Faithful God, Unfaithful People

Seeing the Need/Introduction

There are some people we instinctively trust and others we do not. When those in vocational ministry misuse their authority, it is not only they who suffer. There is collateral damage when trust is violated. The Bible shows that some of God’s priests were trustworthy, while others were not. As is true today, this made a difference in lives other than their own.

Number 25:1-9 gives the background to the story of a certain man’s zeal for God and commitment to the covenant of Mount Sinai (the law). The Israelites were camped at Shittim, the final stopping place before crossing the Jordan and before Moses’ death on Mount Nebo. Shittim was about 10 miles east of Jericho.

But tragedy struck when a plague killed 24,000 Israelites because of disobedience to God’s covenant laws. The idolatrous worship of Baal, the main fertility cult of Canaanites at the time, was the context. Such worship was an attempt to influence a pagan god and godess to have sexual encounters so that the and its inhabitants would be productive. The accompanying sacrifices and feasts were an abomination to God in combining what today would be considered forms of pornography, idolatry, sexual immorality, and worship of nature.

No wonder God’s wrath was poured out against the leaders who encouraged God’s people to yoke themselves to Baal of Peor! God’s wrath was withdrawn only when Phinehas intervened in a deadly way.

The second part of the lesson jumps ahead about 340 years to consider another man by the name of Phinehas. He, his brother Hophni, and their father Eli were priests (). The brothers were corrupt, and they are call “scoundrels” (2:12), indicating that they were wicked.

Their actions in taking advantage of worshippers was a great sin in God’s sight (). They added to their sin by seducing women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting and by ignoring their father’s rebuke (2:22-25); they therefore knowingly broke at least the fifth, seventh, and eighth of the Ten Commandments, probably others as well.

God Reward Zeal -

Numbers 25:10–13 NRSV

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by manifesting such zeal among them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did not consume the Israelites. Therefore say, ‘I hereby grant him my covenant of peace. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the Israelites.’ ”

Two things are clear from Number 25:7-9: (1) the first Phinehas of today’s study had just killed two people for blatant disobedience to God and (2) his initiative in that respect halted further Israelite deaths. Even so 24,000 were already dead by plague - capital punishment from the Lord.

What Phinehas, grandson of the first high priest, did with so much zeal was to kill an Israelite man and a Midianite woman while they engage in an immoral act (). The sinful nature of the act was compounded by the idol worship that accompanied it (25:1-3).

We may be shocked that a priest has committed such an act! But we must remember a couple of things. First, those sins amounted to religious and political treason. Second, the death toll would have been much higher that 24,000 (Number 25:9) if Phinehas had not acted. As it stands, God commends him for being zealous for my honor. The result of this man’s actions was great point of rescue: God did not put an end to them in zeal.

What are some ways to be fervent for God today? Before believers; before unbelievers; before God himself.

God’s covenant of peace is attested to in verse 12. This is a stinging rebuke of priests who were not obeying the Word of God in contrast with their forefather, Levi. The peace spoken of here is shalom - which is more than the absence of hostilities. It means wholeness, health, well-being, and blessing. Further implications of this covenant of peace are given in the next verse.

What are some ways our church can promote peace without getting political?

The scope of the covenant of peace is now explained: it is a covenant of a lasting priesthood. Phinehas is assured that his descendants will enjoy God’s blessing and security. Phinehas will become famous for his righteous indignation, an act that is considered to be an atonement for the Israelites.

Later, Phinehas will have a role in the destruction of these same Midianites as well as Balaam, who had instigated the sordid affair. He becomes noted as a defender of God’s honor and as a ruler over the gatekeepers of the tabernacle.

God Punishes Sins - )

1 Samuel 2:30–36 NRSV

Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: ‘I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me forever’; but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt. See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family, so that no one in your family will live to old age. Then in distress you will look with greedy eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed upon Israel; and no one in your family shall ever live to old age. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his eyes and grieve his heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword. The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you—both of them shall die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one forever. Everyone who is left in your family shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me in one of the priest’s places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.’ ”

A second Phinehas is now a part of our lesson. He and brother Hophni are the sons of Eli, a priest (, ). Eli seems to have seldom, if ever, disciplined his sons for their malicious acts (2:29). God had chosen Aaron, son Eleazar, and grandson Phinehas for the honorable and holy task of priesthood. But Eli and his sons have brought dishonor and unholiness to the role.

