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The Torah reading פִּינְחָס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25–29) starts with one of the most grisly scenes in the entire Torah, when Pinchas the priest grabs a spear and impales two people who were likely publicly engaging in sexual activity with each other in the Tabernacle itself. At the time, all the people were standing in front of the Tabernacle bowing in repentance to God after thousands of Israel’s men. This was an “in your face” act to desecrate the holy Tabernacle.
This is a preview of or a pattern for the future “abomination of desolation.” This is not the last time God’s people would desecrate — disregard the “otherness” — of His holy sanctuary, resulting in God’s glory leaving the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The pattern includes a common cause: the people mix the practices of the surrounding nations into the worship of the Creator. That’s something He despises (Deut. 18:13–14; Judges 3:5–6; Psa. 106:34). God did not teach the children of Israel to embrace multiculturalism with the cultures they were commanded to evict from the land, but they did over and over again.
Mark of God’s people: Humility and repentance
Now behold, a man of the children of Israel came and brought his brother to a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and all the congregation of the children of Israel; and they were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of testimony. Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose from among the congregation; and taking a spear in his hand, he went after the man of Israel into the chambers and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her womb. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. But those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Numbers 25:6–9 St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint
Why are they weeping at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting? What had just happened? The Great Apostasy, this great immorality that had come through from Midian. The leaders were there at the at the doorway of the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, weeping and repenting of their sin.
Remember what the prophets and the Apostle John said about the difference between the mark of the beast and the mark of God and the character of those who received those marks? The Mark of the Beast is placed on the forehead and/or the hand, but the Mark of God is placed only in the forehead.
The prophets say that the the ones who are marked as holy to God are those who weep and cry over not only their own sins, but also the sins of others. They are mourning over the sin and corruption in their community.
The first generation were counted and found wanting
Numbers 26 gives us a follow-up census. When one compares it to the original census in Numbers 1–2, note that the second census is a census of the second generation, those who were either born in the wilderness or who were very young children when the Exodus occurred. One would expect the second generation would be larger than the first generation, but this is not the case. The second generation, 40 years later, was barely smaller in number (down 0.3%) than the first generation.
When we break this down by tribe, we see certain tribes suffered from moral failing and lost catastrophic percentages of their population over the course of 40 years in the wilderness. The biggest loser was Shimon (Simeon), who lost 62.5%, from 59,300 to 22,200. The biggest winners were Manashe (Manasseh, up 62.6%), Asher (28.7%) and Ben Yamin (Benjamin, 28.8%). Levi grew a little bit (3.1%).
| Tribe | Numbers 1–2 | Numbers 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reuben | 46,500 | 43,730 | -2,770 |
| Shimon (Simeon) | 59,300 | 22,200 | -37,100 |
| Gad | 45,650 | 40,500 | -5,150 |
| Yehudah (Judah) | 74,600 | 76,500 | 1,900 |
| Issachar | 54,400 | 64,300 | 9,900 |
| Zebulun | 57,400 | 60,500 | 3,100 |
| Yosef: Ephraim | 40,500 | 32,500 | -8,000 |
| Yosef: Manasseh | 32,200 | 52,700 | 20,500 |
| Ben Yamin (Benjamin) | 35,400 | 45,600 | 10,200 |
| Dan | 62,700 | 64,400 | 1,700 |
| Asher | 41,500 | 53,400 | 11,900 |
| Naphtali | 53,400 | 45,400 | -8,000 |
| Total | 603,550 | 601,730 | -1,820 |
| Levi | 22,300 | 23,000 | 700 |
These population changes offer a sobering perspective of the population impact of the plagues that happened during the wanderings in the desert.
Looking at the documented generational population collapse between the first and second generation in the wilderness is shocking, but population collapse isn’t the first or last time in history we have seen a drastic stop in human population. It happened during the Black Plague, when one-third to half the people of Europe died of Bubonic plague. We are witnessing socially caused population decline in real time in our own generation in countries such as Japan, South Korea, many European countries and the United States.
Japan is at least 20 years ahead of us in this downward population spiral. Japan’s population is headed downhill fast from one generation to the next, but it’s not from disease, natural disaster, etc. The cause of the population collapse in Japan is that the younger generations don’t want relationships anymore. Japanese culture is so sexually saturated, that they’re not even interested in relationships anymore. We are starting to witness this trend in the United States and other developed nations, too with drastic declines in the birth rate, marriage rates, etc.
