Gear Up, Men!

Numbers 25
1 While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women. 2 These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. 3 In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the Lord’s anger to blaze against his people.

4 The Lord issued the following command to Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the Lord in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.”

5 So Moses ordered Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death the men under your authority who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”

God has no tolerance whatsoever for those who defile themselves by worshipping idols. In Israel’s case, the people had been told not to mix with the locals for this very reason. Yet, the same Israelites who had seen God’s mighty powers on display over and over again, were seduced by the women of Moab physically and spiritually. Men, we have to GEAR UP! The retreat this weekend at Lake Aurora has been fantastic in that regard. If we men are to be the strong spiritual leaders of our homes and of our churches that God has called us to be, we must not allow even a hint of seduction to take place in our lives. We need to put on the full armor of God, and we need to spend time in the Word daily, pray regularly (consistently, all the time), and we need accountability partners: men who will hold our feet to the fire, so to speak. Time to stop talking about it, and put it into practice!