Daily Thoughts from Numbers: God’s Justice (25:10-18)

And the LORD said to Moses, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”  (Numbers 25:10-18 ESV)

Yahweh has seen His people slip quite easily into idolatry, into spiritual adultery.  But He has also seen an example in Phinehas of great love and devotion, and this assuages His anger and jealousy, and He rewards Phinehas with perpetual priesthood.  Godly courage and devotion will always be noted by God and honored.

Yahweh is jealous in the right sense of that word.  He knows how deeply Israel needs Him and that worship of Him is what blesses them, so He is rightly concerned when they worship one who really is no god but rather a demonic representation of a deity.  This will lead to their destruction.  Our jealousies also speak to how concerned we are for the good of the one we love.

So Yahweh directs Moses to harass the Midianites.  This does not sound like out and out war, but it is a way of repaying Midian for their evil strategy. The Midianites must be discouraged from further harassment of Israel.  God knows how to deal with our enemies.