Should we follow Pinchas’ example?
Pinchas took a stand, but should we follow his example? If so, how? Many say that Pinchas was wrong in this story because he was acting as a vigilante. But was he? Did God see him as a vigilante?
Now the name of the man of Israel who was struck down together with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, the ruler of a house of a Simeonite family. The name of the Midianite woman who was struck down was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, the ruler of the nation of Ommoth, of the house of a Midianite family.
Numbers 25:14–15 St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint
One key point to consider is that we need to take a stand in places where we have authority given by God to do so. The Simeonite prince Zimri and his Midianite mistress Cozbi, entered the tabernacle knowing that their actions were a desecration of the inner court of the tabernacle, where only priests of the tribe of Levi had authority to enter. Their motive was to destroy the moral heart of Israel.
They were approaching the presence of God, not to say, “Thank you, Lord, for delivering us out of the house of bondage.” No, they were trying to sever the connection between the Creator of Heaven Earth and His people.
Pinchas saw what was going on, and he took action.
Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose from among the congregation; and taking a spear in his hand, he went after the man of Israel into the chambers and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her womb. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.
Numbers 25:7–8 St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint
In this short verse, we see that Pinchas did three things in response to Zimri and Cozbi’s desecration of the Tabernacle. He saw there was a problem, he stood up to acknowledge the problem and he seized the means to solve the problem.
The Hebrew word that is translated as “arise” in Num. 25:7 is קוּם qum (Strong’s lexicon H6965), which means “set up, establish.” This same word was translated into the Greek Septuagint as ἵστημι histēmi (G2476). This is how the Gospel of John quotes Yeshua’s chastisement of Satan:
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand [histēmi] in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
John 8:44 NASB
Qum and histemi is also used when talking about establishing a covenant between two parties. So when you read later in Israel’s history that they had problems with “sacred pillars,” that was what the people were “standing up,” in opposition to and attempting to replace the covenant that God had with Israel.
Imagine if a married man had a lot of photos of all his mistresses and concubines displayed prominently in beautiful frames throughout his house, how much of an affront that would be to his legitimate wife. These “sacred pillars” were symbols of complete disregard of the One who had taken them out from the “house of bondage” (Mitzraim/Egypt), carried them through the wilderness, delivered them into the Land, calling Israel to be a light to all the nations.
Those who were supposed to be the chief evangelists, the chief ambassadors of the kingdom of God were saying that God was just one of many deities they could form an alliance with. They did not find it abhorrent to pray to God one day and toss their children into the fire to Molech the next day.
God did not allow Moses and Aaron to enter the Promised land because they did not set Him apart as holy, as the crucial lifeline for the people — and by extension, the world. They thought they were going to be the ones to lead the children of Israel to the Promised Land but it was God who was the Supreme leader of the children of Israel, not Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were to be His representatives, but at this crucial time, they failed to represent God to the people in the way He deserved to be represented.
Histemi also used in the Septuagint translation of Zechariah 11:12:
“I said to them, ‘If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!’ So they weighed [histēmi] out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.”
Zech. 11:12 LXX
This verse is quoted in Matthew 26–27, related to the 30 pieces of silver that the priests and leaders of the Temple paid Yehuda ish Kariot (Judas Iscariot) for the betrayal of Yeshua.
Histemi was also used to translate the Hebrew verb שָׁקַל shaqal, (H8254), which means “weigh.” Its related noun is שֶׁקֶל sheqel/shekel (H8255, unit of weight for money) and cognate Aramaic verb is תְּקַל teqal/tekal (H8625). The latter brings the warning from Daniel 5 into sharp focus:
“Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’ This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE’ — God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ‘TEKEL’ — you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. ‘PERES’ — your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
Daniel 5:25-28 NASB
- Mene = מְנֵא meney (Aramaic) = מְנָה menah (Hebrew): number, reckon, appoint.
- Tekel = תְּקַל teqal (Aramaic) = שָׁקַל shaqal (Hebrews): weigh.
- Peres = פְּרַס peras (Aramaic and Hebrew): break in two, divide. Such as פְּרֶס peres (“half-shekel”).
