What a great illustration of standing strong
for the LORD in the midst of rampant immorality. Israel was still in the Plains of Moab. According to Num. 33:49 the Acacia Grove was
part of the plains area. Num. 25:1 seems
to indicate that the people of Israel had no knowledge of the event that
unfolded in the mountains that overlooked their camp. But it does seem rather clear that Balaam,
who could not get paid by cursing Israel, likely got paid by instructing the
people of Moab to entice the Israelites to commit fornication. Num. 25:18 says this was all a “scheme” of
Moab. Num. 31:8 indicates that when
Israel took vengeance on the Midianites, they also killed Balaam. When Balaam left Balak and returned to “his
place” (24:25), that place was with the Midianites.
This event, involving harlotry with the women
of Moab, and the judgment of God as well as the faith of Phinehas, became a
signal event in Israel. It was known as the
incident of Peor (Num. 31:16) or what the LORD did at Baal Peor
(Deut. 4:3). Joshua referred to it in
his last days (Josh. 22:17), as does the Psalmist (Ps. 106:28) and the prophet
Hosea (9:10).
Phinehas became the priest in Israel during
the time of Joshua and later. There are
two other stories that mention him and they confirm his godly steadfastness as
seen in Num. 25. In Joshua 22:30-31 he was
sent to investigate the possibility that the two and a half tribes on the east
side of the Jordan had fallen into idolatry.
In Judges, when eleven tribes gathered against the tribe of Benjamin for
allowing debauchery to run rampant, it was Phinehas who led the tribes to deal
with the wickedness, even after being defeated by Benjamin in their first two battles.
God’s covenant of peace (25:12) means Phinehas
was reconciled to God and was blessed with an everlasting priesthood
(25:13). Later, in Isa. 54:10 and Ezek.
34:25; 37:26, the New Covenant is a covenant of peace. The term “shalom” not only refers to a
peaceful relationship but to the resultant blessings that come because of that
relationship. So with Phinehas, and with
believers under the New Covenant, we have peace with God and every spiritual
blessing in Christ Jesus (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 1:3).
Note one other part of this story. In this time in Israel, it was a godly thing
to take a spear and run it through two sinning young people, both being identified
by name. The two people are emblematic
of the entirety of those who engaged in the harlotry. Many others were killed in judgment as
well. This is godliness. Such is not the case today. The situations are different. Phinehas was standing up for God in a
nation-versus-nation situation. The
Apostle Paul also, on a few occasions, gave the names of enemies of the gospel
so that believers could be warned not to follow them.
I mention this for a couple of reasons. One is that there need to be clear warnings
about those whose example would lead us astray, out of the blessing of God and
under His chastisement and judgment. The
other is to remind us that life in Israel included war, and like worship at the
temple, war was a spiritual or religious experience. Israel was God’s witness to the Moabites and
Midianites and other nations around them, a witness of how holy and powerful
the LORD was. This was played out at the
temple and on the battlefield.
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