Phinehas: Zealous for God (Part 2)

Last week’s article observed the zeal of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. When the Midianite women came to seduce the men of Israel to commit fornication and worship an idol, he ran an Israelite ruler’s, son and the daughter of a Midianite chieftain through with a spear. His act pleased God and stopped a divinely sent plague upon Israel. Paul used this event to warn the Corinthian saints, “nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; …Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:8,11).

In Numbers 25 Phinehas is seen as God’s zealous executioner-priest. Next he will be seen as a warrior-priest and a diplomat-priest.

● Warrior-Priest

God sent the Israelites on a campaign against the Midianites to exact His divine revenge against them for their temptation of Israel in the incident at Baal Peor. Phinehas went with Israelites soldiers to fight the Midianites. “Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand” (Numbers 31:6). The Israelites were also after Balaam who gave counsel to King Balak of Moab. The Moabites “caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor” (Numbers 31:16). Balaam would have topped the Lord’s “Most Wanted” list. He had used weapons of mass destruction, such as, sex, idols, and food as lethal weapons to kill Israelites. He was like an ancient Osama bin Ladin and his Al-Qaeda gang the Moabites and Midianites. Tragic as September 11th was the Baal of Peor disaster resulted in eight times as many deaths. Not only did they kill Balaam, Israel burned their cities, took their animals, and brought back women and children as captives to their main camp along the border of Moab. The Israelites did not lose a man in the expedition.

When the tribe of Benjamin would not judge the murderous homosexuals in their midst, “the children of Israel inquired of the Lord (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, ‘Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?’ And the Lord said, ‘Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand’” (Judges 20:27-28). In this second campaign for God, Phinehas demonstrated his zeal for the Lord was seen as he carried the Word of the Lord to the people concerning the avenging of the sin of the Benjamites. Twice, now, Phinehas served as God’s warrior-priest.

● Diplomat-Priest

After the land of Promise had been settled for the most part by the Israelites (Josh. 22:9) and alter is built (22:10). When the tribe of Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh came to the region by the Jordan, it is said they “built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size.” But for what reason? Their reasoning is explained later. To some Israelites this was a clear violation of the commandments of God. “And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them” (22:12). Phinehas was not so quick to go to war a third time. Plus, God had not do order a campaign against these two tribes. He took a delegation to investigate what was going on with this altar. The purpose of the altar was to serve as a testimony to all that they were a part of Israel, though on the other side of Jordan (vv. 13-30). It was to serve as a reminder, they were all still part of Israel and worshiped the same Lord. Learning the real motivation behind the altar Phinehas returns to the tribes of the west side of the Jordan. Phinehas and the others returned to the other Israelites praising God (30-34). Phinehas recognized that the altar was not an act of rebellion or treachery, and the rest were pleased to hear it.

Phinehas, though full of zeal, did not act rashly and destroy his brethren without checking the facts first. Zeal does not mean “out of control”! At Gilead, he did not simply “shoot first and ask questions later” as many are prone to do even today. Phinehas posed questions, voiced his concerns, pay attention to the testimony, and employed wise judgment.

● Eternal-Priest

Not only did God say he was going to make an eternal covenant with Phinehas and this children throughout the generations because of his God-like zeal, He is to be remembered for this deed throughout all time. Phinehas’ zeal is commemorated in Psalm 106:28-31: “They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, And the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness To all generations forevermore.”

As God’s royal priests (1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6) Christians must fight the good fight of faith as warrior-priests for God. And as diplomat-priest was must show proper care and respect for one another. Finally as eternal-priest we must prepare ourselves to serve God zealously forever.

– by Daniel R. Vess

Please, Recycle Your Corn Cobs

Who doesn’t love corn on the cob? Growing up in north central Ohio in a family of eight we had an acre size garden in the rolling hills of the Mohican area. The soil as so rich and the summer rains so abundant, all we had to do was to plough the plot, plant the seeds, pull the weeds, and pick the produce. There was no need to water or fertilize. One thing we always had plenty of was sweet corn.

We had enough sweet corn every year my mother cut off the kernels of corn and bagged them up in the freezer to be used the rest of the year. So what did she do with all those left over corn cobs? Our ancestors had plenty of uses for the leftover cobs. Some made corn cob pipes. Others dried them out and kept them as cheap and effect fire starters for the wood burning stove. Corn cobs make great pot scrubbers. Most fed them to the hogs and the rest went out with the trash. Some of it was used for livestock bedding or even ground up to make kitty litter for the city slickers who kept indoor cats. Some of the softer corn cobs found a home in the family outhouse to be used as toilet paper. Today, some continue to find uses such as a paint roller to make neat patterns on the wall. They are abrasive enough when dries out to clean the barbecue grill. Those you do not see the virtue of maintaining a sober mind have made corn cob wine.

I still like what mom did with the leftover corn cobs. She made corn cob jelly. A jar of corn cob jelly was clear and golden. It tasted sweet like honey. The best thing to spread it on was some sweet corn bread and you had yourself a desert to eat along with your meal. This delicacy is not that easy to find in some parts of the country. In Kidron, Ohio, the Amish capital of the world, they have a store called Lehman’s where you can not only order jars of corn cob jelly but also something for those who like Tex-Mex: Jalapeno Raspberry Jam.

All I remember about making corn cob jelly is that it required a lot of planting, picking, cutting, and boiling to come up with the end product. The same can be said for those who are saints found pleasing to God. The Seed or God’s Word has to be first planted into the hearts of men before it can grow and start producing fruit. Paul reminded the Corinthians brethren “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6). Planting the seed leads to the harvesting of souls. Jesus told his disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37,38). Once souls are harvested there still needs to be some cutting or removing. Jesus warned, “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:30). Finally, believe it or not boiling is required in the making of a pure and faithful Christian. Paul command the Romans brethren were to be: “not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11). The term “fervent” in the Greek is the word zeo meaning to be boil hot. The Lord does not like look work Christians. He vomits them out of their mouth (Rev. 3:15f).

I do like the taste of corn cob jelly even if it does take a lot of planting, picking, cutting, and boiling. God loves those who are faithful servants who are separating themselves from sin and boiling hot in their service to Him.

– Daniel R. Vess

News & Notes

● Morning’s Lesson: Keep on Being Strong in the Grace Text: 2 Timothy 2:1-7
● Contribution Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:13,14
● Tonight is our monthly Singing.
● Our Gospel Meeting starts November 3-6. Please pass the word.

The Forum – September 18, 2016 – Phinehas: Zealous for God (Part 1)
The Forum - October 2, 2016 - Parable of the Rich Fool
Categories: The Forum