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Phinehas: A Bold Challenge to the Status Quo

Sometimes when I’m reading the Bible, I come across a verse or name that feels brand new. Even if I maybe have seen it before, it hits in a fresh way that is just so exciting. Don’t you love how the Bible works that way? As a friend recently reminded me, a lifetime of study will never be able to exhaust the riches found in the Bible. God is infinite! Our finite minds can never fully grasp His truth.

Well, this happened to me not long ago when I was looking up some verses about righteousness, and I stumbled on the name Phinehas. Phinehas was a priest and the grandson of Moses’ brother, Aaron. Numbers 25 tells his brief but impactful story. 

Back story: The Israelites had been clearly instructed by God NOT to intermarry and intermingle with foreign nations. But, just like we so often think we know better than God, they proceeded to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who then invited the Israelite men to worship their god—Baal. And they did, and Scripture says God’s anger burned against them. He told Moses the punishment for this sin was death, and in the midst of Moses relaying this message to Israel’s leaders, a man still brought a Moabite woman in plain sight—right in front of everybody—and led her into his tent.

Enter: Phineas. 

When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. -Numbers 25:7-9

Wow. Phinehas meant business! He was clearly so sick of his people’s sin that he acted with incredible boldness, decisiveness and passion. And the wording of Scripture suggests that his act stopped the plague, saving who knows how many lives and leading the Israelites back toward God. And God took notice!

The Lord said to Moses, “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.” -Numbers 25:10-13

Not only did God commend Phinehas’ obedience, but more specifically, He celebrated Phinehas’ zeal. He had an extraordinary zeal against sin and for God’s honor. Because of his passion, Phinehas became heir-apparent to the high priesthood of Aaron’s family, thus providing Israel with a faithful priesthood forever. Psalm 106:30-31 says that because Phinehas stood up and intervened, it was “credited to him as righteousness for endless generations to come.”

There’s so much to Phinehas’ unique and intriguing story. But even just a quick overview like this one gets my mind spinning as I think about what I can learn about God and myself from this story in Numbers 25:8-13.

What can we learn about God from Phinehas’ story?

  • God hates sin.
  • His anger and wrath toward sin are real and justified.
  • God deals with sin in His perfect justice, as only He can.
  • He notices His people’s obedience and zeal.
  • God honors and blesses those who advocate on His behalf.
  • God’s standards are perfectly righteous and good. 
  • Because He loves us, God does not let us live in our sin.
  • He knows what is best for us.
  • God uses people to accomplish His purposes.
  • God is zealous for His people’s undivided love and devotion.

What can we learn about people/ourselves from Phinehas’ story?

  • Our sins that we may categorize as “not that big of a deal” are, in fact, a big deal.
  • We must be passionate and vigorous about rooting out sin.
  • We can be bold for God.
  • When we act on God’s behalf, with wise, Spirit-filled discernment, we can trust God to work out the details. 
  • Our pursuit of righteousness, or right living, for ourselves and the people around us is a worthy pursuit. 
  • We can use tragedy to draw near to God and help others. (Phinehas’ uncles had displayed casual wickedness, which led to their deaths in Leviticus 10:1-3.)
  • We can learn from others’ mistakes to point ourselves and others toward Jesus.

What else do you learn about God from this story? What do you learn about yourself? How can you apply that to your life today? Pick out the one lesson you’re learning from Phinehas in Numbers 25—you know, that one that’s resonating in your heart right now—and talk to God about it in prayer. Write it down somewhere where you’ll see it, and let that lesson move you forward in faith.