“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.” Numbers 25:7-9 (ESV)
Instead of influencing the culture, the people of Israel were influenced by the culture. Instead of being a thermostat and setting the environment, the people of Israel became like a thermometer and reflected the environment. They drifted into Baal worship and forfeited their loyalty and devotion to the Lord their God.
Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas, took the initiative to end the descent into pagan worship by piercing the Israelite and the Midianite woman he brought to his family in the sight of Moses and the congregation of the people of Israel. In response to this courageous move by Phinehas, God stopped the plague on the people of Israel.
This was a dark day for the people of Israel in that twenty-four thousand had died by the plague. God credited Phinehas with turning back His wrath on the people of Israel. God affirmed Phinehas for being jealous with God’s jealousy among the people of Israel.
What is the life lesson from such a traumatic encounter? Value what God values! Place the same value on people that God does. Place the same value on God’s will and God’s way that God does. Be zealous for the things of God and be diligent to be an irresistible influence for the Lord. Don’t allow the culture to shape you. Choose to shape culture by valuing what God values.
Riding HIS Wave,
Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
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