This Phinehas, while a member of the priestly household, lacks the character strength of the first Phinehas. Hophni and Phinehas were notorious for their disregard of their Temple responsibility. They subverted the priestly protocols of sacrifice, but they asserted their limited authority, aggressively showing little regard for the purity of the intentions of those coming to make their sacrifices.

In addition, the sons of Eli were sleeping with the women who helped out in the Temple (verse 22). When their father, Eli raised questions about their disobedience with them, they refused to listen. God was angered by their actions.

The crisis came when God sent his prophet to Eli with haunting questions. God chided Eli with the promise made in Egypt to his father that his house would serve God forever as it priests (verse 30). This reminder of holy commitment must have stung the ears of Eli who had to face the fact that his inability to rein in his sons dishonored his own father, dishonored his priestly function at the altar, dishonored the vestments he wore, and dishonored God.

God interpreted the actions of Eli’s sons as a rebuff to God’s provision of food for the priestly household as well as the God-given responsibility for maintaining the holiness of the sacrificial system. Eli was guilty of failing to keep the Temple holy and failing to honor God above family.

In a sense, God revoked Eli’s ordination. Certainly, he reversed his promise to Eli on the grounds that Eli’s house failed his commitment to honor God. Long life was taken from Eli’s house. His descendants would be doomed to die by the sword (verse 33). Hophni and Phinehas were cursed with certain death on the same day(verse 34).

The curse was realized when the Israelites went to battle with the Philistines. Losing the battle, the Israelites sent for the ark of the covenant, believing it to save them. Hophni and Phinehas brought the ark to the camp. This action incited the Philistines to step up their fight. Subsequently, the ark was captured, and Phinehas and Hophni were killed. When Eli was told, he fell form his chair and broke his neck (). The house of Eli fell to disgrace.

In verses 35, 36, God declares his intent to raise up faithful priest. God firmly establishes the priestly house of Zadok so that his family flourishes for many years, beginning with his son Azariah (), continuing through the return of the exiles.

What spiritual disciplines are most helpful to you for remaining faithful? Why? Regarding disciplines of service, regarding disciplines of worship, regarding disciplines of prayer, and regarding disciplines of Bible Study.

Conclusion

The first Phinehas we read about exhibited strength when his action spoke out against the man who offended the altar with his conduct with the Midianite woman. Phinehas carried out God’s will in the punishment of infidelity. The second Phinehas spoke with a brazen voice when he demanded the satisfaction of his selfish needs.

The second Phinehas spoke with a brazen voice when he demanded the satisfaction of his selfish needs.

The positive obedience of Eleazar’s son brought honor to him, while the lack of obedience of Eli’s sons brought dishonor to him. The actions of each of the sons reverberated through the households of their fathers. Since the household of Eleazar and the household of Eli were chosen for priestly functions, they were intimately connected to the God of Israel. The actions of each member of each household reflected on God and upon all of God’s children.

When Eleazar’s son Phinehas, was said to be jealous for God, his decisive handling of God’s decree brought reconciliation for all of the Israelites. He brought honor to God and his entire tribe. On the other hand, Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, through their selfish disregard for the holiness of their task were seen by God to be despicable. They dishonored God and brought the curse of their dishonor to bear upon the Israelite army battling the Philistines.

The contrast in the performances of the sons of these two priests deepens our understanding of the conditions that God places upon his promises. We enjoy God’s favor as long as we remain faithful to God. Our actions have consequences that affect our lives but that also reflect upon the God we serve.

How have your actions reflected upon the name your church has in the community?

Prayer

Holy God, teach us to see the interconnectivity of influence that ripples throughout the communities in which we live. Enable us to live with the utter faithfulness to the God we serve; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.