The Generational Inheritance Covenant Realized — Thoughts & Reflections on Torah Reading 119

 

And greetings elect of the Most High. Welcome back to the Messianic Torah Observer. I’m Rod Thomas, coming to you on Preparation Day, the 21st day of the 11th month of Yah’s biblical calendar year. That translates into 2/2/2024 on the pagan Roman Calendar.

 

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to fellowship with me as we prepare to enter Yah’s Sabbath. And as always, beloved, it is my hope, trust, and prayer that this installment of TMTO finds you, your families, and your fellowships well and blessed.

 

This is “The Call For God’s People to be Jealous with His Jealousy.” This will be my thoughts and reflections on the 118^th Reading in our 3-year Torah Reading cycle.”

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As has been my custom for the past year or so, I posted my thoughts and reflections on Torah Reading 117 in written format on themessianictorahobserver.org. 

 

As it turns out, this week’s Reading is a direct carryover from last week’s Reading. That reading included the story of Phinehas, son of Eleazar the High Priest at that time, executing a couple he witnessed engaged in the heinous and abominable act of Ba’al of Peor worship. (We’ll get a little into what Ba’al of Peor worship involved in just a moment.)

 

Yehovah, our Elohim, reacted favorably to Phinehas’ righteous act, describing Phinehas as being “jealous with His jealousy.” (We will talk about what that means.)

 

As a reward, Yehovah conferred upon Phinehas and his seed His “Covenant of Peace,” which we will also discuss a little later in this post.

 

 

Before we can discuss Yehovah’s reaction to and actions toward Phinehas, I want to return to last week’s Reading (i.e. 117) and look at Phinehas’ actions from a couple of perspectives. This will help establish some context for our discussion this week as well as possibly answer some questions that may crop in your mind as it relates to the story’s details.

 

I will read the last four verses of last week’s reading, which should set the table for our discussion today.

 

 

6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family (i.e. Zimri, the Ba’al of Peor worshiping Israelite), in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly (their names being later given in our text today as Zimri and Kosbi). Thus, the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Nu 25:6–9.)

 

What is the background to this tragic event?

 

As mentioned in Reading 117, while we were encamped in Shittim, along the border of Moab, we had devolved as a people into unimaginable apostacy. Specifically, we had given ourselves over to Ba’al of Peor worship.

 

This form of Ba’al worship was especially heinous and offensive. Without getting too graphic, it incorporated open sex acts as a feature of worship. Recall in 25:1 that besides our rendering sacrifices and bowing down to Ba’al, we began to “whore with the daughters of Moab.” (ESV)

 

So, our apostacy wasn’t only about us committing fornication and adultery with the woman of Moab; it was more about us engaging in adultery and fornication as part of our worship of Ba’al of Peor. Moshe described us as having “yoked” ourselves to Ba’al of Peor.

 

Now, the Septuagint offers a slightly different optic and logistic to this story that differs slightly from the way the ESV and other Masoretic-based texts render this story. These two differences add a little more texture to the story that I believe we need to consider before going further into our study.

 

6 And behold, a man of the sons of Israel (i.e. a native-born Israeli) went and brought his brother (aka “adelphos” or a son of the same mother) to a Midianite woman in front of Moses and before the entire congregation of the sons of Israel, and they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of testimony. 7 And seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the priest, rose up out of the midst of the congregation and took a barbed lance in his hand. 8 He went in after the Israelite man into the furnace (i.e. “kaminos” or kiln for smelting, baking, burning earthenware and bricks) and pierced both of them, both the Israelite man and the woman, through her womb. Then the plague was ceased from the sons of Israel. 9 Now those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. (Rick Brannan, Ken M. Penner et al., The Lexham English Septuagint, Second Edition. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), Nu 25:6–9.)

 

So, the Septuagint records that an (unnamed) Israeli man brought his brother to a Midianite woman in clear view of Moshe and the entire congregation of Yisrael. Remember, as this incident is playing out, because of our apostacy, Yah’s wrath manifested throughout our encampment as a deadly plague (25:8). As a result, Moshe and the congregation of Yisra’el (presumably those who had not yoked themselves to Ba’al of Peor worship) had assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Testimony to weep and petition Yehovah for mercy. (25:6) The text described Yah as being “incensed with wrath” against us.

