Numbers 25:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When we observe our children engaging in wrongdoing, we naturally discipline and correct them, but this is not done without sorrow; indeed, we experience as much anguish as those enduring the consequences. Moses, witnessing this dishonor, instructed them once more to turn against one another, commanding, "Kill every one of your own that served Baal-Peor." This is akin to how a physical injury that refuses to heal after multiple treatments is required to be cut and treated once again.