1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:01,720 All right, good morning, church family. 2 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:05,920 Once again, if you would open your Bibles to the Book of 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:10,920 Numbers chapter 25. And this morning we're going to 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:16,239 be in verses 7 to 18, Numbers 25, seven to 18. 5 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:22,360 We are on Part 2 of our story this morning of the story of the 6 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,480 Baal worship, and we're going to get to a new character this 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,160 morning. The title of the sermon is this 8 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:35,160 Jealous with God's Jealousy. So let's read the text, open it 9 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:38,480 in a word of prayer, and then we'll jump into our sermon this 10 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,680 morning #25 beginning in verse 7. 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,800 When Phineas the son of Eliezer son of Aaron the priest, saw it, 12 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,520 he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in 13 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:57,360 his hand, and went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and 14 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:02,000 pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her 15 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,599 belly. Thus the plague on the people of 16 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:07,560 Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, those who died by 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:12,600 the plague were 24,000. And the Lord said to Moses 18 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:14,920 Phineas. And the Lord said to Moses, 19 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,000 Phineas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,640 back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous 21 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,320 with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the 22 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:29,840 people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, Behold, I give to 23 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,200 him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his 24 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,320 descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual 25 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:39,760 priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made 26 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:41,480 atonement for the people of Israel. 27 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,600 The name of the slain man of Israel who was killed with the 28 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,920 Midianite woman was Zimri, the son of Salou, chief of a 29 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,000 father's house belonging to the Semi unites, And the name of the 30 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:53,480 MIDI. That woman who was killed was 31 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,960 Cosby, the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a 32 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,280 father's house in Midian. And the Lord spoke to Moses 33 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,800 saying, Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they 34 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,199 have harassed you with their Wiles, with which they beguiled 35 00:02:09,199 --> 00:02:12,320 you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cosby, the 36 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,440 daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on 37 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,720 the day of the plague on account of Peor. 38 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:29,840 If you will pray with me, Father, pray this morning as we 39 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:35,480 get to a story that is quite graphic, quite extreme. 40 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:44,320 It's violent. Remind us, Lord, of of our need 41 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:54,680 to treat sin with seriousness, of our need to be jealous with 42 00:02:54,680 --> 00:03:01,400 your jealousy, that we would be jealous for your glory, for the 43 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,480 holiness of your people, and that we would rise and take 44 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:10,640 action as Phineas does. Lord help us to to see this man 45 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:14,600 of the faith who averted A plague from being worse than 46 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:19,360 what it was and help us Lord to to rise up and and to say, Lord, 47 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,440 what are you calling me to do? How do you want me to put to 48 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,760 death to sin in my life and to be a vessel and helping others 49 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,600 to put sin to death in theirs? I pray this in Jesus name Amen. 50 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:40,480 John Owen, in his book The Mortification of Sin, writes 51 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,600 this. To mortify means to put any 52 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,920 living thing to death. To kill a man, or any other 53 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,040 living thing, is to take away the principle of all its 54 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:57,560 strength, vigor, and power, so that it cannot act or exert, or 55 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,960 put forth any proper actings of its own. 56 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:06,240 It is the constant duty of believers to render a death blow 57 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,880 to the deeds of the flesh, that they may not have life and 58 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:15,320 strength to bring forth their destructive influence. 59 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:22,120 Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? 60 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:28,280 Be always at it while you live. Cease not a day from this work. 61 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,640 Be killing sin, or it will be killing you. 62 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:40,080 End Quote. If you need to know. 63 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,800 How violent does this mortification need to be? 64 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:50,000 How extreme. Look no farther than the story 65 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:57,280 of Phineas, because in here we have a physical example of what 66 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:04,720 we are to do metaphorically, spiritually to our sin and to 67 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,800 others sin. I want to give the context. 68 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,080 If you're busy with this morning, we've been going 69 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,600 through the Book of Numbers for several months and most recently 70 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,440 we've been looking at the story of Balaam and Balak. 71 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,400 And this morning we get to a new story and we started it last 72 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,120 week. And so I want to give the 73 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,280 context to bring us up to speed and then I'll we'll give 74 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:27,400 exposition of the text and then I'll give application. 75 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:29,640 For the past several weeks, we've been going through the 76 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:33,520 story of Balak and Balaam where Balak, who is king of Moab, has 77 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,160 hired Balaam, a false prophet, to come and curse Israel. 78 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,840 But instead God uses it as an opportunity to bless his people 79 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,040 four times. Since Balaam cannot find a way 80 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,800 to curse Israel through the front door, he instead finds a 81 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,760 back door. He becomes a stumbling block. 82 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,960 He tells Balak. Put a stumbling block in the 83 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,680 Israelites path. A stumbling block in the form of 84 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:02,800 Moabite women. The Israelite men begin to whore 85 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,720 with the Moabite women. And to make matters worse, the 86 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,920 women invite the men to the sacrifice of their gods. 87 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,920 And not only do the men go to the sacrifice, they even eat the 88 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:15,320 food that a sacrifice to these false gods. 89 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,240 They even bow down themselves to the false gods. 90 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,640 And as a result of this immorality, as a result of this 91 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:28,520 idolatry, God tells Moses to hang probably more literal and 92 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:32,880 pale, either the chiefs of the people or the offenders. 