 

The JPS rendering, a Masoretic-based text, describes the situation where “one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman over to his companions, in the sight of Moses and of the whole Israelite community who were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” (Michael Carasik, ed., Numbers: NJPS English Translation, trans. Michael Carasik, First edition., The Commentators’ Bible (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2011), Nu 25:6.)

 

This nuance to the storyline suggests that there was at least one member of our congregation (possibly more, we don’t know) that was actively promoting Ba’al of Peor sex-worship to us. This individual ends up pairing Zimri with this Midianite prostitute whose name we later learn is Kosbi. In other words, this unnamed man was acting in the capacity of a “pimp” and he was engaging in such heinous and disgusting activity amid a raging, deadly plague and in plain view of Moshe and the righteous remnant of Yisra’el. This shows that there are no limits to the wicked intent of the human heart, such that, even amid Yah’s wrath, man will pursue evil. (Can you imagine what the Great Tribulation is going to be like?) Yehovah describes the human heart as being “desperately wicked.” (Jer 17:9)

 

The second nuance I need to point out to you is that the Septuagint rendering records that outraged and impassioned Phinehas (Son of Eleazar the High Priest at this time) followed the couple “into the furnace” and ran them both through with a “barbed lance” (i.e. a spear or javelin).

 

Interestingly, the JPS records Phinehas followed the couple “into the chamber and stabbed both of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly.” (Michael Carasik, ed., Numbers: NJPS English Translation, trans. Michael Carasik, First edition., The Commentators’ Bible (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2011), Nu 25:8.)

 

I don’t know about you, but the various teachings I’ve listened to in this story have always led me to believe that Phinehas executed this couple inside Zimri’s personal tent or dwelling. However, these two texts make me question this thinking. We know the assembled congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting saw this couple go into a “chamber” (JPS which J. H. Hertz in his Torah-Haftarah defines as “the inner division of the large vaulted tents that were used as the apartment of the women,” pg. 679) and or a place that housed a “furnace” (LXX); possibly a tent that members of our congregation erected for the expressed purpose of Ba’al of Peor worship that may have also housed an altar of some sort by which worshipers would render sacrifices unto Ba’al of Peor in conjunction with their abominable sex acts. Regardless, this is the place that Phinehas does them both in and it doesn’t appear to be Zimri’s personal dwelling.

 

In his “Studies in the Torah — Numbers,” Tim Hegg puts forth the theory Zimri (or a fellow Israeli) accompanies Cozbi (the Midianite sex-cult prostitute) into the Tent of Meeting to engage in their abominable act of Ba’al of Peor worship. (p. 176) Mr. Hegg supports this theory by citing that this event took place “in the sight of Moses and all Israel, who were weeping at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting” … and “that Phinehas went into the tent when he struck them through.” He further writes they (i.e. the couple) were engaging in this fertility ritual within the Holy Place and the sin of Ba’al Peor had entered into the very Sanctuary of HaShem.” (pg. 176)

 

Hegg further supports his theory by mentioning a little background information on Torah’s stance on capital punishment. He supports his theory by citing that our congregation cannot administer capital punishment without first having the alleged criminal face a court of judges who would render a capital punishment verdict based upon the testimony of two or three witnesses. Once the court renders a guilty verdict, it falls to the witnesses to cast the first stones in that individual’s public execution. (Deu 17:6-11)

We see, however, in the case of Zimri and Kosbi, that Phinehas did not adhere to this judicial process. Instead, Phinehas summarily executes the couple without deference to the Law.

 

So, we must answer the question of why Yah openly favored Phinehas for carrying out this summary execution outside of these Torah provisions. Did Yah make an exception for Phinehas because he acted with Yah’s jealousy or zeal or passion? And in my mind’s eye, this is where the theory that the couple engaged in their abominable act within the confines of the Sanctuary makes some sense.

 

For all intents and purposes, the Tabernacle was sort of its own country within the congregation of Israel. Consequently, there is a separate set of rules governing Tabernacle operations. The Levites alone were responsible for overseeing all aspects of Tabernacle operations, including enforcing the maintenance of its utter sanctity.

 

53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Nu 1:53.)

