Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore.
--Psalm 106:30-31 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on June 11, 2013 of Psalm 106:24-31; 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:10; 1 Kings 9:10-11:13.
Our psalmist recalls the time while wandering through the wilderness that the children of Israel camped for a spell in the plains of Moab, at Shittim, what would be their last stop before crossing the Jordan. Against God's commandment to have no other god and in spite of all the warnings from Moses, some of the men took up with the women of Moab and started worshiping their god Baal. God knew that the women of the region could lure the men of Israel away from Him, so He sternly prohibited them, through Moses, from having any relationships with the locals. God ordered Moses to have all those who bowed down to Baal killed in broad daylight in front of all the people so as to serve as a vivid warning. One rebellious young man ignored this threat and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in plain view of everyone. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar who himself was the son of Aaron, Moses' brother and the chief priest, saw this great offense to God, he picked up a spear and killed both the young man and the Midianite woman for their disobedience to God's command. This direct action appeased God and stayed His terrible anger and turned away His wrath. For this God blessed Phinehas and all his descendants to follow. (Please reference Numbers 25:1-13.)
For the sake of all the people, Phinehas took action and intervened on the people's behalf with God, that His anger and thirst for their destruction might be quenched. For his efforts and his understanding of the Lord's will, he and his descendants were blessed. We should never be called upon to kill someone to save us all from God's wrath because Jesus already took care of that for us. He served as the last sacrifice needed, offered up for all mankind, once for all of us. But that doesn't mean we cannot intervene with God on behalf of others. In fact, this is His will for us. Jesus commands us to love one another as we love ourselves. And if we truly do love each other, we will be more than willing to take action and intercede for them with God our Father. If we intervene for them, and if we are sincere, we may be able to persuade our Lord to not punish them further for their offenses. Or maybe He will heal them of their illness or injury. Or maybe He will see them safely through a perilous time. Or maybe He will comfort their grief. Or maybe He will guide their footsteps so that they might follow Jesus. Our ability to intervene for our people goes beyond what Phinehas did because our intervention comes in the form of prayer. When we pray that God intercede in some way in the lives of others, we show our love for them and our faith in Him. For this our Father will be pleased. And as the psalmist said, our prayer will be accounted to our righteousness, and we will be blessed to all generations to come. Amen.
Holy Father, please forgive us when we disobey Your commandments and ignore Your warnings. Please, Lord, hear the prayers of those who might intervene on our behalf. And embolden us to pray to You for intercession for the benefit of others. Please bless those who care enough about us to pray for us, and please bless us when we pray for others. In the name of Jesus we beg You and we pray. Amen.
For the sake of all the people, Phinehas took action and intervened on the people's behalf with God, that His anger and thirst for their destruction might be quenched. For his efforts and his understanding of the Lord's will, he and his descendants were blessed. We should never be called upon to kill someone to save us all from God's wrath because Jesus already took care of that for us. He served as the last sacrifice needed, offered up for all mankind, once for all of us. But that doesn't mean we cannot intervene with God on behalf of others. In fact, this is His will for us. Jesus commands us to love one another as we love ourselves. And if we truly do love each other, we will be more than willing to take action and intercede for them with God our Father. If we intervene for them, and if we are sincere, we may be able to persuade our Lord to not punish them further for their offenses. Or maybe He will heal them of their illness or injury. Or maybe He will see them safely through a perilous time. Or maybe He will comfort their grief. Or maybe He will guide their footsteps so that they might follow Jesus. Our ability to intervene for our people goes beyond what Phinehas did because our intervention comes in the form of prayer. When we pray that God intercede in some way in the lives of others, we show our love for them and our faith in Him. For this our Father will be pleased. And as the psalmist said, our prayer will be accounted to our righteousness, and we will be blessed to all generations to come. Amen.
Holy Father, please forgive us when we disobey Your commandments and ignore Your warnings. Please, Lord, hear the prayers of those who might intervene on our behalf. And embolden us to pray to You for intercession for the benefit of others. Please bless those who care enough about us to pray for us, and please bless us when we pray for others. In the name of Jesus we beg You and we pray. Amen.
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