93 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,560 And the reason for this is that so that the anger of the Lord 94 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,160 may turn away. Now, it's unclear from the story 95 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,960 if this actually happened, if they actually did hang them. 96 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,000 But the story then begins to shift to this specific example 97 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:53,600 where an Israelite man actually brings a Midianite woman to his 98 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,040 family. So here is a married man, 99 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:00,720 probably with children, and he brings a foreign woman to his 100 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,000 tent, to his family. And he does this in broad 101 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,040 daylight in front of everybody. He does it in front of Moses and 102 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,520 the congregation while they are weeping at the tent of meeting. 103 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:12,960 And that's where we left off last week. 104 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,480 Last week we left off kind of on the cliffhanger of what's going 105 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,080 to happen, how is this going to get resolved? 106 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:20,920 And that we see that this morning. 107 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:22,680 So let's start with our expedition of the text, 108 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,160 beginning in verse 7 where I kind of explained the text and 109 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:27,440 then I'll give application from it. 110 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,400 Look at verse 7 when Phineas, the son of Eliezer, son of Aaron 111 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,480 the priest, saw it. He rose and left the 112 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:39,880 congregation and took a spear in his hand. 113 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,400 We are, without any kind of warning, introduced to a new 114 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,360 character in the story and we're only told 2 pieces of 115 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:49,480 information about him #1 his name. 116 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,560 His name is Phineas and #2 is lineage. 117 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,080 He is the son of Eliezer, who is the son of Aaron. 118 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,760 Now that means that Phineas is a priest. 119 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:03,040 Aaron is a priest and all his sons are priests, and so Phineas 120 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,680 is a priest. Now that is stunning considering 121 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,760 what he is about to do. He is not a military general of 122 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,320 any kind. He is a priest, which is 123 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,320 stunning when we see what he's about to do. 124 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:21,560 The text says that when Phineas saw it, what is it? 125 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,280 It is verse 6. It is this man bringing a 126 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:32,799 Midianite woman to his family. When Phineas sees this, he rose. 127 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:34,960 I don't miss the connection there. 128 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:41,840 Don't miss that when Phineas saw it, he took action. 129 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,400 He left the congregation. And look at what he does next. 130 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:52,000 He goes and grabs his spear. He picks up a spear into his 131 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,560 hand. Now why does a priest have a 132 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:57,480 spear in his hand? Look at verse 8. 133 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,840 And went after the man of Israel into the chamber, pierced both 134 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,720 of them, the man of Israel, and the woman threw her belly. 135 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,680 Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 136 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,760 Phineas went after the man of Israel. 137 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,040 He went after him all the way into his chamber. 138 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,080 That word chamber there. It's the only time that the 139 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,520 Hebrew word is used in the Old Testament. 140 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,040 Some scholars believe that it should be translated as woman's 141 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,200 quarters or area of a tent reserved for women. 142 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,400 And so Phineas goes into this man's chamber. 143 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:39,720 And what does he do when he gets inside there? 144 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,280 He takes, remember that spear he has in his hand. 145 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:48,360 He takes it and he pierces both of them at the same time, the 146 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:52,600 man of Israel and the woman through her belly. 147 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:58,880 That seems to suggest that they are actually engaged in the act 148 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,920 of sexual immorality. And Phineas Pierce's both of 149 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,520 them at the same time while they're engaged in this. 150 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:09,720 And notice what happens when he does this. 151 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:15,000 Thus, the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 152 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,640 Now 3 questions that raises at the minimum three questions 153 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,960 raises for me #1 Plague What plague? 154 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:25,640 When? Where did a plague come from? 155 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:27,560 This is the first time we're hearing about a plague. 156 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,080 It appears that God sent a plague upon the people for their 157 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,280 immorality and their idolatry. Now, we weren't told when it 158 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:41,200 started, but it there was a plague #2 Second question, was 159 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,760 the plague supplemental to the hanging, or was it a punishment 160 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,520 for failing to hang? Some scholars believe that the 161 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,480 plague started for one of two reasons. 162 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:56,480 Either a member, possibly Moses, changed the command from hanging 163 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,920 the leaders to hanging the offenders. 164 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:01,720 I don't know if that's true, but that's possible. 165 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,960 And if that's true, God might have sent a plague for Moses, 166 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:06,720 failing to actually hang the leaders. 167 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,160 Or B, it could be that the judges failed to hang the 168 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,600 offenders, that, you know, they did not want to do this, they 169 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,160 don't want to impale these people. 170 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,560 And so God's like, well, if you're not going to do this, 171 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:21,040 then I'll do it through a plague. 172 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,920 That is a possibility. It's also possible to the plague 173 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,880 is a supplemental punishment to the hanging. 174 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,720 The hanging did take place. It just doesn't say they did it 175 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:37,160 and it's supplemental to that. Either is possible #3 why did 176 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,600 Phineas's action stop the plague? 