Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. (Numbers 25:11 NKJV)
God brought a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites because they committed the sin of sexual immorality and idol worship. The only thing that may pacify the anger of God was for them to slay the people who committed sin against God. Those who have zeal in obeying God wept because they cannot stand the sight of sin and death in the land. One of them was Phinehas. With his javelin, he killed an Israelite chief of a tribe and a Medianite prostitute woman fornicating inside a tent, an act of idol worship that includes sexual acts. Because of Phinehas’ zeal, God took away the plague that saved the rest of the children of Israel. He was given the covenant of peace, the everlasting of priesthood that lasted even to his children after death. The zeal of the Lord is now for His Church, for us to become His perfect image and partakers of His glory. His zeal to save souls is unwavering. If we, as the Church, have the zeal of Christ, the we will be able to save people from all races and nations of the earth. Just like Phinehas, we shall be able to keep the divine covenant of peace and the great honor of belonging of God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood (everlasting priesthood), a holy nation who declares the Lord’s glory.
