The Wiles of the Devil to Idolatry & The Zeal of our Phineas to Purity
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation f our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are living through such stark times - see 3rd degree murder - 9 minutes - so grievous - that call is justice on the right, peace on the left. Justice needs to answer such horrendous - abuse of power, racism. And yet many also see that though there must be justice, personal vengeance and the mayhem of looting and rioting isn't the answer. No there must be a peace - no an absence of conflict, but a working through conflict, to set things right.
Well congregation in a very similar way, we have grievous sin in this first generation - it brings a fuilute of whole leadership of Israel and wrath of God against this grievous sin on the whole family the whole nation of Israel. And this story which is the capstone on that first generation unbelief and grumbling, concludes wiht a man form the new generation, who zealousy works a peace in the midst of this sin. ANd our NT text tells us this story is one for you and for me - it is both a warning and a promise of true peace!
Key Truth: Escape the wiles of idolatry & adultery, by the zeal of your Priest & His Atonement.
Let’s look at the warning in this passage first.
A) The Wiles of Idolatry & Adultery are a Bigger Threat than any Outside Attack on Covenant Faith
DO you remember at what point we are in this book and the Exodus story? Numbers 25:1 Shittim the plains of Moab. Just look across the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Mt. Nebo on left there - see it all before you. That was Israel’s view. God after 40 years of t4esting and proving his faithfulness - brought them to the threshold of the Prmosoie Land.
But before looking at the danger we need warning from, also consider at which point, where Israel was in their journey. Not just when. But look at the geograpahic marker in
25:3a So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor.
So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
Baal was a god that was seen as the Creator who brings fertility, drives away hardship and chaos - marries a consort Ashera? and defeats the sea god - And renancting - covenanting with cult prositutes seen as way to make a treaty with nation and god and secure prosperity. Early Bronze Sge started, but prominence in this tie period when Power of Mesopomatia up even in to Egypt. And each local has their own Baal. And this Baal is by Mount Peor. When have you heard that neame before? Remember 3x Balaam was summoned to curse Israel, want to apid so much. But God up oon the mountain turned the curse into certain unshakable blessing for his people - promise of Messiah King a star out of Judah. And during that wonderful story where was Israel, not active not incovled - yet God graciously soveriegnly working out blessing protectin and providing.
But now we see that while God is at work in our lives securing blessing - the whole point of life - where are God’s people, down in the valley . What are they doing? All of Balak’s soiders, and his hired wiseman magician, all their polys could not harm God’s people, but what Israel was doing in the valley could destory them! Now before we consider those actual sins, you need to consider whether you belive this is true - that sin can destroy you? Do you belive God’s warning both in OT and TN delivered to you this morning?
We hear it often - the wages of sin is what? DEATH! And there is a big part of us that don’t want to bleive that sin is that serious. That life the way God intendted it - floursihing, righeous, edifying, byilding up ever growing is so important that - sin must not only be puhnished , but punished with death. But consider for a moment the first sin. Consider the temptation that led to it - it wasn’t Satan hijacking us with suffering or disease or violent injustice. Look at the first and orignal sin - It’s not just Did God really say can’t eat of any - that ‘s just the first twisting to get us to think God doesn’t want us to have joy! That he’s holing back blessing for us. But the clincher was what he said next after Eve corrected him saying, noly the one tree of testing. Genesis 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
God’s warning is that 24,000 here died, Paul’s wraning is that we must learn from them so we too don’t lose the faith and perish! Sin is serious. And we are to acknwoedlge that God’s justmgent is just. Chrstysotm - said if God didn’t punish what’s truly evil in this life as well as the next - we wouldn’t knwo He is on His throne, universe wouldn’t make sense. But if he didn’t also have mercy - we wouldn’t live by hope and faith. Got to belive both Do you?
Well, secondly we need to examine what sins Israel participated in that stirred the wrtaht of God, and rsulted in dath. Let me ask you this, as polls from the last 20 years have. What commandment of the 10 do you think is most important - thou shall not murder. Which one do you think is least important - no other gods before me. Publish in Gaurdian in 2004 but done many time over. Now God’s law is woven together first and second table and commandment but whici sithe first - which sin here resulted in the death senstence from God - it wasn’t sexual sin, it wasn’t the adultery, it was the idolatry it was no having the LROD and the LORD alone as your God and living in covenant with HIm as your great big frist place in life!