177 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:47,200 Why would taking a spear and killing this man and woman stop 178 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,280 the whole entire plague? God is going to answer that in 179 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:52,320 verse 11, which we'll get to in just a minute. 180 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,800 Look at verse 9. Nevertheless, those who died by 181 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:02,560 the plague were 24,000. Even though Phineas stopped the 182 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:05,200 plague, much damage has already been done. 183 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:09,840 The plague has killed 24,000 Israelite men. 184 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,200 Paul tells us in First Corinthians 10/8 that all 24 of 185 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,400 these thousand died in one single day. 186 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:23,080 Deuteronomy 4 three tells us For the Lord your God destroyed from 187 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,360 among you all the men who followed the bail of peor. 188 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:33,720 That means at the minimum, the minimum, 24,000 men had yoked 189 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:38,520 themselves to the bail of Peor 24,000. 190 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,560 Look at verse 10 to 11. And the Lord said to Moses, 191 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,480 Phineas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned 192 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,080 back my wrath of the people of Israel in that he was jealous 193 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:55,800 with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the 194 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:01,800 people of Israel in my jealousy. Now God tells Moses that Phineas 195 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,280 has been the sole means of propitiation. 196 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,160 Phineas has turned back my wrath. 197 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:16,400 Now think about that. One man propitiated the wrath of 198 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:24,200 God, and notice the reason he gives in that he was jealous 199 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,960 with my jealousy among them. Now what does that mean? 200 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,920 Well, we know that Scripture teaches us that God is a jealous 201 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:34,880 God. He's not jealous the way that 202 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,080 we're jealous. It's a different kind of 203 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,040 jealousy. It's a holy jealousy. 204 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,720 It's a righteous jealousy. And the 10 commandments God said 205 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:47,520 for I the Lord your God, am a jealous God. 206 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:50,680 Exodus 25. Later in Exodus, he says, you 207 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:53,680 shall worship no other God. For the Lord whose name is 208 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:58,200 jealous is a jealous God. Exodus 3414, Moses says in 209 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:04,040 Deuteronomy 424 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a 210 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:08,600 jealous God. Now what does that mean to have 211 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,160 a righteous jealousy? Well, think about it like this. 212 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,160 It's, it's an imperfect analogy, but think of it like this. 213 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:19,560 In the same way that I am jealous for my wife, I am 214 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,080 jealous for my I am not willing to share her with any other man. 215 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:26,280 I don't care how good looking you are. 216 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,000 I don't care how rich you are. I don't care how nice you are. 217 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,280 I don't care if you would be a better fit for her than I am. 218 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:39,760 I am not willing to share my wife with anybody, any other 219 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:45,880 man. I'm also jealous for my 220 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:51,280 children. I'm sure many of you are great 221 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:54,520 parents, but you're not allowed to raise them. 222 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,040 I want to raise them. They are mine. 223 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,520 I will not farm them out. I will not entrust them to 224 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,880 anybody else. They are my children. 225 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:16,520 I am jealous for them. God is righteously jealous for 226 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:21,600 His people and ultimately His glory. 227 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,640 And here's the thing. So is Phineas. 228 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:35,760 Phineas takes this spear and he drives it through this man and 229 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:42,200 this woman because he feels, he feels a sense of divine jealousy 230 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:46,440 for God's glory and the holiness of God's people. 231 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:55,000 Phineas is jealous with God's jealousy, and this jealousy is a 232 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,240 glorious desire. Why? 233 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,840 Because look at what the alternative was so that I did 234 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:05,120 not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 235 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:07,520 Now, what does that mean? That tells me that the plague 236 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,000 wasn't finished. That tells me that God would 237 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,120 have let the plague continue to consume the rest of the 238 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,240 offenders. Maybe more than that, I don't 239 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,400 know. But that's why I say at the 240 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,200 minimum 24,000 it seems to suggest the plague would have 241 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,880 kept going. God was going to consume every 242 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:36,400 last offender, maybe more. Now we may wonder, why would God 243 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,920 kill them if he was jealous for them, right? 244 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,080 Think about it like this. If, if, if a wife is unfaithful 245 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:44,920 to her husband, he doesn't kill her. 246 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,120 I mean, some people do and they do it out of jealousy, but we 247 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,360 all know that that's murder and that's wrong and and that's, 248 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,920 that's a wrong kind of jealousy. So why? 249 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:59,040 Why does God's jealousy move him to kill them? 250 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,560 Why would God do that? Well, we must remember this. 251 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,760 God is jealous first, people. But it's so important you 252 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:08,160 understand this. His primary jealousy is not for 253 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:13,440 His people. His primary jealousy is for His 254 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:21,319 glory, for His name. God consumes them. 255 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:27,000 He would consume them to uphold His name as holy. 256 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,280 God is jealous for his people, but more than that, He is 257 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:38,600 jealous for His glory, His Holiness, his namesake, and God 258 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:43,920 says I will uphold it and that's why he puts them to death. 259 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:51,240 Look at verse 12 to 13. Therefore say, behold, I give to 260 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,040 him I covenant a peace, and it shall be to him and his 261 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,880 descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual 262 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,560 priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made 263 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,040 atonement for the people of Israel. 