events recorded in this passage occurred toward
the end of Israel's march through the wilderness, and both of them illustrate
the high cost of willful disobedience to the Lord. The failure at Baal Peor is
described in Numbers 25, but read Numbers 22-24 to get the background. The king
of Moab hired the prophet Baalam to curse the nation of Israel, but God turned
his curses into blessings (Deut. 23:5; Neh. 13:2; see Psalm 109:28).
But Baalam knew how to trap
Israel: he suggested that the king act like a good neighbor and invite the
Jewish tribal leaders to share a feast with the Moabites. This would be a
religious feast, of course, which meant eating meat dedicated to demons and dead
people and cohabiting with cult prostitutes. Once more, the people of God
yielded to their fleshly desires and tasted the wrath of God, and 24,000 people
died (Num. 25:9). The plague would have claimed more lives, but Phinehas, the
son of the high priest, killed a Jewish man and his Moabite partner as they
arrogantly sinned in the camp of Israel. Remember that the "The wages
of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).
The second demonstration of
carnality was seen in Moses, not a sin of the flesh but of the spirit: he
became proud and angry and took for himself the glory that belonged only to the
Lord (Num. 20:1-13). Provoked by the people, the "pride of life"
possessed Moses and he lost his temper and spoke rash words that offended the
Lord (Psalm 78:40; Isa. 63:10; 1 John 2:15-17). This sin cost Moses the
privilege of leading the people into the Promised Land (Deut. 3:23-29).
Even today, our disobedience to
the known will of God will always be very costly to us and to those around us!
God bless!
