Numbers 25:2

Num 25:2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

Ver. 2. Unto the sacrifices of their gods. ] Unto their idol feasts; for Sine cerere et libero friget Venus. Gluttony is the gallery that lechery walketh through.

And bowed down to their gods. ] Nemo repente fit turpissimus: by degrees they were drawn to open idolatry. If a man’s foot slip into the mouth of hell, it is a miracle if he stop ere he come to the bottom. Principiis obsta. Dally not with the devil; sin is very insinuative; and the old serpent, if he once get in his head, will quickly wind in his whole body.