Adultery is seen as no big deal in today’s society. Consider, though, how the hurt person in the relationship feels. That’s why Israel’s running after false gods and treating YHWH with contempt or apathy is compared to adultery many times in Scripture. This kind of unfaithfulness and rebuilding of the relationship between Creator and created is the subtext of this passage — פִּינְחָס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10–30:1).
People are looking at what is going on in American culture and government right now and see a repeat of what was going on in pre-Nazi Germany. Some are advocating for preparing to fight, and some look for guidance from priest Phinehas’ bold action in Torah reading פִּינְחָס Pinchas (Numbers 25–29) to stop iniquity in the house of God.
However, a look at the actions Pinchas actually took leading up to that moment reveals what was behind the extreme restraint exercised by the founders of the U.S., drawing from David’s example when persecuted by Saul. These lessons teach followers of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) how to “stand” as times get darker leading up to the Day of the LORD.
A peaceful transfer of power is worthless if the former leaders and the new leaders ignore God’s commandments. The only leaders who are worth following are those who inquire of God and lead the way He wants. That’s a key lesson of the Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10-30:1).
When we look for leaders, we need to see if they have the humility of Moses and Jeremiah or if they have the arrogance of the rebellious leaders who Moses and Jeremiah confronted.
Selfless love. Righteousness. Mercy. These teach us how to be strong in our walk through life, how to keep from wandering from the path that the God of Israel has shown as the way life works best. These three show us what the point of our journey through life. They are the key lessons from the LORD’s appointments with humanity, further explained in the Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10-30:1). Discover why chief among those appointments and the entry point for new believers is the weekly Shabbat (Sabbath).
Another key lesson in Pinchas is about the man after whom this reading is named. This junior priest, who would later be known as the “anointed for war,” looks forward to the coming Day of the LORD, when Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah, the Melchizedek high priest, will serve on Earth side by side with the legacy of the Aaronic priesthood.
When one is said to be “above the law,” that’s taken to mean the person flouts authority, in the sense second-century Roman jurist Ulpian meant when he wrote that sovereigns aren’t bound by laws.
There are plenty of scofflaws and tyrants recorded in the Bible. But an undercurrent in Heaven’s testimony from beginning to end is that true followers of the Creator are those who have so much trust (i.e., faith) in the instructions they’ve internalized that their actions follow the “spirit of the Law,” rather than the “letter of the Law.”
That’s what we see in the shocking actions recounted in Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10-30:1).
I used to find Yeshua’s actions in clearing the Temple of commerce very odd and seemingly out of character compared to the common teaching that Yeshua was always “meek and mild.” But the Yeshua (Jesus) in Scripture often shows His zealous side, which matches very well with the zealousness of Pinchas and Eliyahu (Elijah) and even His cousin Yokhanan (John the Baptist).
As we’ll see in this study of Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10–30:1), sages of Israel saw a thread of connection between Melchizedek, Pinchas and Eliyahu. And the author of Hebrews connected the same thread to Messiah Yeshua Himself.
Serpents are quiet, cunning, quick to act when a threat is imminent. A serpent bought a curse on mankind (Genesis 3) and we now meet a “serpent” who boldly and decisively saved his people from those who would deceive them to destruction. Later, Eliyahu (Elijah) also learned that God’s preferred way to communicate with His people is not through thunder and lightning but a “still small voice.”
The Torah reading פינחס Pinchas (“Phinehas,” Numbers 25:10–29:40) starts with the culmination of the events in the prior portion (parashah). The culmination of Israel “playing the harlot” with idolatry ended when Pinchas (Phineas), Aaron’s grandson, speared a Shimonite chieftain and a Midianite chieftain’s daughter through with a spear. Both of them were mentioned by name so they were both people of reputation.
This event was so significant, it’s even spoken about in the book of Revelation (Jude 1:11; Revelation 2:14). We can miss the why if we don’t understand the why of the original event.