Numbers 25:1-11
1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.
In this story the Israelites engaged in sexual immorality and were about to be severely punished when one man, Phinehas, acted zealously for the Lord. Because of this, the Lord turned away His anger and forgave the Israelites. We too are faced with a world where sexual immorality is rampant. How do we react to that? Are we zealous for the Lord? Do we intercede for our loved ones in the area of sexuality? Or are we passive, silent and isolated? This is not to say that we should take vengeance into our hands like Phinehas did (for he was responding to a specific instruction of the Lord). But we should be zealous for the honor of God, we should care, passionately, about what our friends and neighbors are doing. The last step of the 12 steps is to take our message of hope to others who are trapped in their addiction. This means caring enough to reach out, rather than passively ignoring the world around us. The good news is that the efforts of a single caring person, like Phinehas, can have far-reaching effects.
Heavenly Father, I confess that I would prefer to turn the blind eye and ignore what others are doing. To get involved is to risk failure, hurt, and rejection. But You have called me to care for others, which includes caring about their purity. Help me to reflect Your love and zeal.
1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.
In this story the Israelites engaged in sexual immorality and were about to be severely punished when one man, Phinehas, acted zealously for the Lord. Because of this, the Lord turned away His anger and forgave the Israelites. We too are faced with a world where sexual immorality is rampant. How do we react to that? Are we zealous for the Lord? Do we intercede for our loved ones in the area of sexuality? Or are we passive, silent and isolated? This is not to say that we should take vengeance into our hands like Phinehas did (for he was responding to a specific instruction of the Lord). But we should be zealous for the honor of God, we should care, passionately, about what our friends and neighbors are doing. The last step of the 12 steps is to take our message of hope to others who are trapped in their addiction. This means caring enough to reach out, rather than passively ignoring the world around us. The good news is that the efforts of a single caring person, like Phinehas, can have far-reaching effects.
Heavenly Father, I confess that I would prefer to turn the blind eye and ignore what others are doing. To get involved is to risk failure, hurt, and rejection. But You have called me to care for others, which includes caring about their purity. Help me to reflect Your love and zeal.