Moses and the congregation did not take decisive action as instructed by God. Instead, they were found weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Because the punishment was not swift enough, God sent a plague to discipline them. Meanwhile, the people of Israel continued in their immorality and even committed it more blatantly. Remember forty years earlier, at the foot of Mount Sinai when Moses went up to meet God to receive the Ten Commandments, they played the harlot with the golden calf they built to worship. In their reveling then, they were engaged in sexual orgies. And now forty years later, towards the end of their journey, they again played the harlot at Shittim. This time it became more blatant. They did it with the foreign women.
Immorality is one inclination that men
have found hard to control ever since the fall. Today illicit sex has been
greatly glamorized by magazines, TV, shows, soap operas and drama series, etc. Aware
of it or not, mankind, to a large extent, has become numb to the wrong of
adultery and fornication. These acts have been muted by being referred to
as an affair instead of a downright sin. Many people, even seasoned believers,
had fallen prey to it in a moment of unguardedness. This is one area every
serious believer needs to be alert and be watchful over, with great diligence. The
Bible constantly warns us to guard our life against lust, especially the
pursuit of sexual pleasure. So if we aim to please the Lord all our life, take
God and His word seriously. Here is one good piece of advice from Paul recorded
in 2 Timothy 2:22, “So flee youthful passions
and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those
who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
In Numbers 25:6-9, we see one of the sons of Israel brought a Midianite woman for his relatives. It was obvious what they intended to do. Of all the people only one person had the presence of mind to do what was needful to avert the discipline of God. That man was Eleazar’s son Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. When he saw what was happening, Verses 7-8 said, “…he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body.” It was his courage and zeal that had brought the judgment of God to a halt. By then 24,000 had already died by the plague.
The courage of Phinehas should be applauded. The sin committed here was in the full view of the congregation, including Moses. Yet this young priest was the one who had the courage to do what was right. He not only did what was difficult but also what seemed dangerous. Are we courageous enough to acknowledge we are on God’s side and be numbered among the minority in the world? The second thing Phinehas had was zeal. He was so consumed by the zeal of God that he could not stand God being made a mockery by the people. He was so zealous for God that he did what was needful to right the wrong. Do we possess such zeal for the Lord? We can see this as a call for us to live and act courageously and zealously for God in a world where wrong seems right. Be faithful and stand up for God in our fallen world!
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