264 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:07,360 God tells Moses, say to Phineas, Phineas, I am giving you my 265 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:10,040 covenant of peace. What is that? 266 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:14,360 What is a covenant of peace? Dennis Cole writes It means that 267 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:19,040 God was with them to will and to work for his good pleasure. 268 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,560 The benefits that would accrue to the covenant recipients we're 269 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:26,920 safe dwelling and abundant blessing and God says I'm giving 270 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,840 this to you Phineas. Not only was this covenant given 271 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,400 to Phineas, but it was also given to his descendants. 272 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:35,200 It shall be to him and his descendants a covenant, a 273 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,280 perpetual priesthood, meaning that everyone who descends from 274 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:43,880 Phineas will be a high priest, not just a priest, but a high 275 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,400 priest. We know this later in Chronicles 276 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:50,520 when it gives the genealogy. The reason that God gives him 277 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:55,760 this covenant of peace, this covenant priesthood, is 278 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:00,240 precisely because he was jealous for his God, precisely because 279 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:01,800 he made atonement for the people. 280 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,640 Atonement here means the same thing as propitiation in this 281 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,280 context. Look at verse 14 to 15. 282 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:11,560 The name of the slain man of Israel who was killed with the 283 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,520 Midianite woman was Zemri, the son of Salut, chief of Father's 284 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:16,920 house, belonging to the semi Knights. 285 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:19,600 In the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cosby, 286 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,640 the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house 287 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,920 in Midian. And often in these kinds of 288 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:31,080 stories, we're we're never given the name of of the offenders or 289 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:32,680 details. I mean, it's very rare that you 290 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,480 often are given the names and the details of them. 291 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:36,960 But in this case, not only were given the names of the 292 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:38,920 offenders, we're given their lineage as well. 293 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,000 The Israelite man was Zimbry, the son of Salut. 294 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:47,200 He was a chief. He was a leader of a father's 295 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,720 house belonging to the semi Knights. 296 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,800 The Midianite woman was Cosby, the daughter of Zur. 297 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,480 Zur was a tribal head of a father's house in Midian. 298 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:00,280 Now you may be wondering, why do the narrator take the time to 299 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,040 give their names and their backgrounds? 300 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:06,920 Here's my guess. My guess is to emphasize the 301 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:12,360 fact that the person who did this, this man who brought a 302 00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:18,080 Midianite woman into his tent, to his family, he was a leader. 303 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,520 He was a leader of the people of Israel. 304 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,280 Look at verse 16 to 18. And the Lord spoke to Moses 305 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,480 saying, harass the Midianites and strike them down. 306 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,040 For they have harassed you with their Wiles, with which they 307 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:36,840 beguiled you in the matter of Peor. 308 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,400 And the matter of Cosby, the daughter of the chief of Midian, 309 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,600 their sister who was killed on the day of the plague on account 310 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,880 of Peor. In case we were wondering, well, 311 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:47,360 why do the Israelites get punished? 312 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,520 Why? Why, You know, like it takes 2 313 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,120 to tango. Why did the Midianites get 314 00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:52,400 punished? Why didn't the Moabites get 315 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:53,520 punished? Well, they will. 316 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,960 The Moabites will get punished later, God will see to it. 317 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:58,960 And the Midianites are going to get punished. 318 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:04,680 Now God tells Moses, harass the Midianites that were harassed 319 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,480 can be translated, be hostile, treat them as enemies or attack 320 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,400 them. God says harass them, attack 321 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,000 them and strike them down. Why? 322 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:17,880 Because they have harassed you. They have harassed you with 323 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,120 their Wiles. That's a strange word. 324 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,520 We don't use that word anymore. It's really like the wily 325 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,920 coyote. It has also translated tricks, 326 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:31,440 deception or treachery. They have harassed you with 327 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,440 their Wiles with which they beguiled you. 328 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,600 We don't use that word either. That means to deceive. 329 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,840 Which would they deceived you. In other words, God acknowledges 330 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:46,600 that his people were deceived by the Midianites deceptions, they 331 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:53,560 were deceived by the Midianites schemes, and God says now it is 332 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:58,880 your turn to judge these people. Now I will use you to judge the 333 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:06,520 Midianites and I'll stop there with our exposition application 334 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,800 of the text. I have 9 exhortations for you. 335 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,120 I did have 10. I whittled it down to 9. 336 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:22,880 Number one, see something, do something. 337 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:31,960 See something, do something. You may know that the Department 338 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,640 of Homeland Security's motto is see something, say something, 339 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,440 right? You're at the airport, you see a 340 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,880 suspicious bag, see something, say something. 341 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,040 I don't know how many of us abide by that, but that is their 342 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,360 motto. It's just just that if you see 343 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:54,120 something suspicious, report it. The temptation is to think 344 00:22:55,280 --> 00:23:00,520 what's not that big of a deal, It's probably nothing or 345 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:02,280 somebody else. Take care of it. 346 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:04,120 It's not my job. I'm I'm not supposed to get 347 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:06,840 involved in this. It's not my role. 348 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:13,600 Somebody else should do it. What if it is a big deal? 349 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,160 And what if you are the one to do something about it? 350 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:29,120 The nation of Israel was engaged in egregious sin, and if 24,000 351 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:32,840 men was the minimum number of those involved, then it was also 352 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:38,320 engaged in widespread sin. And it appears that nobody was 353 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:44,040 doing anything about it until Phineas saw something. 