Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

but when God commands them to execute His sentence on evil, He
is to be obeyed. Those who performed this painful act thus
demonstrated their abhorrence of rebellion and idolatry. The Lord
honored their faithfulness by bestowing special distinction on the
tribe of Levi.
Justice had to be brought to the traitors, to maintain the divine
government. Yet even here God's mercy was displayed: He granted
freedom of choice and opportunity for repentance to all. Only those
who persisted in rebellion were cut off.
Why Israel's Idolatry Must Be Punished
It was necessary that this sin should be punished as a warning
to surrounding nations of God's displeasure against idolatry.
Whenever the Israelites would later condemn idolatry, their enemies
would throw back the charge that the people who claimed Jehovah
as their God had made a calf and worshiped it in Horeb. Though
they had to acknowledge the disgraceful truth, Israel could point to
the terrible fate of the transgressors as evidence that their sin had not
been excused.
Love no less than justice demanded that judgment be given.
God cuts off those who are determined to rebel, that they may not
lead others to ruin. In sparing the life of Cain, God had
demonstrated the result of permitting sin to go unpunished. His life
and teaching led to the corrupt conditions that demanded the
destruction of the whole world by a flood. The history of the pre-
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