When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.

Come, Bless the Lord

A Song of ^(J)Ascents.

Baal Worship at Peor

25 While Israel lived in ^(A)Shittim, ^(B)the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. ^2 (C)These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. ⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, ^(D)“Take all the chiefs of the people and ^(E)hang^[a] them in the sun before the Lord, ^(F)that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ And Moses said to ^(G)the judges of Israel, ^(H)“Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

⁶ And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were ^(I)weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^7 (J)When Phinehas ^(K)the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand ⁸ and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. ⁹ Nevertheless, ^(L)those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he ^(M)was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in ^(N)my jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ^(O)‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, ¹³ and it shall be to him and to ^(P)his descendants after him the covenant of ^(Q)a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

¹⁴ The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of ^(R)Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.

¹⁶ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^17 (S)“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, ¹⁸ for they have harassed you with their ^(T)wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of ^(U)Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”

Census of the New Generation

26 ^(V)After the plague, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, ^2 (W)“Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” ³ And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(X)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people,^[b] from twenty years old and upward,” as the Lord ^(Y)commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

^5 (Z)Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the clan of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the clan of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the clans of the Reubenites, and those listed were ^(AA)43,730. ⁸ And the sons of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, ^(AB)chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord ¹⁰ and ^(AC)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and ^(AD)they became a warning. ¹¹ But ^(AE)the sons of Korah did not die.

¹² The sons of ^(AF)Simeon according to their clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; ¹³ of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the clans of the Simeonites, ^(AG)22,200.

¹⁵ The sons of ^(AH)Gad according to their clans: of Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the clan of the Haggites; of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites; ¹⁷ of Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the clan of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These are the clans of the sons of Gad as they were listed, ^(AI)40,500.

¹⁹ The sons of ^(AJ)Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ And the sons of Judah according to their clans were: of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perez, the clan of the Perezites; of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites. ²¹ And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites. ²² These are the clans of Judah as they were listed, ^(AK)76,500.

Jesus Greater Than Moses

3 Therefore, holy brothers,^[a] you who share in ^(A)a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, ^(B)the apostle and high priest of our confession, ² who was faithful to him who appointed him, ^(C)just as Moses also was faithful in all God's^[b] house. ³ For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴ (For every house is built by someone, but ^(D)the builder of all things is God.) ^5 (E)Now Moses was faithful in all God's house ^(F)as a servant, ^(G)to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, ⁶ but Christ is faithful over God's house as ^(H)a son. And ^(I)we are his house, if indeed we ^(J)hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.^[c]

A Rest for the People of God

⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from ^(N)the living God. ¹³ But ^(O)exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by ^(P)the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ, ^(Q)if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵ As it is said,

¹⁶ For ^(S)who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not ^(T)all those who left Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷ And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^(U)whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did he swear that ^(V)they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that ^(W)they were unable to enter because of unbelief.