 

This being the case, and if the offense did in fact take place within the confines of the Tabernacle proper, then Phinehas fulfilled his duty as a Levitical Priest. He would have upheld the sanctity of the Tabernacle as Yah tasked the Levites with doing.

 

I, however, have a hard time believing that the couple engaged in their abominable act within the Tabernacle proper. Given all that we’ve discussed up to this point, I will concede that the traditional story of the couple engaging in Ba’al of Peor sex worship took place in Zimri’s tent is not accurate. It seems to me that the couple did what they did, and Phinehas did what he did, in a tent that members of our congregation set-up for Ba’al of Peor worship that was proximal (aka close) to the Sanctuary; maybe within the confines of the Sanctuary courtyard even. I can’t image that Moshe and the attending Levites would have permitted anyone other than a qualified Aaronic Priest to enter the Tent of Meeting in the first place. But if we had erected a tent for Ba’al worship somewhere near the Sanctuary grounds, Phinehas would have been legally justified in dispatching the couple the way he did.

 

But that’s just my thoughts and reflections on this matter. What do you think? How do you read and understand these passages? What spiritual applications can you draw from this part of our story that will enhance your walk in Messiah?

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Now that we have this background established before us, we can delve into this week’s Reading, which is contained in Numbers 25:10-26:51.

 

For our time together here today, we will only discuss Numbers 25:10-15, which reads:

 

 

10And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,

11“Pineḥas, son of El‛azar, son of Aharon the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Yisra’ěl, because he was ardent with My ardour in their midst (i.e. Phinehas was jealous/passionate/zealous with My jealousy/passion/zeal), so that I did not consume the children of Yisra’ěl in My ardour. 12“Therefore say, ‘See, I am giving him My covenant of peace, 13and it shall be to him and to his seed after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was ardent for his Elohim, and made atonement for the children of Yisra’ěl.’ ” 14And the name of the man of Yisra’ěl who was struck, who was struck with the Miḏyanite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Shim‛onites. 15And the name of the Miḏyanite woman who was struck was Kozbi the daughter of Tsur. He was head of the people of a father’s house in Miḏyan. (The Scriptures, 3rd edition. (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009), Nu 25:10–15.)

 

 

Yah tells Moshe that Phinehas’ righteous actions turned His righteous anger/wrath away from us. Yah described Phinehas’ actions as that of being “jealous with His jealousy.” Phinehas’ jealousy prevented our destruction.

 

Who was Phinehas? He was the son of the current High Priest, Eleazar. (1 Chr 6:4-15) So, he was an Aaronic Priest serving under His high priestly father, Eleazar.

 

 

 

Let’s talk about what Yehovah meant by describing Phinehas as being “jealous with His jealousy.”

Phinehas remained in solidarity with Yehovah amid great apostasy. R. Dennis Cole describes this as “the likemindedness of Phinehas with that of Yahweh.” (R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 443.)

The Hebrew term for “jealous/jealousy” as used in our text is “qana’”. “Qana” means to express “qin’ah” (i.e. zeal or passion) against something or against the offensive actions of another. Here in our reading, “Phinehas expressed God’s own zeal; he acted on his behalf.” (Baruch A. Levine, Numbers 21–36: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 289.) It can also be described as “to become deeply impassioned” or “to become furiously jealous.” (R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 443.) The word, from this idiomatic sense, would carry the same emotion as that of a husband who believes or knows that his wife has been cheating on him (i.e. Num 5:11-31). Such a one is sorely jealous towards his wife. Thus, in like manner, Yehovah demands faithfulness from His bride (e.g. Exo 20:4-5). Any such transgression by Yah’s set apart people to the contrary (i.e. whoring after false gods as in the case of Ba’al of Peor) is subject to Yehovah’s holy and righteous wrath, which we’ve seen manifested in the form of plagues and summary executions of members of our community throughout our story line in recent weeks.

 

Qanna/jealous/passion/zeal for the things of Yehovah as expressed in our reading is not unique to our reading passage. Eliyahu (aka Elijah) declares to Yehovah when asked why he was hiding out in a cave: “I have been very zealous (aka “qana’”) for Yahweh the God of hosts (note, the LXX records Eliyahu as answering Yah: “Being zealous (aka qana’), I am zealous (aka qin’ah’) for Yehovah because…”), for the ⌊Israelites⌋ have forsaken your covenant. They have demolished your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 1 Ki 19:10.)

