It's no surprise that the enemy would use sex to entice God’s
children, first because it is one of the strongest human drives. Second, if God’s
people can be drawn into illegitimate sexual relationships, a major purpose of
God in creation can be perverted. God created male and female so that they could
participate in His plan to fill the earth with His image-bearers. God created
the first two; then they were supposed to continue the process by procreation. God’s
chosen people were forbidden to marry people from other nations because God
wanted His people pure. This sounds like racial prejudice to our modern
sensibilities, but the
separateness of Israel was intended to be a picture of God’s holiness
carried on through flesh and blood.
Israel’s dalliance with Baal also occasioned the use of a
frequent metaphor. God often referred to Israel as His wife, so idolatrous worship
was a type of adultery. This figure is most poignantly displayed with the
prophet Hosea whom God commanded to marry a woman who would be repeatedly
unfaithful. Because the marital relationship is the most intimate humans can
experience, using it to show how idolatry affects God and our relationship with
Him is especially meaningful. The imagery does not end with the Old Testament,
as Christ is pictured taking the church as His bride in the heavenly wedding
ceremony at the close of this age.
Now I am back to the lesson Paul would like us to learn from
the incident in Numbers when the Israelites succumbed to the temptations of
Baal. I don’t suppose there are many golden calves representing the god of the Moabites
sitting reverently in our modern homes. However, I am quite certain that for
many, the homes themselves are pretty close to the center of the proud owner’s
heart. For others, like me for instance, it is hard not to think of the
beautiful machine in the driveway as the fulfillment of our fantasy and lust. American
popular society has made sex the center of everything. Or maybe it’s the career
or the family or some hobby or pastime that creates the gravity of a black hole
sucking all our wealth and affection into its orbit.
None of those things are bad in themselves as long as they
do not take the place of God at the center of our being. But the man who spends
every spare moment primping his lawn and shrubbery or dolling up his patio,
measuring his worth by his address has fallen prey to idolatry every bit as
much as the dallying Israelites. I am going to offend now, but I believe that churches
who spend the lion’s share of their budget on glamorous buildings and facilities
are likely building idol temples.
When the Israelites went after Baal, God was so incensed
that He struck them with a deadly plague and tens of thousands died. Moses and a
faithful few went to the tabernacle and began weeping for the wayward people. The
priest Eleazar’s son, Phinehas, watched as an arrogant backslider pranced
through the camp with his foreign mistress. Overcome with righteous zeal, the
young man picked up a spear, followed them to their tent and impaled them both.
Phinehas’ actions convinced God to stop the plague, “because
he was zealous among them with my zeal.” The righteous indignation of one
man brought a halt to the destruction of an entire nation.
And what are we to learn from Phinehas? First, we see that
God is pleased with righteous behavior. We might also conclude that being angry
with others is not necessarily wrong; Phinehas’ motivation was in line with God’s
will. We also know from the
laws God gave in Exodus that foreign wives were not acceptable, so the young
man was operating on an established principle, even if his unilateral act was
outside of standard protocols. This too may offend our delicate, modern
sensibilities, but God did sanction what we would call murder on several
occasions.
I am not suggesting that we take up Phinehas’ spear against
idolatry in the church. However, I do think there is a place for a more aggressive
church discipline than we are accustomed to. We have biblical precedent for
this in the New Testament. On one occasion, Paul
recommended tossing a wayward member out of the church so that the sinner
might be driven back to faith by the expulsion. Paul
also told Titus that a divisive person should be excommunicated. He
likewise told
the Romans to avoid such people. The goal of this kind of church discipline
is always toward reconciliation, as Paul stressed
to the Galatians.
Our present-day Phinehas needs to be armed not with a spear
but with the sword of the Spirit. As we encounter the wave of persecution that
our pagan society is forcing on us, we have greater need than ever to be pure
in our faith. God’s righteousness is vindicated by discipline which also bears
righteous fruit according
to the author of Hebrews. Recent failures by well-known evangelical figures
have shown what damage can be done by one man’s dalliance. The pagans rightly
charge that we are no better than anyone else. We truly are not. We know that.
But we must be better at disciplining those who stray so that we may show what
it means to be faulty but forgiven. Given the price He paid for her, Jesus deserves
a bride, “not
having a spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she may be
holy and blameless.” Phinehas, where are you?
Related posts: Bringing
the Kingdom; The
Winnowing Fork of God; Defending
Resurrection Faith; I
Don’t Believe in God; Not Our
Father’s God; Do
We Really Need God
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