Open Heaven 13 May 2022
MEMORISE: What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 1 Corinthians 6:16
BIBLE READING: NUMBERS 25:1-18
1. And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
2. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
3. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
4. And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
5. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
6. And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7. And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
8. And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
9. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
10. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
12. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
13. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
14. Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.
15. And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.
16. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17. Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
18. For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
Of all the sins that God considers destructive, sexual immorality is the worst. This is the type of sin that is done against the body. It is like a man putting fire under himself and then sitting on it. He will surely be burnt.
1 Corinthians 6:18 says: “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”
In Numbers 22 to 24, Balaam the prophet was asked to curse the people of Israel. Each time he opened his mouth to curse them, only blessings came forth. There was no way he could curse the blessed people of God.
However, by the time you get to Numbers 25:1-18, the people had by themselves walked into a curse by committing fornication and adultery.
Anyone who commits adultery has placed a curse on his own head. Proverbs 6:26 says: “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.”
Oh, the person may seem so good and difficult to resist because of his or her good looks and tenderness; you had better run.
This is what the Bible says about a strange woman: “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.Proverbs 5:3-5”
Beloved, run away from sexual immorality. If you are married, let your wife or your husband be enough for you. If you are experiencing challenges in your marriage, you should go to God in prayer, pleading for His intervention.
See your pastor or a godly counsellor for advice on what to do. In no way should you join yourself to another because this kind of sin will only lead to death and destruction.
PRAYER POINT: Father, no strange woman (or man) after my destiny will succeed, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 CHRONICLES 32:1-33, 2 CHRONICLES 33:1-25, 2 CHRONICLES 34:1-33, 2 CHRONICLES 35:1-27
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Don’t Join Yourself to a Harlot – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 13 May 2022
