Mattot/Massei - מטות/מסעי : "Tribes" / "Journeys"
Torah : Numbers 30:2-36:13
Haftarah : Jeremiah 1:1-2:3
Gospel : John 18-21

Thought for the Week:

We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. (1 Corinthians 10:8)

Commentary:

Kill every woman who has known man intimately. But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves. (Numbers 31:17-18)

In an effort to ensnare the Israelites, the Midianites and Moabites had sent their daughters to use sexual seduction to entice the men of Israel into worshipping Baal of Peor. The plan worked. Many Israelite men were led away by the seductive allure of the Moabite and Midianite women. They committed fornication with them and worshipped idols.

This explains why the LORD commanded Moses, "Take full vengeance for the sons...