Did you notice the order of the sins in our text? Frist they they whored with the daughter of Moab. Balaam realized won’t beat them by swords, or religious discussion - Israel will be loyal and - but from within by sductive beauty and the quick promise of satisfied lust -. Tyhe sexaul sin like many other types of sins, is like a gateway drug. Say, I don’t have to listen to God in the private parts of my life, do whatever I want and no one gets hurt and I haven’t given up on fatih or religion.
But be warned you start to do that in one areas of life - say God’s Word and His Spirit and strenght don’t need to gyuide and direct and His love and plan - don’t apply here - and it will start to affect many of the other areas of your ife, graduate from one sin to the next from one table of the law in to th enext. And that is what happened here. Look at Numbers 25:2b
These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
With intimate friendship, even possibly marriage entertained - now not such a big deal to worship like them too, to adopt their way of life and seeking blessing - I can do both, I can incopratrte good things of their religion into ours: And they compromised their faith, said God’s revealed Wrod from heavne doesn’t matter - mix in in with the myths of other religions and find and pick what ever truths are comfortable for me. And besides this is the way to enter a covenant with the way of life of the people of Canaan to et all the porsperieity we missed out on for 400 years, and then 40 years in the desert -Yes we will yoke ourselves to Baal of Peor!
Now in our day and age of religious toerance, which actually started out as a good Christian virtue - protect freedom of conscience, that religon can’t be legistlated or coerced by force. But religious toelerance mrophetd into religious relativism - where there is no truth, no Revelation, - Do you think we might be tempted to water down and compromise the way of life the LORD, and comporomise and subsittue for the way of life and religion of the world in this age.
Stanley Hauerves - not the most conservative or evenaglical - says metaphrocailly Christians in the West have “Knwon the Moabite women”. Chrisitan in the Wwest are sacrficeing ar thier altars of nationalism, political liberalism, and secular rationalism. And he says, we have to break back to real Chrstiaintiy.
Kind of like what Luther argued happened to the church he grew up in, the whole rituals and sacrabmenatal system - so covered over the gospel and God’s Word, that the church was being held captive - He wrote the Bbaylonian captivity of the Church. And Hauervaus and others are saying, look at Western Christain conpromise with sexual purity, look at our crazed anitoanlism , look at our desire to fit iin with political liberalsim and offned no one, to drain all the suprernatural and miraculous and Jesus out of our faith
Do you see it in your life, home. The Serpant so easily tempts us to abandon our lyalty to God for certain pleasure,s lreationships , for status in this society we live in. Of course we havbe to be sal t and light in their lives, but no by giving up on the worship and living God has called us to.
See, the biggest sin in the Bible is not sexual sin, or even second table moral sins, it is the frist two - that they are bereaking yhere - that God has the exclusive role of being God and Saviour and providewr and Director in our lives, and that we actually worship him in the way he has conmmanded! Because you no what happens when you give up the living and holy and lvoing and just true God as the Sun that your life orbits around. When you no longer revere HIm and His Saviour, and HIs Dya , and HIs Ways, and HIs Word, - then you no longer -can really love others as precious image bearers of God. Secually they become objects, maretially objects, pltically abused and pawns.
As a character in Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov argued, if God does not exist, then everything is permissible. If there is no transcendent being to define for us what is right and what is wrong, then there can be no absolute right and wrong, only personal preferences. If there is no one with the authority to command us, then “Thou shalt not kill” becomes a mere opinion, a suggestion rather than a commandment. However, if there is a transcendent being who has commanded what our behavior should be, then it is perfectly logical that his first commandment should restrict us from worshiping any pretenders to his throne.
This is exactly what we find in the New Testament as well as in the Old. In Romans 1:18 the Apostle Paul declares that the primary reason for the wrath of God being revealed is the godlessness of mankind that leads us to suppress the truth about God. That godless suppression of truth leads to all manner of sinful behavior, to be sure, as Romans 1:24-31 attests, but the root sin from which all other sin flows is the refusal to worship the Lord as God.
Well, I hope you see taht God as Number 1 in your life is the big deal and it will lead to all the other sins that cut you off from God. A plague, not like the Exodus ones, but like after the people grubmled breaks out from God. He is angry and His wrath is revealed from heaven against this kind of sin in his people. And the NT says, make ysure your not drinking that cool Aid, don’t yoke yourself to the Ball Peor of this Age and what this world says will bring you fleeting success, pleasre - Ultiately it will not only leave you empty, but it will kill you - etnerally!
But he story of the God of Justivce and of Grace can’t let the stoyr end here. There is Justice on the right but also peace on the left! How is this going to be worked out. And that brings us to the surprising and symoblic characters of Zimri, Cozbi, and Phineas.
