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. 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 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. Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
How zealous ought we be for the holiness of God? In our society most Christians have taken up the banner to let others do their thing and to avoid engaging with those living in open sin. We have taken the it is none of my business approach to life. The same is probably true in most churches today. However, the above story challenges this approach and our zeal for God concerning His holiness. The above paragraph is a sequel to the one before it. The nation of Israel had been enticed by the people of Moah to join them in their feasts and celebrations of their false gods. Balak, the king of Moab, had at first asked the prophet Balaam to curse Israel (on three separate occasions). But God told Balaam to not curse them. Instead (to receive the money Balak had offered him) Balaam counseled Balak to not fight Israel but instead to entice them through a party. As a result, the nation fell into sin and worshipped Moab’s gods. This worship included sexual engagement with their women. God subsequently sends discipline on Israel. In the midst of mourning over this discipline, Phinehas , the son of Aaron the priest, observes a man of Israel take a woman of Moab into his tent and, apparently, into his bed chamber. Instead of mourning the loss of lives due the sin of worshipping of a false god, this Israelite man decides to further inflame God with his sexual desire for this Moabite woman. Phinehas, being full of zeal for God’s holiness, impales the two of them with one thrust of the spear. It is not suggested in this blog that we start to thrust sinning people with a spear. But this does challenge our passivity toward open sin in the midst of God’s glory. In Acts 5 we read about two people who simply lied about how much money they sold their land for and gave to God. God struck them dead in front of the church. In 1 Corinthians 5 we read about Paul telling the church to withdraw their fellowship with a young man who was apparently sleeping with his stepmom. They were to literally turn him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, but that his soul would be saved. In Paul and Peter’s letter they repeatedly call out false teachers. In our day we happily go on our way when people openly live in sin. Paul told us all what to do when we see our brothers caught up in sin. It would better for the church if we would live this way:
Galatians 6:1 (ESV)
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
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