Interestingly, all three of these words are also found in the Torah reading Pinchas. When the prophet Daniel warned the Babylonians who were partying it up with the items from the holy Temple, the Persians ended their party while their food and wine were still on the holy temple objects.
Histemi shows up importantly in the benediction at the close of Apostle Yehudah’s letter:
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24–25 NASB
Jude is telling us that LORD Himself is going to stand us up in the presence of the Father. Thanks to Messiah Yeshua, our sins, transgressions and iniquities are covered so we can stand before Him and not be found lacking, not because of our works, but because Yeshua has justified us.
How to biblically speak truth to power
In the United States of America, we just celebrated the Fourth of July. It commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in which representatives of the 13 original colonies provided a list of injustices (also called “usurpations”) they were not longer willing to tolerate. More than a decade later, the U.S. Constitution was ratified and included a Bill of Rights, with the first 10 amendments. The First Amendment has six provisions:
- No state religion.
- Free exercise of religion.
- Freedom of speech.
- Freedom of the press.
- Freedom of assembly.
- Freedom to petition the government for redress (relief).
A key inspiration of the Declaration and Constitution was the 1644 book Lex Rex, written by Scottish lawmaker Samuel Rutherford.1Daniel L. Dreisbach, Reading the Bible With the Founding Fathers, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), 123-127. “Lex rex” is a Latin phrase meaning “law and king.” One of his key questions is, do the people have a right to self-determination and self-defense? And if they do, when do they have the right or the duty to exercise that right?
Rutherford drew on King David’s early years and his struggle with King Saul. Rutherford looked closely at how David dealt with Saul for guidance in how subjects should deal with tyrants — those who push down others’ rights — and came up with three steps:
- Petition leaders for relief.
- Flee to a better location.
- Resist, starting with nonviolence.
Remember that one thing David did first was to plead his case through his friend Jonathan, who also happened to be Saul’s son and was the crown prince of Israel at the time.
The first thing you do before you try to “kick it up another notch” is you pursue your redress to the ruler. A key freedom provided to us in the First Amendment is the freedom to submit our complaints to our rulers through appeals, petitions. This is also how Abraham appealed to God for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah:
“Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Genesis 18:25 St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint
If politely submitting your complaint to your leadership does not work, the next step is to run. This is what the pilgrims did when they fled persecution in England. First they went to Holland and then they came to the New world on the Mayflower in 1620.
However, if you can’t flee, and you have exhausted these options, then you have to stand up and resist. The first step of resistance is by throwing your cogs into the wheel, or throwing things into to disrupt activity. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi are examples of this peaceful resistance, making society grind to a halt until people take notice of what is going on.
Only after you have exhausted all of these other steps, if you are in a position like the Maccabees, where a tyrant has pushed into that corner and you’ve got no other recourse on it, than you fight.
People are looking at what is going on in American culture right now and see a repeat of what was going on in Germany in the 1920s-1930s. But the truth is we are not anywhere near that point yet. And we are not living in an absolute monarchy like ancient Rome. We can go down and appeal for redress from our local, county, state and national governments. We can seek redress from our local school board. Petition all kinds of wrongs, working within the systems available. Even in California, you can do with those things.
But as history shows us, there may come a time where that ability to redress government gets totally cut off. Then what will we do? Flee the city, county, state. If it comes to it, even flee the country.
But then if you cannot flee, then that comes the third stage. But what have you done before you get to that third stage. Each of us have to decide for ourselves how we can stand up whether the day of the Lord comes upon us now, or sometime in future generations.
Each of us have to ask whether we have truly gone through all these steps. Do we want to skip straight to armed resistance? If so, we may desperately need a Heavenly heart transplant, a la the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 36:25–27).
One might say that Pinchas skipped some of Rutherford’s three-step plan. But he was left in a position where he had no choice but to seize the day so to speak and swiftly take care of business.
It was the job of the Levites to keep “laymen” out of the Tabernacle (Num. 1:51, 53), but they had failed in that duty. That protective barrier had completely broken down to the point that a woman from a prominent family from Midian was having relations with a notable man of Israel likely in the Tabernacle itself. Pinchas, part of Levi and also the priesthood, stood up as a last resort to restore the important “otherness” — holiness — of God’s house in the community and the world.
So with that lesson from Pincus, we can look up to Heaven’s principles then stand up for them in whatever role we are in.
Summary: Tammy