Shalom!

 
The concept of "zeal" is one we see often throughout the Scriptures. As children of the Almighty, our zeal will either be motivated by the Holy Spirit or by our own flesh. Remember it was Sha'ul (Paul) whose zeal for Elohim caused him to persecute the first believers in Yeshua. Sha'ul actually thought he was doing the right thing in defending the Name of YHWH. But it was the Almighty, Himself who miraculously intervened and told him that he was wrongly persecuting Yeshua:
 
Acts 9:3 As he (Sha'ul) journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Sha'ul, Sha'ul, why are you persecuting Me?" 5 And he said, "Who are You, Adonai?" Then Adonai said, "I am Yeshua, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
 
Acts 22:3 "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward Elohim as you all are today. 4 "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women
 
So, in this week's Parasha, we read about Pinchas, the grandson of Aharon who had a great desire to see the Name of the Holy One defended. We know the story - in an act of zealotry, Pinchas took a spear and drove it through Zimri and his lover, turning back the wrath of Elohim and stopping the plague which had already killed thousands.
 
What can we learn from this? Zeal is a good thing, because we know our Abba hates it when we are "lukewarm":
 
Revelation 3:15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
 
Yet zeal can be dangerous in our hands if not handled properly. Psalm 106 gives us a very important, little known (because of translations) insight:
 
Psalm 106:28 They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, And ate sacrifices made to the dead. 29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague broke out among them. 30 Then Pinchas stood up and intervened, And the plague was stopped.
 
The word we are looking at is "intervened". The Hebrew verb is "palal" and it means "to pray"! This changes things, does it not? We see that Pinchas "stood up" and he PRAYED!! In Psalm 106 we do not see that he used his spear, and in the book of Bemidbar (Numbers), we do not see that he "prayed". But this should help us to make sense of his zeal.
 
Bemidbar/Numbers 25:6 And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moshe and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Now when Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aharon the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a spear in his hand; 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.
 
We do not know the words of Pinchas' prayer, but we know that somehow through the Spirit, he was able to tune into YHWH's zeal:
 
Bemidbar/Numbers 25:11 "Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aharon the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal.
 
So what to do if we see a believer in a sinful situation? Before you get out your spear, you may consider the example of Pinchas and pray for that person. Search your own heart first in case you have a problem with your own "log". Before you get involved, make sure you see things clearly (that's done through prayer):
 
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
 
Are we driving spears through each other by throwing the "Sword of the Spirit" at them? Are we creating a bloody mess? Instead of building each other up, we are so quick to see "idolatry" or "spiritual adultery". We're ready to run a spear through others without praying to gain the true perspective of the Father.
 
It can be dangerous to try to imitate someone in the Bible. Pinchas had a zeal for YHWH. It was righteous, it was pure, and it was right. It was rewarded. Could we copy that? We must be careful imitating Pinchas. But we know we are to imitate Yeshua. We can start by imitating His kindness, goodness, grace, and mercy before we start overthrowing the money tables.
 
Several years ago, Beth Tikkun (http://bethtikkun.com/) had an audio teaching on "spearing". His insights helped me write the following:
 
In Bemidbar we see a righteous man driving a spear through a sinful man. And because of that death we see peace. But with Messiah, we see unrighteous men (soldiers) taking a spear and driving it into the side of a righteous man. And somehow, that brings peace.
 
When Pinchas drove the spear through Zimri, there were two people killed, a man and a woman. But on the cross, when you see the spear driven through Messiah's side, there's just a man killed. Or is there?
 
After Yeshua is born, Miriam and Yosef take the baby into the Temple in accordance with the Torah of Moshe to do the sacrifices of her cleansing. A man named Simeon comes forward.
 
Luke 2:28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed Adonai and said: 29 "Adonai, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation (Yeshua) 31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 A light to bring revelation to the nations, And the glory of Your people Israel." 33 And Yosef and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Miriam His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 "(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
 

At the crucifixion, when the soldier's spear pierced Yeshua's side, a sword pierced Miriam as well. So here again, a man and a woman died…but righteous souls. Not of a man and his lover, but of a Son and His mother. And what does that have to do with you and me?

 
Matthew 12:46While He (Yeshua) was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You." 48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."
 

Yeshua took this moment to make a teaching. Consider the true symbolism of Miriam. The mother of Messiah...she is a picture of us! When you introduce Yeshua to another person, when you bring Yeshua into the world, you're a "Miriam"! Miriam brought Yeshua into the world through the Spirit. Whenever you bring Yeshua into a place where He wasn't before, you're His mother, His sisters, and His brothers. So when Yeshua is pierced through with the spear, there are two pierced - He and His mother. And that includes us.

 
Just as Yeshua died, we also must die. The famous theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Salvation is not free, it's the most expensive thing in the world. It cost Yeshua His life, it will cost you yours"
 
Matthew 16:24Then Yeshua said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
 
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
 
When Yeshua calls a man, He bids him to come and die.
 
Luke 9:24"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
 
It's a daily thing. Are you afraid of what the world is going to think of you? Let's stand up for Him! He is not ashamed of us!
 
Hebrews 2:11Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Yeshua is not ashamed to call them brothers.
So let's have the zeal of Pinchas, but let's leave the spear in the closet! Let's instead go to our knees in prayer as Psalm 106 describes! The Word of YHWH is a sharp sword (two edged). Before you use that spear in someone else's life, pray first. Prayer is weapon number one and then we'll be able to use the Sword of the Spirit to truly help someone!
Shabbat Shalom!
Ardelle