Reading this morning from the Bible book of Numbers, I was gripped by this thought – sex, outside of the proper bounds (marriage) will destroy God’s blessing.

Follow me on this one…

God had selected the nation of Israel as His “special people” – the ones through whom He would demonstrate His power, love, grace, and truth to the world.

God had kicked some enemy tail and given His people a place to live (Numbers 21). The surrounding nations were terrified at the arrival of these powerful people. Balak, the king of the Moabites sent for a prophet (Balaam) to put a curse on the Israelites. This is what he said:

A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. (Numbers 22:5-6)

Long story short – Balaam did not curse the people (God wouldn’t let him). Instead, he blessed the people and basically said, “No one can stop these people. God has blessed them and their victories will not end.” But then they did…

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 and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD’s anger burned against them. (Numbers 25:1-3)

As I read this it occurred to me that God’s people were not sidelined by the military might or economic prowess of Moab. They were not deterred by effective diplomats or undercut by stealthy spies. Nope. They were sidelined because they were weak sexually.

This is not the only story in the Bible or in modern experience where sexual immorality sidelined God’s people. The truth is that sex, outside of its right environment, will sideline God’s blessing. That’s why Solomon wrote these words to his son,

Listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her (i.e. the sexy, tempting woman) don’t wander down her wayward path. For she has been the ruin of many; numerous men have been her victims. Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death. (Proverbs 7:24-27)

Do you doubt the reality of this? Just think about the homes destroyed, reputations tarnished, leadership roles lost, monies paid, etc. because of sexual indiscretion. And for what it’s worth, sexual indiscretion is not limited to intercourse. It includes pornography, emotional affairs, etc., anything that would facilitate sexual impropriety and/or unfaithfulness.

The point of this post is BE ON GUARD FOR THE SUBTLE POWER OF SEX.

Want more insight on how to position yourself for strength in the face of sexual temptation?

• Read Proverbs 5-7
• Read my “What I’m going to do if I’m ever caught in a sexually tempting scenario” plan