Numbers 25:10–29:40 (30:1); Jeremiah 1:1–2:3; 1 Peter 3:8–4:19
In this parasha, Phinehas completes the episode that ended the devastating plague upon the Israelites after they had been seduced into idolatry by the Moabite and Midianite women. For this, his reward was to receive a “covenant of peace” (Num. 25:12) and a “lasting priesthood” (Num. 25:13).
“Phinehas (Eleazar’s son and Priest Aaron’s grandson) has done well. He saved the Israelites. Because he was so zealous on My account, tolerating no compromise, I did not consume the people of Israel with My jealousy. 12 So I want you to declare this: “I, your God, do pledge to Phinehas a covenant of peace, 13 not only for him but for his descendants too. I promise they will always be priests because in his jealousy (zeal) for Me, Phinehas covered the wickedness of the Israelites.” (Num.25:10-13)
What was the “zeal” being referred to here? For this, we need to go back a few verses to understand the context: “While the people of Israel were still camped at Acacia, the men began sinning sexually with Moabite women [ on the advice of Balaam who found another way to get his money; 31:16]. 2 The women invited them to their sacrifices to their gods, and the Israelites ate food there and worshiped these gods. 3 So the Israelites yoked themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was very angry with them. 4 The Lord said to Moses, “Get all the leaders of the people and kill them in open daylight in the presence of the Lord. Then the Lord will not be angry with the people of Israel.” 5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must ·put to death [kill] your people who have become worshipers of [yoked to] Baal of Peor.” 6 Moses and the Israelites were gathered at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, crying there.
Then an Israelite man [of the children of Israel] brought a Midianite woman to his brothers [family] in plain sight of Moses and all the people. 7 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, so he rose up from the community and took in his hand his spear. 8 He followed the Israelite into the newlywed tent and drove his spear through the belly of both the Israelite man and the Midianite woman while they were embracing. Then the plague among the Israelites stopped.” (Num 25:1-9 – EXB)
Here we see a terrible situation where the Israelites had been seduced by Ba’alim into sinning against the Lord after he discovered that he was unable to curse them. The issue was threefold: immorality, idolatry and inter-marrying foreign, pagan nations (unequally yoked -murder) similar to instructions given to Gentile christians following the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15.
While Moses was dealing with this situation, an Israelite, Zimri, the son of the Israelite prince Salu from the Tribe of Simeon, openly defied Moses and the other leaders who were standing at the Tabernacle entrance with Moses, by committing immorality with Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite princess in full view of the Israelite community. Everyone just looked on as spectators until Phinehas took the initiative. Even Moses, was hesitant to intervene, maybe because his wife Zipporah herself was a Midianite? Have you ever been in a situation where you melted in with the crowd instead of standing out against unrighteousness? The “fellowship of His sufferings” is where we are willing to pay the cost for standing against every manifold expression of sin.
Phinehas action turned away God’s wrath from Israel and this was rewarded with a “covenant of peace” (Num. 25:13). God’s blessing on His people is ‘shalom’, that is usually translated as ‘peace’ but better translated “order” – God’s order. He is a God of order not of disorder, chaos or anarchy (1Cor.14:33) a trade mark of Satan.
This is the first time the phrase “covenant of peace” is employed in Scripture, which holds significance of first mention. It places Phinehas’ actions in perspective that brought order out of chaos. The “covenant of peace” extended to all his descendants who inherited the role of priestly mediators that was ultimately fulfilled in Yeshua, our “Great High Priest.” Through the action of Phinehas, a Divine plague afflicting the Jewish nation which destroyed 24,000 Israelites was halted, a shadow and type of Yeshua who dealt a decisive blow against the plague of sin by offering His life a ransom for many for the propitiation for sin because “…He poured out His soul to death and was counted with transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12b). “He who knew no sin became sin for us…” (2Cor. 5:21)
Clearly, the “covenant of peace” holds monumental significance prophetically and established at a future time for believers the basis for the Gospel of peace, echoing the words of Yeshua: “27 Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] (John 14:27 AMP)
God’s peace (order) is our covering and protection in every circumstance. It is active and never passive, destroying the power that binds us to chaos and bringing order out of the chaos of sin as clearly revealed in the paleo-Hebrew.
Isaiah, Ezekiel and Malachi each demonstrate the elements of this in different ways. Isaiah noted (ch 54) that during times of turbulence such as in these end times, the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but His covenant of peace will keep us in His perfect peace (whose mind is stayed on Him – ch.26:3) along with His steadfast love. Here is contained an irrevocable promise for the Jewish people that keeps us on tender-hooks with a story that promises to end well: “7 God says, “I left you for a ·short time [moment], but with great ·kindness [mercy; compassion] I will bring you back again. 8 I ·became very angry [had a surge/burst of anger] and hid from you for a ·time [moment], but I will show you ·mercy [compassion] with ·kindness [lovingkindness; loyalty; covenant love] forever,”says the Lord ·who saves you [your redeemer]. 9 The Lord says, “This day is like the ·time [days] of Noah to me [Gen. 6–9]. I ·promised [swore] then that ·I [L the waters of Noah] would never ·flood [cover] the world again [Gen. 9:11]. In the same way, I ·promise [swore] I will not be angry with you or ·punish [rebuke] you again. 10 The mountains may ·disappear [move; be shaken], and the hills may ·come to an end [be removed; disappear], but my love [lovingkindness; loyalty; covenant love] will never ·disappear [be moved/shaken]; my ·promise [covenant; treaty] of peace will not ·come to an end [be removed; disappear],” says the Lord who ·shows mercy to [has compassion for] you.”