 

Then over in Zechariah, Yehovah declares His zealousness (aka jealousy/qana’) over Yerushalayim and Zion: “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘⌊I am exceedingly jealous (aka “qana’” for Zion⌋; I am jealous (aka “qin’ah”) for it with great wrath.’ (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Zec 8:2.) Here, Yah declares out of His zeal/jealousy/passion – His “qana’” for Jerusalem and Zion, that He will destroy (aka “killah“) those who have destroyed her.

 

Because of Phinehas’ zealous act, Yah established with him and his seed a new covenant. This new covenant Yah referred to as His Covenant of Peace (i.e. “beriti shalom”). The covenant of peace was to be an everlasting priesthood built upon Phinehas’ zealousness for His Elohim and the atonement he made on our behalf that day. Yah reckoned Phinehas as righteous because of this one righteous act (Psa 106:28-31) – his “qana’”.

 

Mattathias of the Maccabees fame, upon his deathbed, called his sons to the same level of zealousness for Torah and the Covenant that Phinehas possessed:

 

50 Now therefore, my sons, be ye zealous for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of your fathers. (The Apocrypha: King James Version (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), 1 Mac 2:50.) 54 Phinehas our father in being zealous and fervent obtained the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. (The Apocrypha: King James Version (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), 1 Mac 2:54.)

 

It was this zealousness that propelled the Maccabees to defeating the great Macedonian military.

 

“The Rule of the Blessings” liturgical scroll from Qumran calls for a renewal of the Covenant of Peace to be placed over the Essene Community (1QSb 3:26).

 

By virtue of his Aaronic lineage, Phinehas was already assured the priestly privileges. His righteous act and the ensuing eternal covenant of peace confirmed his divinely appointed priestly destiny.

 

Phinehas’ priesthood would later be referred to as the Zadokite Priesthood. (Eze 44:15-16) Phinehas’ priestly dynasty was chosen by Yehovah to serve Him in His House of Prayer forever:

 

15 But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who cared for the responsibility of my sanctuary ⌊when the Israelites went astray⌋ from me, they will approach me to serve me, and they will stand ⌊before me⌋ to offer to me fat and blood,” ⌊declares⌋ the Lord Yahweh. 16 “They shall come to my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table to serve me, and they will observe my requirement. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Eze 44:15–16.)

 

Beyond this talk of being zealous or passionate for those things that Yehovah is zealous or passionate about, the covenant of peace that emerged from Phinehas’ act is really about an everlasting priesthood (i.e. Berit kehunnat ‘olam”). This everlasting priesthood was to be headed and inspired by the zealous spirit of Phinehas.

 

It should be noted that Yah placed no stipulations upon Phinehas nor his seed in order for this covenant to remain in force. Some would label this as a unilateral or non-conditional covenant, although in reality, Yah did not cut a truly conditional covenant with us. All of Yah’s covenant promises are irrevocable and permanent, despite what we do to infringe upon or transgress the tenets of those covenants.

 

The permanence of this covenant was reiterated by Yehovah when we went into Babylonian Captivity:

 

10 For the mountains may depart, and the hills may sway, but my faithfulness shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not sway,” says Yahweh, who has compassion on you… (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Is 54:10.)

 

That same covenant of peace will continue into the Millennial Kingdom:

 

24 And I, Yahweh, I will be for them ⌊as God⌋, and my servant David will be a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken. 25 And I will make them a covenant of peace, and I will put an end to wild animals from the land, and they will dwell in the desert ⌊safely⌋, and they will sleep in the forest. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Eze 34:24–25.)

 

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The direct descendants of Phinehas who are privileged of Yehovah to render priestly services unto Him in the Millennial Kingdom were the sons of Zadok. Zadok means “righteous”. Zadok is derived from the Hebrew noun “the Lord is righteous.”

