The Zeal of Phinehas

Last Sunday I preached about Phinehas, a rarely heard young character from the book of Numbers (25). I decided to preach about him when I felt that sometimes as Filipinos we avoid confrontations, even if the issue badly needs one such as sin. Confrontations are good, just like most things, when used properly. This personally happened to me when one of the faithful students in our campus bible study got entagled with some dead serious sin. And I felt that as her pastor, I failed to address the issue though I did something about it. I felt that I didn't do much about it. Being outrun by too much "kindness", sparing harsh discipline and "it already happened, what can we do now?"

The Zeal of Phinehas

Scripture:

Proverbs 8:13, "To fear the Lord is to hate evil."

Numbers 25:10-13, "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying “Phinehas … has turned My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.” Therefore I say, “Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.”

In Numbers 25, we find the Israelites crossing Moab and after Balak's failed attempt to curse Israel through the prophet Balaam (ch 24), he took an alternative to destroy Israel by sending Moab's most beautiful and sexiest women of the land to entice Israel to engage in lust and idol worship (Rev. 2:14). God was furious that He asked Moses to execute all guilty parties among Israel. But there was one rebellious son of one of the tribe leader who in his defiant stance brought a Midianite woman into his tent in the sight of Moses and all Israel. Then the focus zooms to a young man named Phinehas. We read in Numbers 25:7-9:

"When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were 24,000." (Numbers 25:7-9)

God was very impressed with Phinehas action that He said to Moses,

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying “Phinehas … has turned My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.” Therefore I say, “Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.” (Numbers 25:10-13)

Phinehas had a lot of Z.E.A.L.:

Phinehas had ZERO-TOLERANCE for sin
He loved God so much that he despised sin in the same manner as God. God said Phinehas was "jealous for My jealousy." Phinehas didn't turn the blind-eye when he saw this upfront defiance against God's law. Proverbs 8:13 say, "to fear the Lord is to hate evil." Living in a fallen world always challenges our "fear of the Lord" when we compromise our stance against issues, turn the blind-eye against injustice and evil especially when we have a power to do something about it, and moreover when we are deceived by our own pet sins (Psalm 36:1-2, Proverbs 9:17-18). The true test for every believer is his displeasure towards sin and anything that is evil (1 John 2:15-17).

When we are tempted to take in temptations and nurse sin in our lives let us take God's prescription for Moses:

Numbers 25:4, "The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

1. Take the leaders and execute them … stay away from/eliminate anyone or anything that causes or leads you to sin.
2. In broad daylight … expose it in broad daylight so "everyone" will see and learn. Be accountable to someone who will track your commitment to end that sin in your life.
3. Before the Lord … commit your decision to the Lord who gives you strength.

Phinehas EMERGED from the crowd
God was pleased with Phinehas because he took initiative by atoning (appeasing) for the sin in behalf of the sons of Israel. God said, “Behold, I give him My covenant ... because he ... made atonement for the sons of Israel” (Numbers 25:12-13). He didn't wait for someone to do it, he didn't ask someone to do it, nor he didn't wait for someone to tell him to do it. And because of his initiative to execute God's righteousness in the camp, the plagued finally ended, but 24,000 unnecessary casualties had already occured.

Jesus himself tells us that if a brother or a sister sins, we must go and show him his fault in private so that he will realize his fault. Sometimes the truth hurts, but like a bitter medicine it needs to be ingested. Paul adds to this when he warns us that we must speak the truth "in love."

Phinehas ACTED upon his convictions
It's interesting that throughout the story we didn't hear a single word uttered by Phinehas. We only saw him as he moved about and execute God's judgment on the defiant couple. Verse 7-8, "he saw ... he arose from the congregation ... he took a spear ... he ran after the man ... he pierced both of them ..." He was a man of action. While others were weeping (v. 6), he acted and became the solution. He was someone you can depend on when the going got tough. Sometimes when faced with stubborn sin among our family, friends and even ourselves, we sheepishly and silently protest, "weeping" and mourning, instead of acting upon what we know in God's Word. God is looking for men to stand in the gap (Ez 22:23-30) who will "stop the plague" of sin from spreading and destroying the lives of those who harbor it and the people around them.

Finally, Phinehas was LOYAL to his God
Phinehas was God's number one fan. The bottom line is Phinehas loved God so much that whatever God loves, he loves, whatever God hates, he hates, no questions whatsoever. God was pleased with Phinehas because he was "jealous for My jealousy." Now isn't jealousy such a negative attitude for a good God to have? But the Bible is quite clear about it, our God is a jealous God. Webster defines jealousy as "lacking permissive attitude towards rivalry or unfaithfulness". So what is God jealous about? Let us read what He said when He handed out the 10 commandments to Moses:

Deuteronomy 5:8-10, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

God is madly jealous for us when we set up idols. Now perhaps we already realize that idols are not just statues people pray to but objects or people who takes more priority in our life than God, whether it's money, fame, friends or boy/girlfriends. Do we have idols in our life that provoke our God to be madly jealous for You? The best way to keep ourselves from anything that takes us away from Him is to draw nearer and closer to God.

Phinehas was full of Z.E.A.L.:

• ZERO-TOLERANCE for sin
• EMERGE from the crowd
• ACT upon your convictions
• LOYAL to God

In the end, God made a covenant with Phinehas. Now when God makes a covenant, three things: it's unbreakable, it's true (He doesn't lie), and it's for eternity. Now who doesn't want that. And because Phinehas was pleasing in the sight of God by being "jealous for His jealousy", God made a "covenant of peace" with him (v. 12-13). Peace that passes all understanding, peace that breaks down walls of fear and doubt. And God promised that his sons and their sons after him will forever serve Him in his presence. We can have that peace when we truly and wholeheartedly surrender our lives to Him, and align faithfully with Him. My prayer for me and you is that we may grow that spirit of Phinehas that is passionately zealous for God and His kingdom, staying true to Him and His ways.