GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
NUMBERS 25:6-9
The Result of the Baal Worship
6 Just then, an Israelite man came and brought a Midianite woman to his brothers in the sight of Moses and the entire Israelite community, while the people were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 7 When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose up from the middle of the assembly and took a spear in his hand. 8 He followed the Israelite man into the large tent and ran both of them through, the Israelite man and the woman, right through her belly. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped. 9 Those who died by the plague were 24,000.
Here are two bold actions, one wicked, the other godly. The world would think that the priest with his spear was cruel, but no one who has read the first five verses of the chapter would say it was anything but righteous and just. Phinehas was Aaron’s grandson, and his zeal for the Lord ended the Lord’s wrath against Israel. The Psalm says: “They provoked the Lord to anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them. But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked” (Psalm 106:29-30).
Sometimes Christians are confused by the relationship of an action like this and the Fifth Commandment. First of all, the Hebrew word for “kill” in the commandment is ratshach “murder,” not a more generic word such as qatal, often used for an accidental or unintentional death (Daniel 3:22). The Fifth Commandment does not forbid the killing, for example, of animals, since God himself gave mankind animals to kill and eat: “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you” (Genesis 9:3). As for human lives, the Lord condemns murder as a capital offense, but he permits capital punishment if it is called for (Exodus 31:14; Leviticus 20:27). He also permits war (Deuteronomy 20:1) and cases of self-defense. But no one should ever take the law into their own hands or they violate the Fourth Commandment in addition to the Fifth. “It is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience” (Romans 13:5).
The spear of Phinehas was what the Lord had commanded when he said through Moses, “Each of you must kill any of his men who have attached themselves to the Baal of Peor” (verse 5). Today we must be especially careful that certain simple Christians don’t think that they should take the law into their own hands. Luther had to write about this more than once, and he said quite clearly and with the full force of the Holy Scriptures behind him: “We must calm the mind of the common man, and tell him to abstain from the words and even the passions which lead to insurrection” (LW 45:62). For the benefit of those who think that their rebellious attitude is righteous, these points and others should be considered from the Holy Scriptures:
1, Moses ordered the death of rebels at various times (Exodus 32:27-28), as did Elijah (1 Kings 18:40). To this we add the lawful and just slaying of the Israelite prince and the Midianite princess by Phinehas with his spear. “Not that one should in our day kill [in this way], for that is not necessary; but whatever [rebels] do beyond and contrary to the gospel should be forbidden… and the command properly enforced” (Luther).
2, Insurrection is unprofitable. It never brings about the desired improvement, and it generally harms the innocent more than the guilty. “Hence, no insurrection is ever right, no matter how right the cause it seeks to promote. It always results in more damage than improvement, and verifies the saying, ‘Things go from bad to worse’” (Luther). Therefore Peter says: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:13-15). And when “Sir Mob” (Luther’s term) breaks out, he can’t tell the innocent from the wicked, and a horrible injustice is inevitable.
3, God has forbidden insurrection and revolution. He says through Moses: “Revenge is mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them” (Deuteronomy 32:35). It is not wrong to pray, “Strike all my enemies on the jaw” (Psalm 3:7), but it is God’s place to carry it out in his own time and in his own way. Perhaps forgiveness and patience may win a far greater victory that only God can foresee.
4, Insurrection and vigilantism is a suggestion of the devil. The devil can never make anything or be creative in a positive sense; he can only distort, twist, and ruin. Therefore whenever ordinary people take the law into their own hands, it is the work of Satan, and those ordinary people have fallen into a grave sin.
I have taken a long time to say it, but I pray that I have been clear: What Phinehas did was good, righteous, and necessary. But if you or I were to imitate him, we would be in the wrong. The government over Phinehas was Moses alone, and the priest obeyed the command of the prophet. We live with another government, and whether it is religious or secular, whether we like it or not, whether it is left-leaning this year or right-leaning, it is nevertheless our government, and our place is to obey. Solomon said: “Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious; for those two will send sudden destruction on them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?” (Proverbs 24:21-22). David was attacked, rebelled against, and plotted against by his people and his own sons time and again. He prayed: “Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from that noisy crowd of evildoers… they plot injustice” (Psalm 64:3,6). For all mankind, the moral law stands. The meaning of the Fourth Commandment is this: “We should fear and love God that we do not dishonor or anger our parents and others in authority, but honor, serve, and obey them, and give them love and respect.”
Thank the Lord our God for the many blessings he gives to us through the authorities in the world. If you are called to preach or teach, or if you are a parent, then follow Paul’s command: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men” (Titus 3:1-2). In this way we will be ready to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, of God’s grace, of forgiveness through Christ’s blood and the resurrection of the dead, to build up one another’s faith, and refresh each other’s hearts.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Week 1141 (No. 6851)
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Numbers 25:6-9 The spear of Phinehas