354 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:48,880 The text says that Phineas saw it. 355 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:53,800 He sits there and he watches as this man brings a Midianite 356 00:23:53,800 --> 00:24:02,480 woman into his tent. And when he saw it, he rose. 357 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,680 He rose. He did not contemplate. 358 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:12,480 He did not delay, he did not weigh his options. 359 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:19,480 He did not turn a blind eye. He rose and he did something. 360 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,840 Trust family. I want to exhort you, if you see 361 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:30,080 something in the congregation, do something. 362 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:41,720 If you see that somebody looks spiritually off, rise and go 363 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:46,720 talk to them. If you see that somebody is 364 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:51,960 engaged in sin, rise and go exhort them. 365 00:24:54,840 --> 00:25:02,000 If you see that somebody is not making wise choices, rise and go 366 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:07,680 give them wise counsel. Don't assume it's not a big 367 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,320 deal. Don't assume that somebody else 368 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:22,400 will take care of it. See something, do something #2 369 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:29,160 Never underestimate the difference one person can make, 370 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,800 especially if that one person is you. 371 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,840 Never underestimate the difference that one person can 372 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,480 make, especially if that one person is you. 373 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:46,880 The Bible is filled with examples of God using one 374 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:51,840 person. It was a little boy who provided 375 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,440 his lunch that Jesus used to feed 5000. 376 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,240 It was one younger brother who was sold into slavery that saved 377 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,080 not only the nation of Egypt but also saved the nation of Israel. 378 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:09,360 It was a little servant girl who spoke up about Elisha to Naaman 379 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:13,080 and Naaman was healed of his leprosy. 380 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:20,520 It was 1 cupbearer to the king who rebuilt the walls, led the 381 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:26,120 rebuilding of the walls. It was one woman who saved a 382 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:32,720 whole entire nation from genocide in Persia, it was 1 383 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:39,120 Ethiopian eunuch who rescued Jeremiah out of a cistern, and 384 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:42,440 it was one priest who made atonement for the people of 385 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:48,920 Israel and stopped the plague. Never underestimate the 386 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:54,480 difference one person can make, especially if the one person is 387 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:59,360 you. We've all heard of Augustine, 388 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:02,800 one of the greatest Christian thinkers, theologians, 389 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:07,760 philosophers of our time. Did you know about his mother, 390 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:16,520 Monica, who for years, through her tears, prayed for her son's 391 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:25,000 salvation? We all know about Augustine, but 392 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,800 he had a mother. So did Jonathan Edwards. 393 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:37,240 It was Edward Kimball, a shoe salesman, a shoe salesman who 394 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,600 shared the gospel with his Co worker. 395 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,200 You know who his Co worker was? DL Moody. 396 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:57,240 One man stopped this plague. You never know how God might use 397 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:02,360 you. Yes, it is true we don't take up 398 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:05,160 Spears anymore. We should do not take up Spears 399 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:09,400 anymore, but we certainly take up a sword. 400 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:12,880 We take up a sword of the spirit. 401 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:24,160 Three, though we can certainly overreact to sin, the greater 402 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:29,240 temptation is to under react. Though we can certainly 403 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:33,920 overreact to sin, the greater temptation is to under react. 404 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,080 If you were reading this story, imagine if you were reading this 405 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,560 story for the very first time, you had never read it before, 406 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,880 you had never heard it before. And imagine you ever, you ever 407 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:45,960 be reading something and you get interrupted and like you stop at 408 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,080 a certain word in the middle of a sentence, right? 409 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:49,960 And you got to pick, like figure out where you pick it back up. 410 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,760 Imagine you're reading this for the very first time and you 411 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:58,480 stopped at the word congregation when Phineas, the son of 412 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,320 Eliezer, son of Aaron the priest, saw it. 413 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,720 He rose and left the congregation. 414 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:11,360 Interruption. You're like, he rose and left 415 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,800 the congregation and did what? You come back to the text. 416 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:16,880 How, how, how would you think it would read next? 417 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,480 How, what, what, what would it say next? 418 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,720 He rose, left the congregation, and Phineas went and confronted 419 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,560 the man. And Phineas went and prayed for 420 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:34,760 the man's salvation. And Phineas went and wept over 421 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:40,600 the man's sin. Here's how I would not expect 422 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:45,600 the story to read. And Phineas took a spear in his 423 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,760 hand. When after the man of Israel to 424 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:50,400 the chamber pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the 425 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:55,920 woman through her belly didn't see that one coming, did not see 426 00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:00,600 that one coming. It's pretty graphic, isn't it? 427 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:07,440 It's pretty violent. Here's my question. 428 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:09,320 Is that an overreaction by Phineas? 429 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,440 Is that an overreaction that too extreme? 430 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:20,600 The Lord doesn't seem to think so. 431 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,400 God doesn't seem to think so. The question is, is what are we 432 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,440 to take away from this? Right. 433 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,160 I mean, I don't, I don't know. I don't know that this story 434 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:33,600 makes it in the children's Sunday school. 435 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,440 I don't know any VBS. It's like this is like a mat LED 436 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:40,000 VBS. We'd be like our theme this year 437 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,520 is Phineas. I, I, I, I don't know that this 438 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,280 is any VBS theme. What, what are we to take away 439 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,040 from this action? Certainly we're not taking up 440 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:52,600 Spears and killing people anymore. 441 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,160 So what are we to take away from this violent action? 