Ezekiel ch. 34 describes a time when the covenant of peace is fully manifested where His people will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the domain of wild beasts without fear: “25 I will establish a covenant of peace with them and drive away all the dangerous wild animals from the land. Then they will be able to live safely in the wilderness and sleep soundly in the forests. 26 I will make them and the area around My holy hill a blessing. At My direction, there will be plenty of rainfall when it is needed. There will be showers of blessing! 27 The trees of the fields and orchards will bear abundant fruit, the soil of the fields will produce ample crops, and My people will rest securely within their land.”
God honoured a violent act by Phinehas but it was not the violence He was honouring – but zeal for Himself. We see a parallel when Yeshua, speaking to the multitudes said: “2 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize].” (Matt.11:12) While commentators have wrestled with the translation of the word, “violent” in the text, Yeshua taught that entering the Kingdom of Heaven requires deliberate, and determined action of those desiring God’s best. If we desire to receive all He has on offer, we need to appropriate it zealously, aggressively and violently. From a 1st century Jewish mindset, this word would have been clearly understood to clamouring or stampeding through a narrow doorway to gain access. (Micah 2:12-13)
This links the covenant of peace and the authority of the key of the house of David. Phinehas acted in mediating between life and death to restore God’s presence and protection to the community in place of judgement. As has been eloquently penned: “It bears on what (Yeshua) described as the mantle He was passing on: … It incorporates the responsibility of the covenant of peace, of being a mediator, not just of mercy, but of judgment in our task of upholding the honour of God for the higher good of the community. It comes at a cost.” Morris Ruddick — info@strategic-initiatives.org
As believers it is our responsibility to be zealous for God’s honour to restore and maintain His order, His shalom, against the backdrop of spiritual compromise and delegitimisation – abortion: gay lifestyles and all other expressions of immorality: anti-Semitism and very type of brutalising racism: New Age expressions including spiritual witchcraft: preaching an incomplete Gospel and a false Jesus, etc. We are seeing sin tolerated and even embraced within the Church and a spiritual plague is consequently running rife through the acceptance of all manner of ungodly seductions.
We should be clear that this parasha is about devotion to God’s covenant with a shared purpose rather than ethnicity or purity of race. God was concerned about Israel’s protection and well-being to preserve their identities as His people no different to each of us as believers. God desires us to be participators in His Kingdom, not spectators! Standing up for righteousness often flies in the face of political correctness that goes directly against the stream, and the consequences of our choices soon become very evident with a cost factor where we do not love our lives even unto death. (Rev. 12:1) This is the mark of an overcomer such as Phinehas.
Sin is violent and destructive in its consequences, so we must choose whether or not to deal with it whenever it enters the camp. Paul wrote that “… the weapons of the war we’re fighting are not of this world but are powered by God and effective at tearing down the strongholds erected against His truth. 5 We are demolishing arguments and ideas, every high-and-mighty philosophy that pits itself against the knowledge of the one true God. We are taking prisoners of every thought, every emotion, and subduing them into obedience to the Anointed One. 6 As soon as you choose obedience, we stand ready to punish every act of disobedience. The choice is ours but “many are called but few are chosen,” or as more accurately translated, “Many are called but few choose.” (Matt. 22:14)
This is what it means to be “violent” for God and it in this sense He honoured Phineas’ ‘violence’. As a type and shadow it illustrates the truth and cost of being wholehearted for God. The consequences of sin are dreadful. The wages of sin is death but spiritual death is far more terrible than the physical equivalent. The most terrifying thing anyone can experience is to be rejected by God who views apathy as one of our greatest enemies. Yeshua’s act of voluntarily laying down His life as a propitiation for our sins was the most radical and violent expression of love in history which no person can escape and each one of us is accountable to.
Phinehas performed a great exploit by stemming a plague sent by God where 24,000 Israelites had perished. How zealous are we for the honour of God? A plague has spread throughout the world today predicated by a staggering embrace of unrighteousness accompanied by high tolerance for lawlessness. As stewards of God’s covenant of peace (order), may we be like Phinehas to promote God’s mercy and judgement against the plague of sin run rampant: to release God’s order and hold all deception captive to His word: to reveal truth zealously in the spirit of agape love with limitless compassion toward others without compromise or discrimination. This is the violence that will shake nations and cause the enemy to shudder!