 

Who was Zadok? He was a Levitical Priest who was loyal to King David. (2 Sam 8:17; 1 Chr 6:3-8) Zadok continued to serve as a Cohen (aka priest) into Solomon’s reign. During David’s reign as king, Ithamar’s descendants served as High Priests. The scriptures show Zadok anointed Solomon and took on the role of High Priest (1 Kin 1:39-45). However, Ithamar’s corrupted descendants, coupled with Zadok’s abiding loyalty to kings David and Solomon, led to the high priesthood being passed on to Zadok’s descendants. This change in the high priesthood was not a knee-jerk reaction to the corruption that had crept into the priestly ranks. In response to the corruption of Eli’s priestly line, Yah declared He would raise up for Himself a reliable priest (1 Sam 2:35). Thus, the Zadokite high priestly dynasty emerged. We often refer to these righteous descendants of Zadok as Zadokim or the Zadokites.

 

Despite several texts certifying Zadok descended from Aaron and Eleazar, other texts seem to suggest otherwise. Some scholars allege that Zadok was not of Aaron’s and Eleazar’s lineage and that he descended from an unknown line that certain scribes have gone to great lengths to erase. I personally doubt Zadok descended from any priestly line other than Eleazar’s and Phinehas’. We see in our reading this week that Yehovah promised Phinehas an everlasting priesthood of peace. Zadok and his priestly dynasty matches to a tee the zeal (i.e. “qana’”) for the priestly office as originated by Phinehas. Furthermore, Yehovah, through His Prophet Ezekiel certified Zadok descended from Aaron and Eleazar. (Eze 4:46)

 

The steadfast loyalty of Zadok’s sons to the exacting ways of Yehovah and their priestly responsibilities caught Yehovah’s attention. Through His prophet Ezekiel, Yah appointed the sons of Zadok to be His select priestly line to serve Him in His Son’s millennial kingdom.

 

And the chamber ⌊with its face to the north⌋ is for the priests who are taking care of the responsibility of the altar. They are the descendants of Zadok, the ones who approach from among the descendants of Levi to Yahweh to serve him. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Eze 40:46.)

 

And you must give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, the ones coming near me,” ⌊declares⌋ the Lord Yahweh, “to serve me, a bull, ⌊a calf⌋ as a sin offering. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Eze 43:19.)

 

15 But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who cared for the responsibility of my sanctuary ⌊when the Israelites went astray⌋ from me, they will approach me to serve me, and they will stand ⌊before me⌋ to offer to me fat and blood,” ⌊declares⌋ the Lord Yahweh. 16 “They shall come to my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table to serve me, and they will observe my requirement. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Eze 44:15–16.)

 

11 To the priests, the ones being consecrated from the descendants of Zadok, who took care of my service and who ⌊did not go astray⌋ ⌊when the Israelites went astray⌋, ⌊just as⌋ the Levites went astray. 12 And it will be for them a special gift from the contribution of the land ⌊as a most holy object⌋ next to the territory of the Levites. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Eze 48:11–12.)

 

What we see playing out here is evidence that Yah will surely keep His covenant promise to Phinehas of an eternal covenant of peace.

 

Loyal and zealous Zadok didn’t just serve as a priest during David’s rule. He also served as a fierce warrior in David’s army. Yehovah had taken Saul’s rule over Israel away from him and gave it over to David. (1 Chr 12) We find in 1 Chronicles and Josephus (Ant. VII. ii. 2) record of Zadok serving David as a military commander in battles against Israel’s enemies (i.e. against the Jebusites and Philistines).

 

The priests, Joshua son of Jehozadak and Ezra, that accompanied us in our return to the Land from Babylonian captivity were Zadok descendants (Ezr 7:1-7). Even during the time of our captivity, these sons of Zadok remained true to their priestly calling. As a result, Yah’s hand was upon Ezra (7:6). The zeal of the Zadokite priests remained through the time of the Maccabees, after which political intrigue all but forced them underground and out of service. Some believe, as I, that the priestly descendants of Zadok abandoned the second Temple in Jerusalem and took up residence in Qumran. The Essenes of Qumran, as evident in some of their sacred texts (aka the Dead Sea Scrolls), extolled the legitimacy and virtue of the Zadokite priesthood. Some scholars speculate that the Qumran Essenes included members of the Zadokite priesthood. I find this theory to be plausible, given the zeal we know the Essenes held for Yehovah and His Ways. These believed that the Jerusalem Temple establishment was irreparably corrupt. Thus, these Zadokim uprooted themselves from the politics and corruption of the Jerusalem temple establishment and resettled in Qumran where they safeguarded the oracles of Yehovah (aka the Dead Sea Scrolls). 

