Hold Fast to the Lord

Note from today’s Bible reading: Deuteronomy 3-5

As Moses reminded the people of Israel of things that happened during their time in the wilderness, one of the events he mentioned was the sin of Peor (Numbers 25:1-9). On that occasion, the people joined the idolatrous worship of Baal of Peor, bringing about a plague from the Lord that killed 24,000 of them.

Notice what Moses said when he reminded them of this event: “Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed them from among you. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you” (Deuteronomy 4:3-4).

Not only did he remind them of who was punished and why, but he also reminded them of who was not punished and the reason for that. They held fast to the Lord. That was why they kept themselves from sin on that occasion.

It was also why they were still “alive today.” If they were not holding fast to the Lord and kept from that particular sin for some other reason, they would have given themselves over to a different sin. But holding fast to the Lord would also keep them from other sins.

So hold fast to the Lord. When those around us rush into sin, we must refrain. If we hope to do this continuously, our motivation must be to please the Lord and remain faithful to Him.