Eb – God’s Eternal Covenant with Phinehas 25: 10-18

God’s Eternal Covenant with Phinehas
25: 10-18

God’s eternal covenant with Phinehas DIG: What would have happened if Phinehas had either waited several days, or even not cared at all and did nothing? Why was Phinehas rewarded for his actions? Define zealous. How did Phinehas make atonement for Isra’el? Why are Zimri and Cozbi now remembered?

REFLECT: What covenant of peace do you have with Messiah (John 14:27)? How does the action of Phinehas encourage you to act when you see blasphemy against your God? What does it mean to be zealous for the Lord in today’s culture? How can this story of Isra’el’s seduction aid you in this struggle? 

Parashah 40: Phinehas (dark-skinned) 25:10 to 29:40
(See my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People are Moshe, Phinehas, Zimri, Cozbi, the Midianites, Eleazar, the Israelites who were counted a second time and listed clan by clan, Caleb and Joshua. This portion is named for Phinehas, the zealous grandson of Aaron the high priest, who turned aside God’s anger by publicly impaling two flagrant transgressors of Torah. Without trial or due process, Phinehas rose up as a court of one. He was the witness, judge, and executioner. Yet, rather than being punished for his zeal, Phinehas was awarded an eternal covenant of peace.

The Scenes are on the plains of Mo’av by the Jordan across from Jericho; entrance into the Tabernacle, and a mountain in the Abarim range.

The Main Events include Phinehas becoming High Priest because of his zeal, another census count for the army, land inheritance that was to be based on numbers, the Levites receiving no land, a note that the first generation had all died except for Caleb and Joshua, Joshua declared the new leader to succeed Moshe, and regular and festival offerings spelled out.

Phinehas made atonement for the people of Isra’el.

In this parashah, we find ourselves back in the setting of the camp of Isra’el. The Guardian and Protector of Isra’el has just thwarted a potentially major catastrophe in the spiritual realm by stifling the curses of Balak and causing the evil Balaam to utter blessings toward Isra’el. Now ADONAI has some unfinished business to attend to in order to fully prepare the wilderness generation to take possession of the Land.

The zeal of Phinehas (25:10-11): ADONAI said to Moshe, “Phinehas the son of El‘azar, the son of Aaron the high priest, has deflected my anger from the people of Isra’el by being as zealous as I am, so that I didn’t destroy them in my own zeal.” The word that is translated as jealousy is the Hebrew word kana, a word that can also be understood as zeal. In fact, the anti-Roman, Jewish revolutionaries of the First Century were referred to by the same word: the Zealots. First Century Judea and Galilee were filled with political and religious zealots who regularly resorted to violence to advance their purposes. In many ways, their fervor and ruthlessness is comparable to religious fundamentalists, who trouble our modern world with terrorism and bloodshed.

Prior to his encounter with Messiah on the road to Damascus (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bc – Sha’ul Turns from Murder to Messiah), Rabbi Sha’ul pursued believers with a Phinehas-like zeal. As he wrote to the Philippians, he mentioned his history as a persecutor of the believers as evidence of his zeal for God (Philippians 3:6). It is far better to emulate the Master who was zealous for His Father’s house (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bs – The First Cleansing of the Temple) and His Father’s will. It is good to be zealous for God, but we must be careful in case we misplace that zeal. We should be zealous for the godly standards of the Kingdom of God; we should be zealous for the Word of God; and we should be zealous for our Lord. This means ruthlessly rooting out from our lives those things that lead us to sin and compromise. After Phinehas had stopped the plague, Ha’Shem instructed Moshe to carry out His zeal against Midian. Because the Midianites had conspired to seduce the sons of Isra’el, Moses was told to lead Isra’el in a war against them. We need to exercise this same type of vigilance in our war against the flesh. For Messiah gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good mitzvot (Titus 2:14).⁵⁶³

God’s eternal covenant (25:12-13a): To protect Phinehas from being punished for taking the law into his own hands, the LORD announced: I am giving him my eternal covenant of shalom. This saved him from any personal revenge, it also served to vindicate him of any legal wrongdoing. So, YHVH made a covenant with him and his descendants after him with an eternal priesthood. God made another dynastic covenant with King David and his descendants (see the commentary on the Life of David Ct – The LORD’s Covenant with David). There, God promised that the descendants of David will occupy the throne of Isra’el forever; there will never be another family who will rightfully usurp this honor. The prophet Jeremiah spoke about both of these families, the royal family and the priestly family. For this is what ADONAI says: David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Isra’el, nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices (Jer 33:17-18).

Thus, through the prophet, God reiterates the fact that His covenants with David and Phinehas (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Bh – Ezra Returns from Babylon: Ezra’s Genealogy) will never be broken. In fact, a line of Phinehas’ descendants, called the Zadokites, will be given a superior role in the ministry of the Temple during the Kingdom (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gs – God Shows a Vision of the Messianic Temple: the descendants of Phinehas). Today, it seems to us that there is no one left from either the line of David or the sons of Levi to fulfill God’s covenants. However, we need to remember that the houses of David and Phinehas have never stopped existing, even though we don’t know for certain who the proper descendants are. The important thing is that God certainly remembers! It is not a problem for Him to sovereignly maintain His covenants.⁵⁶⁴

The broken Vav and Yeshua (25:12): I am giving him my eternal covenant of shalom, a priesthood forever. Soferut (the laws concerning the scribal arts of writing Seferi Torah) requires that all Hebrew letters be well formed; that is, no letters can touch other letters and no letters can be malformed, broken, or otherwise illegible. However, there is a strange exception to these rules regarding the Vav that appears in the word shalom in Numbers 25:12. The Vav is broken, this is the only place in the Torah that we see such an abnormality. What is the reason for this? The Vav is a picture of the brokenness of the Messiah for our ultimate deliverance. How so? Well, since the Vav (the number 6) represents the number of Man, the broken Vav represents a man that is broken. In this particular verse, the man has been broken for the sake of a covenant of shalom that brought atonement to Isra’el . . . a clear picture of the man Yeshua Messiah, our eternal High Priest.