442 00:30:56,320 --> 00:31:01,400 I think it is this, though we can certainly overreact to sin, 443 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,720 the greater temptation is to under react. 444 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,200 Now, let's be clear, we can overreact to sin. 445 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,640 Let's be very clear about that. Growing up in dense Christian 446 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,680 circles, I grew up in dense Christian circles where it's in 447 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,440 the Deep South. I mean, like out there's the 448 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:20,840 South. People say the South is like 449 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,480 there's the South and then there's the South, like Alabama, 450 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:28,880 Mississippi, Georgia, right? Growing up in the Deep South in 451 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:34,600 the dense S, going to church like 4 times a week, right? 452 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,920 I grew up in dense. I can't tell you how many 453 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,240 stories I've heard of people overreacting the sin. 454 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,280 I've heard stories where like a mother found out that her son 455 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:46,680 was watching inappropriate things and she just goes on a 456 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,120 rampage, like throwing out everything. 457 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,920 You know, it's like we're getting rid of all, all your 458 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,960 music, all your posters. Like everything is like just 459 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,040 goes on a rampage just throwing out everything. 460 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,040 I've heard stories of churches overreacting. 461 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,120 The sin. There's sin in the church and 462 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:07,720 the church leadership overreacts. 463 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:13,680 Those are true. You can overreact to sin. 464 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:20,000 I want to caution us. I think the greater danger for 465 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,520 most of us, maybe not all of us, but for most of us, the greater 466 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:33,120 danger is to under react to sin. Stories like this are written to 467 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:40,320 remind us severe sin must be met with a serious response. 468 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:59,020 Severe sin must be met with a serious response #4 God pierced 469 00:32:59,020 --> 00:33:02,980 his own Son to stop the plague of sin and death. 470 00:33:04,420 --> 00:33:09,820 God pierced his own Son to stop the plague of sin and death. 471 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:13,140 Why did this plague stop when Phineas pierced both this man 472 00:33:13,140 --> 00:33:15,560 and woman? Normally, plagues only stop when 473 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:17,880 a sacrifice is made. When other plagues in the Bible, 474 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:19,560 they normally only stop when a sacrifice is made. 475 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,200 What about now? In this case, the man and the 476 00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:28,560 woman became the sacrifice. In this story, Phineas functions 477 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:33,760 as a typology of God and Christ. For thousands and thousands of 478 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:38,240 years man has been living in immorality and idolatry. 479 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,600 And for thousands of thousands of years God has sent a plague 480 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,000 upon this land known as the curse, a plague of sin, and a 481 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:49,320 plague of death. Until one day God says enough. 482 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:57,920 Jesus comes and he enters our tent, known as human flesh. 483 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:05,000 And yet rather than Pierce us for our sins, God pierces him. 484 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,719 God pierces him with nails through his hands and his feet 485 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,400 and thorns and his skull and a spear through his side. 486 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:19,679 And the 10,000 year old plague is stopped. 487 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:26,600 Sin and death no longer reign. Jesus now reigns. 488 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:32,880 Have you ever considered what marvellous grace it is that God 489 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:38,040 allows one single act of righteousness to atone for 490 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,280 thousands of sins? Just think about that. 491 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:47,320 At the minimum, at least 24,000 men engaged in immorality and 492 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,679 idolatry. The minimum 24,000. 493 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,840 And yet it wasn't as though they went and Phineas went and made 494 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,800 24,000 sacrifices, or the Israelites made 24,000 495 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:58,960 sacrifices. It wasn't as though they paid 496 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,520 24,000 pieces of silver to the Tent of Meeting treasury. 497 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:09,400 It was one act of righteousness by one man who stopped this 498 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:17,560 plague, and it was one act of righteousness by 1 Savior who 499 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:19,680 stopped the plague of sin and death. 500 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:33,280 What marvellous grace that God would accept that 5 Everybody is 501 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:43,200 doing it and everybody dies. Everybody is doing it and 502 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:46,920 everybody dies. The text says that even though 503 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,600 the plague was stopped, it still took the lives of 24,000 and the 504 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:52,520 number of fenders was most likely much higher. 505 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:56,840 That's a lot of people engaged in idolatry and immorality. 506 00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:00,040 That's a lot. 24,000. How does you know I'm like 507 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,240 Moses? You know, I'm like man, like 508 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,560 imagine having a congregation, like imagine if you had like a 509 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:08,600 mega church like 100. I don't even know, like largest 510 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:10,240 churches, maybe 300,000 or something. 511 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,640 I'm like 24,000 in my congregation are engaged in 512 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:19,640 idolatry and immorality. How does that happen? 513 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,680 How do you get there? How do you get there? 514 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,160 Here's one way everybody's doing it. 515 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:32,000 You know the phrase, you know the phrase. 516 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,840 Everybody's doing it. It must not be wrong, must not 517 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:38,160 be that bad. Everybody's doing it. 518 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:43,760 Remember the book of Judges? Everybody was doing what was 519 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:50,760 what not not wrong, what was right in their eyes. 520 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:54,320 They thought they were doing right. 521 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:57,680 Everybody was doing what was right in their own eyes. 522 00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,400 And here's here's why this matters. 523 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:03,760 The fact that this man, think about it, what, what boldness 524 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,920 that this man would bring a Midianite woman to his own 525 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:09,640 family tent in front of everybody. 526 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,040 Why would he do that? How could he be that bold? 527 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:17,600 I think the reason he is that bold is that he didn't think he 528 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:22,640 would be confronted by anybody. This sin had become so 529 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,800 widespread. It was like nobody's going to 530 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:28,080 care, nobody's going to do anything. 