Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” (Numbers 25:4)

Failed Leadership

In the final months of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness, the people camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. Balak, king of the Amorites, was exceedingly afraid of the sea of people covering the land. He was sick with dread that the Hebrews would devour the land and all the people that lived there. Balak sent for Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse the people of Israel. Through a series of efforts on Balaam’s part to curse the Israelites, God would not allow Balaam to bring any curse against His people. Balaam told the king’s messengers that God forbade him to curse the people. Realizing he was unable to curse the people of Israel, Balaam suggested to the king that he allow the women of the land to seduce the men of Israel.

Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people of God began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. The women of the land, notorious for their debauchery, seduced the men of Israel to join in the sensual rites of their worship. Not only did the people engage in sexual immorality, but they also fell victim to idolatrous worship as they joined themselves to Baal of Peor. Angered by the immoral conduct of His people, God told Moses to bring the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord. Leadership had failed the people. The leaders were to blame for failing to reprimand and forbid the people from yielding to the seductions of the women of Moab. Whether the leaders were punished for engaging in the sexual immorality or whether they were punished for not correcting the people, the message of the Lord was clear. Sin will not be tolerated at any level.

Everyone will be accountable for their deeds, but often those guilty are the leaders who stand idly by, refusing to take action against those in sin. The leaders of the people should have exercised greater control over them. They should have stopped them from being tempted by the ungodliness of the world around them. The sin of immorality was so great that Zimri, the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites, took a Midianite woman named Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, the head of the people of a father’s house in Midian, and committed sexual immorality at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he took a spear and killed them both. Those who died in the plague were 24,000 souls.

Leaders have the grave responsibility to guide their followers in the way of the Lord. So often, the people begin to turn away from God, and the leaders take no notice. In the church of Corinth, the leadership was filled with pride, refusing to address the sin that so prominently marked the church. Paul rebuked the leadership when he pointed out the man who had his father’s wife, and there was no action taken to save their souls. Shepherds who ignore their sheep will lose many of the lambs under their care. Church leaders who refuse to address the problem of sin will captain a sinking ship.

God holds responsible leaders who are given the task of watching over His people. The Hebrew writer plainly declares that those who serve as bishops will receive a heavier judgment. Leadership comes with responsibility. God will not tolerate sin, and leaders must follow the same guidance. Leaders who allow people to engage in immorality will be held accountable for their refusal to act against the unrepentant. Guiding the people of God requires diligence in teaching and preaching the whole counsel of God. Those who are sinning must be taught repentance. For those who are unrepentant, they must be shown the error of their way. Leaders hold a higher responsibility before the Lord. Balaam suggested how the people could be destroyed. The leaders should have protected the people from the influences of the women of Moab.