Torah Commentary Archives

Pinchas (Phinehas)

Numbers 25:10-30:1

1Kings 18:46-19:21

Matthew 26:1-30

Acts 2:1-21

Hebrews 11:28

One Man's Stand

Have you ever considered that without the actions of Pinchas the history of the Hebrews could have come to a halt in Numbers 25? Think about it. The Hebrews were, as the verse says, whoring after the women of Mo'av and a plague of death swept over the camp. This raises a few questions. Why did they need these Moabite women in the first place? Was there a shortage of Hebrew women in the camp? I think not. Were the Hebrew women not good enough for the Hebrew men? I doubt that.

Sadly the truth is, it is human nature to desire what we are told we cannot have. This desire produced an open door for the enemy to lure them into questioning the authority of Yah and whether He had their best interests at heart. Desire overshadowed abiding in Yah and clouded their judgment. Flesh took hold and sin entered the camp. Although we can clearly see Israel's poor judgment, let us not enter into finger pointing. Hindsight makes it easy to see the problems that led Israel to its demise. Beware of entering into criticism and judgmental thoughts.

Imagine the scene. Many of the men went to the Moabite camp and indulged in the worship of other gods with the women. One man named Zimri got the bold idea he was going to bring a harlot of his to the Hebrew camp and mix his new found practices with the worship of Elohim. The wording suggests that he was headed right into the Tabernacle itself. He was probably not alone, possibly being followed by a whole crowd of men who also thought it would be a good idea. What they did not see behind them was the wrath of Yah descending and men dropping like dead flies. Scripture recorded the death toll as 24,000.

The death toll would have been much more if it had not been for the stand of one man; Pinchas took quick action when he saw this couple running into the tent. Pinchas grabbed a spear and without question or hesitation thrust it through both of them. His zealous action caused the wrath of Yah to halt which brought Chapter 26 to be a reality.

It is interesting that Pinchas is given a covenant of shalom after a violent act of murder. These two actions do not seem to go together in the natural mind, but one is essential for the other. Simply put, righteousness must be fought for.

Righteous must be fought for. Is this a principle which has been forgotten or maybe just a product of wrong teaching? Most of us have been taught that Yeshua paid the price in full for our righteousness. To this statement I shout a hardy AMEN. Once we receive His righteousness is the battle all over or is it just beginning? Have we forgotten there will be enticements to lead us into other camps? Is there confusion in believing when would do follow the enticement we can just run back into Yah's tent without repentance and forgiveness? We cannot bring back to His tent the ways of other camps; we must be cleansed at His altar and washed with His word before returning to His presence.

Pinchas stopped the plague of death on that day because he entered into the zeal of Yah. What zeal was this? It was the zeal for righteousness. Pinchas was willing to fight to protect the righteousness given to the Hebrews in that day. Are we willing to enter into the same fight, the same zeal?

The battle begins when we take a stand and become zealous for the righteousness graciously given to us. Those who take this stand may in the end be called to protect others.

There is so much more in this week's Torah portion. As you read it though, keep in mind each of the words became possible because one man chose to take a stand. Will you do the same?