531 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,840 We don't know how long this idolatry and immorality lasted. 532 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:36,480 Maybe it was days, maybe it was weeks, maybe it was months. 533 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:41,520 How long does it take for 24,000 men at the minimum to engage in 534 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:42,800 this kind of sin? We don't know. 535 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,280 But whatever, however long it was, it would appear that the 536 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:48,520 Israelites thought this is no big deal. 537 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,080 Remember the Corinthians thought that the Corinthians were 538 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:55,840 boasting. They're like we are free in 539 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:59,880 Christ. We are so free that one man has 540 00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:11,510 his father's wife and all the while that is happening, you 541 00:38:11,510 --> 00:38:13,750 know what they probably thought, but there's no consequences. 542 00:38:15,190 --> 00:38:17,310 You know that that the age-old like what God does want me to do 543 00:38:17,310 --> 00:38:18,430 it strike me dead with lightning. 544 00:38:20,550 --> 00:38:25,440 OK, I guess he's OK with it. There's no consequences. 545 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:31,560 However long this went on, there were no consequences until the 546 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:35,720 plague hit. Until a plague hit. 547 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:41,240 Paul tells us that 24,000 died on a single day. 548 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:51,240 Single day. Everybody is doing it and 549 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:57,600 everybody dies. Church, family, listen to me 550 00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:01,960 when I say this. Be careful that we don't have a 551 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:05,760 lowest common denominator view of holiness. 552 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:13,480 I can't tell you how many times in the past 15 years, 14 years 553 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:18,160 that I've been here where I heard people say they just have 554 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:23,880 a high view of holiness. Matt just has high standards. 555 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:31,720 CSPC just has high standards. Everywhere else I go, they do 556 00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:36,240 this. Other Christian circles I'm 557 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,480 around. It's not that big of a deal. 558 00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:48,320 Everybody else does it, yes, and everybody else dies. 559 00:39:55,120 --> 00:40:04,920 Holiness matters. It matters 6 Do you feel a sense 560 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:08,160 of divine jealousy for the glory of God? 561 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:15,440 Do you feel a sense of divine jealousy for the glory of God? 562 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:21,520 If the story ended at verse 9, we might wonder what does God 563 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,800 actually think of what Phineas did right? 564 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:25,600 Imagine the story ended at verse 9. 565 00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:30,880 Phineas stops the plague. Nevertheless, those who died or 566 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:35,200 24,000 and then chapter 26, you're like what? 567 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:39,240 What did God think of this? Did God approve of this? 568 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:42,320 But we're actually told what God's thoughts are. 569 00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:45,240 God says that he is pleased with Phineas act. 570 00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:49,040 Why? Because he was jealous with my 571 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:51,280 jealousy. Now what does that mean? 572 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,040 Well Phineas could have just sat back and said you know what? 573 00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:59,000 I know that the Lord is jealous. So God will take care of this 574 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:03,320 right? God is jealous for his glory. 575 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:09,360 God will take care of this. God could, He would, and it 576 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:11,680 would come at the cost of thousands of more lives. 577 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:19,160 But Phineas in his soul, he feels a divine sense of 578 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:24,360 jealousy, which propels him to do something about it. 579 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:27,840 Let me give you an example of how that might work. 580 00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:30,280 Facetious example, but could be real. 581 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:36,920 One day. I hope one day that I'll get to 582 00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:39,000 officiate the wedding of one of my sons. 583 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:40,640 At the minimum. Maybe I'd be great if I did all 584 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,120 four. If it's God's will, I hope one 585 00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:46,800 day. If that happens and they're 586 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:51,520 married, I assume that my son will be jealous for his bride. 587 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:55,800 I assume he'll be jealous. Even lost people are jealous for 588 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,640 their spouse on a common grace level, and I assume that his 589 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:04,600 bride will be jealous for him. But that jealousy doesn't stop 590 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:09,960 there. As a father, I am also jealous 591 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:14,440 for them. In other words, if I saw my son 592 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:23,360 one day with another woman, I go to the gym, I see him working 593 00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:27,440 out with some random woman that is not his wife. 594 00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:29,640 They're being flirtatious together. 595 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:33,640 I'm jealous for my daughter-in-law. 596 00:42:36,720 --> 00:42:41,320 You best believe I'm going to speak up or vice versa. 597 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:47,040 If my daughter-in-law was with another man, I am jealous on 598 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:53,360 behalf of my son. This is the point that Paul 599 00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:55,400 makes in Second Corinthians 11/2. 600 00:42:55,640 --> 00:43:01,440 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I've betrothed you to 601 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:06,040 one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ Church 602 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:09,920 family. We are the bride of Christ. 603 00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:14,440 You are the bride of Christ. I am the bride of Christ, which 604 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,640 means I am jealous for your holiness. 605 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:22,720 Why? Because I'm jealous for God's 606 00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:29,040 glory. I am jealous for your holiness 607 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:31,960 because I am jealous for God's glory. 608 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:41,520 Do you feel a divine sense of jealousy for the glory of God? 609 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:50,680 Seven, God has given us a covenant of peace and a 610 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:53,560 priesthood through the atonement of Jesus Christ. 611 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:58,440 Because of Phineas's actions and the atonement made through them, 612 00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:00,920 God gave him a covenant. It was a covenant of peace. 613 00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:04,000 It was a covenant of perpetual priesthood, meaning the 614 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,240 descendants of Phineas. They would always serve as high 615 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:08,600 priest. Likewise, God has given us a 616 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:10,400 covenant of peace. It wasn't just Phineas who gets 617 00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:11,920 this. We get a covenant of peace. 618 00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:14,680 Prior to Jesus, we were enemies of God. 619 00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:18,120 And Paul says in Romans 51. Therefore, since we have been 620 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:22,840 justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord 621 00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:27,360 Jesus Christ. Which means this God will never 622 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:35,760 be our enemy ever in Christ. He'll never turn on us. 623 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:40,920 Not only do we have a covenant of peace, but we also have a 624 00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:43,200 covenant of priesthood. Peter writes. 