So Moses said to the people, “Choose some men, and arm them to fight the Lord’s war of revenge against Midian. From each tribe of Israel, send 1,000 men into battle.” So they chose 1,000 men from each tribe of Israel, a total of 12,000 men armed for battle. Then Moses sent them out, 1,000 men from each tribe, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest led them into battle. They carried along the holy objects of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the charge. They attacked Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. All five of the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. But Moses was furious with all the generals and captains who had returned from the battle.
“Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. “These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the Lord at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the Lord’s people. [Numbers 31.3-16]
What happened to Phinehas' zeal we saw earlier? Phinehas was the one who, when the Israelite man took a Midianite woman into his tent for sex, rushed in with a spear and impaled them both.
I am just going to venture a speculation here as to why Phinehas' zeal could have waned.
Perhaps Phinehas, as leader of the Israelite army, was finally worn down by the outward willingness of the Midianite women to engage in sex. Perhaps his zeal gave way to lust.
The fact is, we are not really told the sex was wrong with the Midianite women (even though it was) as much as we are told the Baal worship it led to was evil. It is commonly known however that unbridled sex was a common practice of Baal worship. Because of this, the most devoted Midianite women would have been the most sexually aggressive.
It is easy to see then how the Israelite men could have been lured away from God by women who were outwardly and aggressively sexual toward them. This is one of history's earliest examples that "sex sells."
This just further highlights the need for discernment among God's people. Because "sex sells," God's people must be very careful about what sex sells to us!
It's not that sex is bad - it is certainly not! However, most of what I find myself "sold to" by sex is simply further self indulgence and pride (whether for food, clothing, perfume, etc... it usually all comes back to pride).
The moral of the story is this: we cannot grow weary in resisting sin. The number one sin we must be on the lookout for is pride. Pride leads to every other kind of sin including self-indulgence (the priority of self) to which sex most appeals. So, resisting sin most often simply requires resisting self.
Is this what happened to Phinehas? I don't know, but it is worth considering. We know for fact that Moses was seriously angry because Israel's army killed only the men of Midian. If Phinehas was the leader, and he was, then he was ultimately responsible.
Father, I am aware that pride and self-serving are absolutely against what You have taught us in the Word and in Jesus. Help us to protect ourselves from "ourselves" by purposefully taking control of self-serving thoughts and ways.
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