Numbers 25:16

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses saying, Vex the Midianites, and smite them; for they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor."

Carson is correct in his statement that the fact of God's order calling for war against Midian, but not against Moab, was "because it was the Midianites that Balaam counseled (Numbers 31:16), and they (the Midianites) were the chief agents in the corruption of Israel."[14] Israel would never fully recover from the disastrous events unfolded in this chapter. Sure, God would go right on with his plans. They would fight and win wars against all their enemies. The debauched kingdoms of Canaan would fall like over-ripe figs when the tree sustains a mighty wind. But here at Baal-Peor the cancer began that would eventually consume the Chosen Race. The rest of the Bible is the record of how God dealt with the problems that resulted.