625 00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:46,840 You are a chosen race. You are a royal priesthood, a 626 00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:51,360 holy nation. Now, here's why that matters. 627 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:55,600 We're going through Esther in the book of the book of Esther 628 00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:57,960 in Sunday school that meets at 9:00 AM. 629 00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:01,920 And what's interesting going through the book of Esther is 630 00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:07,480 the difference, the contrast between the Persian king and our 631 00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:11,160 king. It's been interesting to see how 632 00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:16,040 even the queen cannot approach this king without being 633 00:45:16,040 --> 00:45:19,320 summoned. If she does, she can be killed. 634 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:31,960 She lives in fear and yet because of Jesus we are made 635 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:37,080 priest, which means not only can we approach His throne room 636 00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:41,760 whenever we want, but we approach His throne room knowing 637 00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:51,080 we are always at peace with Him. You ever had a parent, you know, 638 00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:54,000 who was kind of emotionally unstable sometimes? 639 00:45:54,480 --> 00:45:56,920 Never knew they're going to be angry or happy, Good day, bad 640 00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:59,320 day, never knew how they were going to respond when you 641 00:45:59,320 --> 00:46:03,840 approach them. God is not like that. 642 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:11,760 He's never like that. You can approach Him every day 643 00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:24,560 of your life and you are always at peace with Him. 8 Leadership 644 00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:30,640 experience and maturity offer no immunity from grave sin 645 00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:37,480 Leadership experience and maturity offer no immunity from 646 00:46:37,480 --> 00:46:40,880 grave sin If there is one thing we learn in the Bible, it's 647 00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:46,560 this, that leadership experience and maturity offer no immunity 648 00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:49,160 from grave sin. Think about it. 649 00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:53,360 David, King David, a man after God's own heart, one of Israel's 650 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,040 greatest kings, if not their greatest, fell into adultery, 651 00:46:56,160 --> 00:47:01,720 deception and murder. Peter the Rock denied Christ. 652 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:04,960 Later he would commit hypocrisy, leading Barnabas astray. 653 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:10,280 Abraham lied twice, listened to his wife's foolish counsel with 654 00:47:10,280 --> 00:47:13,440 Hagar. Moses failed to give God glory 655 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:16,760 at the Rock. Aaron made a golden calf. 656 00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:20,800 Uzziah offered unauthorized incense. 657 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:25,560 Solomon committed idolatry. Jonah ran away from God. 658 00:47:25,800 --> 00:47:28,800 Jeremiah accused God of deceiving him. 659 00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:32,720 And in this story we see that the man who brought this many 660 00:47:32,720 --> 00:47:39,400 night woman to his family, he was a chief, he was a leader. 661 00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:45,200 Leadership offers us no immunity from sin. 662 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:52,680 Experience offers no immunity from sin, not even maturity. 663 00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:58,200 Paul writes in Galatians 6 One brothers, if any one of you is 664 00:47:58,200 --> 00:48:03,120 caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, or we might 665 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:07,720 say mature, should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. 666 00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:14,680 And then here it is. Keep watch on yourself lest you 667 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:21,760 to be tempted. I mean just watch the news. 668 00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:24,360 How many times have we seen leaders in the church fall into 669 00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:27,280 sexual sin or another type of sin? 670 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:41,120 Keep watch on yourself #9 Last point, Do not be outwitted by 671 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:44,760 Satan because we are not ignorant of his schemes. 672 00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:50,920 Do not be outwitted by saying because we are not ignorant of 673 00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:52,440 his schemes. How many? 674 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:57,320 How did so many of the Israelite men fall into the sin, right? 675 00:48:57,320 --> 00:49:03,400 I mean, it's 24,000. If, if we just rounded up to, 676 00:49:03,920 --> 00:49:05,320 you know, let's say it's double that. 677 00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:07,600 Let's say we round, I imagine maybe it's more than that. 678 00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:09,800 It might have been as much as 10%. 679 00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:13,040 If there's 600,000 people, might have been 10% of the whole 680 00:49:13,040 --> 00:49:14,880 congregation. I don't know if it's that high, 681 00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:19,200 but maybe God, how did how did that happen? 682 00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:21,040 God acknowledges that his people were deceived. 683 00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:24,960 God says in verse 18 for they harassed you with their Wiles, 684 00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:28,520 which the translates deceptions or schemes with which they 685 00:49:28,520 --> 00:49:31,000 beguiled you. That's deceived you in the 686 00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:34,040 matter of pure. I mean, this is Satan's modus 687 00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:36,680 operandum, is it not? Schemes. 688 00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:43,000 Satan, you know, he, he's a master at schemes. 689 00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:48,720 Sometimes you kind of wonder with this kind of sin, I asked 690 00:49:48,720 --> 00:49:53,720 this question for years, are we deceived or do we willingly 691 00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:58,360 engage in it? When someone falls into sin or 692 00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:03,680 ongoing sin, are they deceived or do we willingly engage in it? 693 00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:11,160 Which is it? The reality is both, Both. 694 00:50:11,720 --> 00:50:15,880 There's a measure of both. But here's the thing about 695 00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:18,240 deception. Let me be clear on this. 696 00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:27,920 We are not ignorant. We're not blind, Paul writes and 697 00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:32,800 2nd Corinthians 211 so that we may not be exploited, which 698 00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:37,960 outwitted by Satan. Here it is, for we are not 699 00:50:38,120 --> 00:50:47,280 ignorant of his schemes. We know Satan's tactics. 700 00:50:47,520 --> 00:50:51,160 We have tasted them, We have felt them. 701 00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:54,680 We know them. The Spirit reminds us of them. 702 00:50:55,920 --> 00:51:04,280 And here's the thing, if we wait until we are inside the tent to 703 00:51:04,320 --> 00:51:07,720 fight our flesh, we've already lost. 704 00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:15,840 Don't wait till you get inside the tent to fight your flesh. 705 00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:21,280 You've already lost if you've gone in the tent, Paul writes. 706 00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:28,320 Make no provision for the flesh, which means don't even go in the 707 00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:34,720 tent, Paul tells us. Put on the whole armor of God, 708 00:51:35,080 --> 00:51:39,320 that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the 709 00:51:39,320 --> 00:51:41,040 devil. Ephesians 611. 710 00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:51,400 I pray, church family, that you will be gripped with a renewed 711 00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:59,640 sense of renewed commitment to not only your holiness, but to 712 00:51:59,640 --> 00:52:03,440 mine as well. Let's pray.