Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim.“ Go, look over the land,” he said,“ especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women,who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods.So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.The Lord said to Moses,“ Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”So Moses said to Israel’s judges,“ Each of you must put to death those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting.When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his handand followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