B. Phineas Pleased God in Delivering Justice on Wanton, Unbelieving Sin
Let’s Look first on the Jstice on the Right with Zimri & Cozbi and conclude with the Wonderful though Grave and Serious Peace on teh LEft with Phineas.
Who was Zimri and Cozbi and why are they important to doing church today? Zimri was from the leading family of the tribe of Simeon. He was a young royal prince. When the plague brok out most of Israel with Moses and the high pirest Aaron’s son Eleazar, rushed to the tabernalce at the cetnre of the camp. They declared a fast and began moruning - they felt the dnager and the grief of people being swept away in sin. Do you? Do you actually pray for those tempted and tried, and those tepted and failing? That shoiuld be part of our prayer life. It is how Jesus prays for us as one who feels each one of our temtpations. And the LORD doesn’t say blow them all away - those led astray and fallen into temptation. He says, you tribal leaders, you who represeent and lead my people, you who stand by and do nothing when my peoplel wander away from me, Moses execute justice on them as respresentaive of the people. But Moses who is not pictured as teh perfect Mediaotr particularly at the dn of thi slife - hsestitates in fron to fhte microphone - And then he passes the buck and says, you tribal leaders you make the choice and do the deed - you go and execute our justice on everyone who failed. Maybe protectin gthose triblal leaders he knew and didn’t want to die. But guess what they also hestiate and standing doing nothing. This is what happens when their is no awareness and dealing with sin in God’s house. This is why church disicpline al tthough it can be absued to harass and hurt God’s sheep, is more often negelected - and is yet a mark of the true church. We need to deal with it.
But out of no where in the middle of this passing the bacuk and delaying dealing with clear and wanton sin, Here comes the young rpince of Simeon, with his upper class Midianite woman - and he bring her and I can just see them hand and hand going to this tryst, look at Numbers 25:6 in the sigh tof the whole congreagttion!
25:6b … in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
You can almost here him saying to her, look a those religious fanatics, they take this LORD stuff way to serious. This is a rpiavte affair, what we do wiht our body harms no one and they don’t see how we love each other and they flaunt it in front of the congregation - we are going to do this any way we like. Do you evere have that attidue to your sin? It affects no one but me, its a rpavite matter? I dare says that though sin flourishes in privacy, it never stops there. Sin always affects the reliatnships of you life. Do you know where else Balaam is mention ed in the Bible - no tjust indeicrexdfly in 2 Cor 10,
but also in the book of Jude and Revelation 2:14
Rev 2:14 … some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
The example of your sin to otehrs - becomes a stubmling block to others ans aGod takes that as a most serious sin. Jesus says, if any of you - better… don’t touch and finlcuence in directino away fron God my little ones. And you know what follows right after htis story of the last failure of the generation that dies in the desert. Census of the New Generation and the only tribe with dramattic decrease, less than half left. Tribe of Simeon from 59,000 to 22,000. Don’t be a Zimri in this community - your sin affects otehrs!
And this is where we move to Pheans who brings justice on the right but also peace on the left!
C) Phineas Works Merciful Peace & Atonement that stopped Wrath against Sin
Who is Phineas? Grand Father was Araon the high pirest. His dad is Elazar, who can’t go near death and dead bodies. So he is a priest in the tribe of Levi, but also the heir apparent to the ghi priesthood. And from teh Book of Numbers, especiially 1-11, what is the job of the Levites? Consecrated to God on behlaf of Isreael. INstead of every 1st born osn devoted to service of the tabernacle, no ininheritance. the whole tirbe of Levi. And huge part was maintiaing the holiness of God’s people, so nuclear reactor of God’s prsence in the middeof their lives, not destory them, but cleanse them frogiveness, lead them, purfiying them, make them a ligh ot teh nations. And so Phineas, not as a private citizen, not as a man filled wtih crazed revenge. He follows the Lord’s command. What Zimri and Cozbi were about ot do - not ust have sex outdie of covenantl amarriage, nor fronitication, - but a covenant transcation and religous ritual - right inthe vicininty of God’s holy tent, his presene. And so Phineas executes God’s justice, and God reports right way he is pleased, and that justice and dealin with the sin, guess what it stops the plague. In Psalm 106:30 we read these words:
Ps 106:30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed.
Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed.
God didn’t accept the deaths as an atonemnt, but as priest of God, Phineas stood up with disicpline exacted and now prayers and offerings lifte dup - God accepts it as an atonement.