Phinehas made atonement (25:13b-15): The priests and Levites were responsible for guarding the Tabernacle against any illegitimate entry, be it inadvertent or intentional, and had the responsibility of killing trespassers. Here, however, Phinehas killed a sinner in the camp, not a would-be trespasser into the Tabernacle. Nevertheless, his action was quite similar to the responsibility of the priesthood. The priest represented God before the people. So, his body needed to be unblemished, to symbolize the perfection of ADONAI. His wife and children needed to be of exemplary character, so that they did not tarnish his reputation (see the commentary on Leviticus Do – Prohibited Practices for the Priests). In his personal life, the priest needed to personify the character of YHVH. And that was exactly what Phinehas did, he was zealous on behalf of his God. In other words, because Phinehas executed the sinner, expressing so clearly and visibly Ha’Shem’s own anger, that anger was turned away. Phinehas made atonement for the people of Isra’el (25:13b). To make atonement (Hebrew: kipper) is the usual phrase to describe the effect of the sacrifice (Leviticus 1:4, 4:20 and 5:16). In normal circumstances, the animal died in place of the guilty sinner; here the guilty sinners themselves were put to death, and, consequently, they became the sacrifice.

Not only did the priest represent God before the people; he also represented the people before God. He attempted to be the ideal Israelite. All the Israelites were called to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6), but the priest was expected to display true holiness in his life. This idea of the priest representing the people before God explains the covenant of peace made with Phinehas. Isra’el had broken the covenant she had agreed to at Mount Sinai (see the commentary on Exodus El – The Sinai Covenant Oath of Allegiance) by worshiping the gods of Mo’ab (see Ea – Taking a Stand for God: The idolatry of Israelite men). Phinehas had restored the Sinai Covenant with his deed, and was therefore rewarded with the covenant of an eternal priesthood.⁵⁶⁵ This suggests that the office of priest would now be channeled through Phinehas and not through any other grandson of Aaron (First Chronicles 6:4-15).

These two verses give the names and families of the two slain sinners. They were perhaps not given until now because insertion of them earlier would have deflected the main point here, which was not connected with the specific identity of the pair, but their sin, its consequences, and Phinehas’ reaction.⁵⁶⁶ The name of the man from Isra’el who was killed was Zimri the son of Salu, leader of one of the clans from the tribe of Simeon (25:14). As the great pride of Eleazar must have swelled over the actions of his son that day, so there must have been extraordinary shame among the members of Zimri’s family on realizing what that promising young man had done. Zimri (Hebrew: meaning praiseworthy) had been named in praise of ADONAI. However, he is now remembered as the one who nearly destroyed his people with his brazen, immoral attack on the pure worship of YHVH. With his name turned on its head, he serves as a memorial to destruction. The name of the woman from Midian who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Tzur, and he was head of the people in one of the clans of Midian (25:15). Her name is likely another example of the names deliberately changed by Isra’el because of the contempt in which she is held. Cozbi means My Lie or My Deception. She stands forever memorialized as a prime example of the deception of the allure of pagan worship. Verse 18 speaks of her as the daughter of the leader from Midian. She was likely a high priestess of her religion, a prototype of Jezebel (see the commentary on Elijah and Elisha As – The Wrath of Jezebel) who would later be instrumental in bringing Ba’al and Asherah worship into the center of the life of Isra’el.

Attack the Midianites (25:16-18): Because of their active participation in the seduction of the sons of Isra’el with the Moabites (31:16), the Midianites were also put under the curse of God and afterwards were to be treated as enemies. They had been in league with Balak from the beginning of the confrontation and became the objects of wrath to declare the glory of the name of ADONAI (see Fp – The War Against Midian).⁵⁶⁷ ADONAI said to Moshe, “Treat the Midianites as enemies and attack them; because they are treating you as enemies by the trickery they used to deceive you in the Peor incident and in the affair of their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the leader from Midian, the woman who was killed on the day of the plague in the Peor incident.” This is in keeping with the Abrahamic Covenant: I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse (Genesis 12:3a). A later campaign against the Midianites would be led by Gideon during the period of the Judges (see the commentary on Judges Bb – Gideon’s Victory Over the Midianites). Indeed, Isaiah 9:4 likens the victories of the Messiah to Gideon’s triumph over Midian.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are not only a gracious God of love, You are also a righteous and just Father who delights in blessing His children! You are a perfect balance of complete love, God is love. Now whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (First John 4:16c); and total holiness: One (Seraphim) called out to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is ADONAI-Tzva’ot! The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3).

Your love is so great and You want all to come to you to be saved. You call out to the crowds to come to You (Matthew 11:28-29). You desire people to respond to Your call with a yes, they will love and follow You. You wisely give the choice to come humbly to You or to remain separated from You. You never grab someone and tell them they are chosen to do something. Instead You call to them to forsake their evil ways and return to ADONAI, so He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:7). Phinehas, out of love for You, chose to protect Your holy Name and You graciously awarded him with an eternal covenant of peace.

Ruach Ha’Kodesh, please help me to speak up against wrong. And when I do speak up for You, please protect me for the world thinks that there is no wrong and everyone can do what they want. But Your Word declares that is not so! Thank You that when I stand for what is right and just, and told that I am wrong, in the Spirit, I focus on the brevity of trials on earth and the eternal joy of home in heaven with you! For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). In your holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen