Numbers 25:11
“Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.”
The story from this verse has always been one of my favorite stories. The children of Israel had compromised and started mingling with the Midianites. The Scriptures teach us that the men of Israel began to commit adultery with the Midianite women, and were very bold about this sin. They didn't just commit this sin in private, but this became an open sin for everyone to see. This compromise led to the Israelites worshipping the heathen god of the Midianites, Baalpeor. Because of these actions, God sent a plague upon the Israelites, and many people were killed because of this plague.
The story continues as the Scriptures tell of a man who very brazenly took a Midianite woman in front of Moses and Eleazar into his tent to commit adultery with her. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, seeing the judgment of God upon his people and the brazen act of this man, went into the tent and killed both the man and woman. When God saw this zealous act from Phinehas, He blessed him because he was zealous for his God.
The truth is we need many more people who will become zealous for God. I'm sure there were people who were critical of Phinehas' act, but his act of zealousness saved Israel from further judgment. This same zealousness needs to be seen among Christians today. I fear we have too many Christians who are passive and apathetic concerning God's work, when we need Christians who will become zealous for the work of God.
The word “zealous” carries several definitions with it. It means, “to be ardent, fervent, passionate, fanatical, possessed, spirited, aggressive, determined, bold and forceful.” Phinehas was all of these, and this is the same kind of person that we need in our churches today. Christianity needs Christians who are passionate about serving God. It needs Christians who are possessed and spirited about serving God. Christianity needs Christians who will become a fanatic for serving God. Christianity needs Christians who will be determined, bold, aggressive and forceful about serving God. Yes, this type of Christianity will be criticized and made fun of, but this is the type of Christianity that accomplishes something great for God. This is the type of Christianity that makes a difference in society. This is the type of Christianity that God desires for His people to have.
I ask you, could it be said about you that you are zealous for the work of the LORD? Or, would it be said about you that you are passive, careless and indifferent about serving God? You need to be determined, for it takes determination, to be zealous for God. Expect criticism to come your way when you become zealous, but realize zealous Christians are the one's who will make a difference in their church and in this world. Please, we need you to become zealous for God.
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