Numbers 25:2

And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

Cross-references

Numbers 22:41 Historical context

Numbers 22:41 shows Balak bringing Balaam to high places of Baal—the same idolatrous context leading to the later sin at Peor.

Exodus 20:5 Parallel

Exodus 20:5 forbids bowing down to other gods—exactly what the people do here, showing the sin against the first commandment.

Exodus 23:24 commands not to bow to their gods—the people in Numbers 25:2 directly violate this by bowing to Moabite gods.

Revelation 2:14 explicitly references Balaam's teaching that led to the events of Numbers 25—eating idol sacrifices and sexual immorality.

Exodus 34:15 warns against being invited to pagan sacrifices and eating—exactly what happened when Moab invited Israel.

Exodus 34:16 warns that intermarriage leads to idolatry, precisely the pattern of Moabite women seducing Israel.

Joshua 22:17 Historical context

Joshua 22:17 recalls the sin at Peor—the same idolatry described here—as a warning against repeating it.

Joshua 23:7 Parallel

Joshua 23:7 warns against bowing to other gods—Numbers 25:2 records Israel doing exactly that, illustrating the disobedience.

Joshua 23:16 describes the consequence of serving other gods and bowing—exactly the sin here; it adds the threat of God's anger and loss of land.

1 Kings 19:18 mentions the faithful remnant who did not bow to Baal—contrasting with the widespread bowing in Numbers 25:2.

Psalm 106:28 Historical context

Psalm 106:28 recounts the same event—yoking to Baal of Peor and eating sacrifices—as a historical lesson.

Hosea 9:10 Allusion

Hosea 9:10 references the Baal Peor incident, using it as a metaphor for Israel's early unfaithfulness.

Revelation 2:20 condemns tolerating Jezebel who seduces into sexual immorality and eating idol sacrifices—direct parallel to the Moabite women's seduction here.

1 Corinthians 8:10 warns against eating in an idol's temple, exactly what the Israelites did at Moabite sacrifices.

Acts 15:20 Parallel

Acts 15:20 directly prohibits food polluted by idols and sexual immorality, the same sins that ensnared Israel in Numbers.

Ezekiel 18:6 lists righteous behavior that avoids idolatrous feasts and sexual immorality — the very sins committed in Numbers.

Psalm 141:4 Allusion

Psalm 141:4 echoes the danger of being enticed by pagan feasts, praying against eating the delicacies of the wicked — same trap as in Numbers.

Exodus 32:6 Parallel

Exodus 32:6 describes the golden calf feast with eating and drinking—a parallel pattern of idolatrous sacrifice and revelry to Numbers 25:2.

Exodus 23:32 forbids making a covenant with other gods—the feasting and bowing in Numbers 25:2 constitute a covenant act.

Exodus 22:20 decrees death for sacrificing to other gods—in Numbers 25:2 the people participate in such sacrifices, incurring that penalty.

1 Corinthians 10:20 applies the same principle: eating pagan sacrifices means participating with demons, just as Israel did at Baal Peor.

1 Corinthians 10:28 warns against eating meat explicitly sacrificed to idols—a direct parallel to the sacrificial meals at Baal Peor.

Ezekiel 20:16 Related theme

Ezekiel 20:16 states Israel's hearts were devoted to idols, the root issue behind the actions in Numbers.

1 Kings 11:1-8 shows a similar pattern: foreign wives lead Solomon to worship other gods, echoing the seduction at Baal Peor.

2 Corinthians 6:16 declares no agreement between God's temple and idols—echoing the incompatibility Israel violated at Baal Peor.

2 Corinthians 6:17 calls for separation from unclean things—a command Israel failed to follow when they joined Moabite sacrifices.