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Phinehas Attained God's Justice
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[Numbers 25:12~13]
Therefore
tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him.He
and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the
honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.
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3
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The
Israelites camped in the wilderness of Moab.
Balak,
king of Moab, fearing Israel who has entered their land, plans a plot to
curse Israel.
He
tried to curse Israel four times through Balaam, a false prophet.
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Whenever
Balaam tried to curse Israel, God stopped him from doing it.
Instead
of a curse, God made him bless Israel.
In
the end, God made a prediction that Israel would destroy Moab through Balaam.
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5
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Balaam,
whose curse against Israel was blocked by God, did not give up.
He
tried to destroy Israel by devising an evil trick.
It
was what brought the Israelites into the sin of idolatry.
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6
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Following
Balaam's trick, the Moabite women seduced the Israelite men.
Enticed
by the women of Moab, Israeli men followed them to a place called Beor.
There,
they fell into the sin of idolatry to join the Baal sacrifice.
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7
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They
broke the two commandments that God hated most.
The
first commandment, ¡°You shall have no other gods before* me¡±,
The
second commandment, ¡°You shall not bow down to idols or worship them,¡± is
violated.
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8
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The
sin of worshiping idols is a great crime that leads to death.
God
was very angry with the Israelites.
God
caused a terrible plague to spread to all Israel because of this sin. So many
people died.
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9
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This
plague was God's judgment against idolatry.
God
spoke to Moses, the leader of all Israel.
¡°Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose
them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord¡¯s fierce anger may
turn away from Israel.¡± [Numbers 25:4]
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Moses
did not do what God said.
Instead,
he gathered in front of the tent of meeting with the people and prayed to
stop the terrible illness. But God did not answer their prayers. The terrible
disease has not gone away.
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There
was a man who ignored God's word in a situation where the Israelites asked
God for forgiveness of their sins. The man took a foreign woman to where he
was staying.
He
still committed the sin of continuing to do what God hates.
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12
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Aaron's
grandson Phinehas, who saw this sight, couldn't stand it.
He
took a spear in his hand and followed him into the house he had entered.
Phinehas
speared and killed those who were sinning before God.
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When
Phinehas killed the people, a terrible disease from God disappeared from
Israel.
When
Phinehas saw the judgment of the Israelites for their sins, God forgiven all
the Israelites.
Phinehas
judged evil sins on behalf of God.
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The
man who was killed by Phinehas committed sinlessly when the whole
congregation was repenting before God because of the great sin of idolatry.
As
a priest of God, Phinehas couldn't keep seeing such evils silently.
Phinehas,
as God's priest, steadfastly disposed of iniquity for all Israel.
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15
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Jehovah
God said to Phinehas who did this. ¡°I am making my covenant of peace
with him.
He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting
priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made
atonement for the Israelites.¡° [Numbers
25:12~13]
Phinehas,
who showed proper zeal for God, received God's blessed promise.
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Balaam,
who was a false prophet, went on a path that rebelled against God's will
despite hearing
the
word of God. But Phinehas did God's will as a priest in charge of God's word.
Balaam
soon died under God's judgment, but Phinehas lived in the eternal and
blessed
promise God gave him.
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God
is rich in love.
As
an expression of that love, He saved us by sending our only son, Jesus, to
this earth.
But
God is a just judge for sin. He is the one who punishes everyone fairly for
sin.
Today,
we too, like Phinehas, should become people of faith who do what God
considers right.
Remember
that it is a blessed life like God's people, and I hope you will be all your
friends who
live
by faith.
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(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
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