Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord!
“ When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.
They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;they aroused the Lord’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever.”
Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said,“ Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me,
You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
