Baal Peor - Why Doesnt G-d React?

I already posted this in the old forums but since it is so fundamental and I want to add something I am posting it again.

Where is G-d? If the Torah is really the laws of the Creator why don’t we see him actively punishing wrong doers and sinners?

In Parshas Balak the Jews fell into the horrible sin of worshiping the idol Baal Peor. The purpose of its worship was to express the idea that there are no laws or values which one is obligated or required to follow. Consequently the more degrading and repulsive one can act, the greater the worship. The devotion was therefore performed by defecating before the idol, and the message was clear: there is no G-d, don’t you see I can do whatever I want and G-d doesn’t care, if there really was a G-d he would act in response and punish me for my indignation.

In truth, at the foundation of Judaism lies the exact opposite idea: it is precisely G-d’s powerful patience and unrelenting mercy which reveals His divine and noble character. Even while a person is sinning G-d sustains and supports them, bearing their sin with compassion and patiently waiting for them to return to Him in true repentance. The great 16th century kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Cordovo in his sefer Tomer Devorah explains that the essence of man’s duty in this world is that he emulates his Creator by acting with patience, mercy and an endless flow of goodness even towards those who offend him.

The fact the G-d does not react to our sins should bring us even closer to him, not cause us to deny his existence. His tolerance and clemency is an expression of His tremendous love and even a greater reason for us to be grateful and long to come close to Him.

Bal Peor's philosophy is also the antithesis to the Torah because the Torah requires from us to extend it's laws and rules into cases which were not even written explicitly. Mesillat Yesharim explains this principle in chapter 11.

"We shall now consider the sin of illicit relations, which is also included among the most severe sins, being second only to theft, as revealed in the statement of our Sages of blessed memory (Bava Bathra 165a), "The majority succumb to the sin of theft, a minority to that of illicit relations."

One who desires to be completely clean of this sin also requires no little effort, for its prohibition takes in not only the act itself, but anything that approaches it, as Scripture clearly states (Leviticus 18:6), "Do not come near to uncover nakedness." And our Sages of blessed memory have said (Shemoth Rabbah 16:2), "The Holy One Blessed be He said, `Do not say, "Since I may not live with a woman, I will hold her and be free of sin, I will embrace her and be free of sin; or I will kiss her and be free of sin." '

The Holy One Blessed be He said, `Just as when a Nazarite takes a vow not to drink wine, he is forbidden to eat grapes or raisins or drink grape juice, or partake of anything, for that matter, which comes from the grapevine, so is it forbidden to touch any woman but your own wife; and anyone who does touch a woman other than his wife brings death to himself.' " See how wonderful these words are! The prohibition in the case of illicit relations is likened to that in the case of a Nazarite, where, even though the essence of the prohibition involves only the drinking of wine, the Torah forbids to him anything which has some connection with wine. Through what it says concerning a Nazarite, the Torah is teaching the Sages how to make "a fence around the Torah" by way of implementing the authority vested in them to reinforce the Torah's rulings.

Using the case of the Nazarite as a prototype, the Torah is instructing the Sages to proscribe, because of a basic prohibition, anything that is similar to it. To reveal God's will in the matter, the Torah did in relation to the mitzvah of the Nazarite what it authorized the Sages to do in relation to all the other mitzvoth, namely, to forbid anything which approaches the nature of what is proscribed, by deducing what is not stated from what is stated. By applying this principle to the area of illicit relations, the Sages prohibited anything partaking of the nature of fornication or approaching it, regardless of the particular avenue of approach, whether that of deed, or sight, or speech, or hearing, or even thought."

Our perspective on life is just the opposite from Bal Peor. Instead of looking to break down all rules to free our animal nature we look for ways apply the laws because this is the will of our Creator. Understanding that the things connected and associated with a sin are an extension of the sin itself can give tremendous strength in places we would normally fail. If you were a Nazir would you eat a grape? As Jews we find our true freedom because we are no longer enslaved by our base desires. Not by creating a fake freedom which in truth is the submission to lust and gluttony.

By taking zealous action and performing the commandment of slaughtering those in an indecent and immoral act, Pinchas retuned G-d’s lost honor and revealed G-d’s forgotten presence.

Application:
Give 10 quick answers to the following sentence stems:
G-d is kind to me even though I …
G-d doesn’t want to punish me because…