Zimri is a sybmol of all who says can live wihtout devotion and obedience and zeal for the LORD and his house, His commuintiy and his plan to raise up a people that will shine with holiness to the world. But PHineas is a symbol of what according othe LORD? Numbers 25:11
“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.
That’s not sinful or petty jealousy. That’s zeal. Zeal for the house of the LORD. The house where forvienss and mercy and grace an d holines snad light and God’s word and blessing stream forth - he is zealous for that. What the Bible says the Messiah would have zea for. What the disicpeles recognized a s fulfillment in Jesus life. He is zealous with God’s zeal - and that stops the plague and death is done, forgiveness won. God loves to show mercy to thousands upon thousands. You ay ask why 24,00 died here, why 23,000 with the partieers and fornicator drunkenness at the Godlen calf - I hope I have nasewred that - But the better question is why dones’t God destory us all - why does he chos to have mercy on any? He delights to on way more than 24,000 - and that’s what His pirest obedience and zeal accomplishes.
LIsten so carefully, your sin and mine will be punished one way or another. it will either be punished in ourselves on teh Last Great Day of Reckoning, or it will be puhished in Christ on the Cross. The Greater Phineas provide such a death to stop our total and spiritual eternal death!
Well, dear brothers and sister in Jesus Christ. Who is Phineas a symbol of? Our Lord Jesus Christ, - he with vitory over all the temptations both of the second table, and sexual immoraltiy, and of the first table, of choising the path of ease by humannature over His Father good and saving will, he through obedience, even to the point of death - won vicotry with zeal. Philippians 2:8
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Unline, the OT with physical enemies and antiaon state of Israel, this high priest doesn’t upt a spear in hands, but the death that aloen can atone, he takes nails in hiands and spear in his side and he dies to stop the plague of God’s wrath on the sins of the world! As the early Church Father Origen put it, INstead of taking the spear of Phineas, Christ takes the sword of the Spirit and cuts out the heart of your sins in you, so you can can approach with assurance on the day of judgment!”
And so we read of Phineas: Numbers 25:12-13
25:12 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,
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.’ ”
Shalom, when all that is wrong has been righted, when life can sing along with integirty as meant to - flourishing benefiting. And God the Father says in teh res tof thBilbe it isn in Christ in the New Covenant the Covenant of Peace - in his perpetual and onoing priesthood to you and me, his final aotnemen ton the Corss, that he has made jsutice on the right and peac eon the left.
Do you need this Phienas in yoru life in our church community. Do we need HIm in this time of pandemic - where private sins can flourish in a time of isolation? DO you need him not only as an example of zeal for living wholy, but also for one who can bring that wholenss and peace when we have failed. We can’t go on sinning, saying grace will abound even as we continue to chose win without repentance without Christ.
Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Look at he very end of our text. For the NT there is a command to harrass the Midiantites and stike them down. And why? Numbers
25:18a for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor
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.”
That is not in effect for us anymore - Ruth a Moabitess comes into this convenat of peace, and though the Midianties do fall in to obscurity. Now with the true Phineas and the full covenant of Peace, Christ says it’s not the Midianites wiles you primarily must watch out for. Listen ot he NT as Christ speaks throug His apostle Paul:
Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Dear Congregation, it is a hard message we here this morning zeal calls us to a moral seriousness and a desire for spiritual growth. Zeal calls us to purity - in our language, in our behviour, in our sexuality. We are to have this zeal dfor ourselves but also for the forusihing dof each others lives. LIsten to Paul 2 Cor 11:2
The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband.
That’s how we are care about each other and desire to present each other to God as in opurity.
This story has v.10 in the middle the contrast between Phineas’s zeal and atonement right beside the festival banquet of Israel’s men, includeing hteir eeath. God won’t let idolaotyry go unpunished, and he remains holy. We can’t go on openly and flagrantly living in sin, comrporomising God’s way of life.
Perhaps in this pandemic, you like Iddid at first put on 10 extra pounds. Can’t go to WW but if you did. Do you know how those meetings would start. Hi, I am Harry, and then go to that dreaded WEIGH IN. That accountablity check. Lot of people wish they could jsut come and tlk about trying to keep weight off, and what theye are doing, but its that acocuntablity - that keeps the commitment storng = this is whwer I am at - I need yout o know - this is what I’ve got to do about it- this is what I am shooting for.
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Our worship is our festival banquet. Look forward to time when can do it with other family, but still before God together we confess, we repent, we hera God’s will, we treasure the gospel of Christ’s sacradfifce and tranforming grace and presence of His Sipirit oat the cetnre of the camp and the cetner of our lives!