 

Interestingly, some have linked the first century Jewish sect of the Sadducees with the Zadokite priestly line. Certain scholars have declared that the title Sadducee is derived from Zadok. (Reference: Mark Allan Powel, Harper Collins Bible Dictionary) Michael Rood in his Gospel Chronology is a firm advocate of this thinking. We know from the Gospel record that the first century priestly line (i.e. the Sadducees) was indeed irreparably corrupt. To think that the Sadducees were of the same timber as the righteous sons of Zadok is suspect to me. I tend to side with the righteous Zadok line, finding her last recorded location in Qumran to be more in line with the zealous character of Phinehas to be the most plausible theory of the two.

 

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Baruch A. Levine, in his commentary on the Book of Numbers, made the bold move of renaming the Covenant of Peace to that of a Covenant of Fellowship:

 

“Behold, I am granting him my covenant, fellowship.” That is to say, my covenant will consist of fellowship. (Baruch A. Levine, Numbers 21–36: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 289.)

 

When I first came across Levine’s statement, I rejected it outright, but then I reflected upon it. It later became clear to me that indeed one of Yehovah’s deepest desires and goals is to establish a relationship and be in loving and peaceful fellowship with His chosen ones. Yet, when we are in a rebellious state of being, as we were during our time of apostacy in Shittim, there can be no such fellowship with Him.

 

When we choose Yehovah and His ways over that of the world and its ways, we have the privilege of partaking of this covenant of peace, aka, this covenant of fellowship. Yehovah is zealous (aka “qana’”) about His standards and about His people remaining true to Him and His ways. He described Himself to us as being a jealous (aka “qana’”) God; a consuming fire (Exo 34:14; Deu 4:24). He commanded and informed us that:

 

9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them (i.e. false gods): for I the LORD thy God am a jealous (aka “qana’”) God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me…(The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Dt 5:9–6:15.)

 

We cannot truly walk in covenant with Yehovah unless we are zealous/passionate/jealous – “qana’” about the things that He is zealous/passionate/jealous about. There must be a singleness of heart and mind between us and our Elohim for there to be true fellowship. The prophet asked a key question of us as Yah prepared to punish us for our iniquities:

 

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Am 3:3.) And of course, the answer to this critical question is no. We cannot be in fellowship with the Creator of the Universe when we are at odds with Him and His ways. That’s why He brought a devastating plague upon us in response to our disgusting apostacy with Ba’al of Peor. We had broken fellowship with Him because we sought after and worshiped Ba’al. It wasn’t until Phinehas displayed such burning zeal (aka “qana’”) for Yehovah and His ways and stood against our apostacy that Yehovah stayed the plague and restored fellowship or “shalom” between us and Him.

 

Master Yahoshua possessed such passion/zeal/jealousy/”qana’” for Yehovah and His House (aka the Temple) that He cleanse the Temple Mount of the merchants and money changers (Joh 2:14-17). Such “qana’” was prophesied to be an established character trait of the Messiah:

 

8 I have become a stranger to my brothers and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,

9 because the zeal for your house (i.e. your Temple) has consumed me, and the reproaches of those reproaching you have fallen on me. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Ps 69:8–9.)

 

If our consuming aim is to make it into the Kingdom, we must imitate our Master Yeshua in every way possible. This includes being “qana’” or zealous for the things of Yehovah. Our “qana’” for the things of Yehovah must consume us, as it did Yahoshua and Phinehas. And if we find ourselves with such burning passion/jealousy/zeal/”qana’” for the things and ways of Yehovah, He will honor us by cutting and maintaining a covenant of peace or fellowship with us.

 

How do we get to the place in our walk with Messiah that we possess such a consuming, burning passion for the things and ways of Yehovah? Well, we must seek — pursue Yehovah’s righteousness and His kingdom. And the easiest way of accomplishing this is to believe Master Yeshua and commit to walking only in His ways. And the only way we can accomplish this is to devour Yah’s Word, pray without ceasing, obey His instructions in righteousness, and listen to His voice, because Yah’s Ways are our Master’s Ways.

 

In so doing, we begin to develop a deep and abiding relationship with Master Yahoshua and His Father. Over time, we will become jealous/”qana’” with Yehovah’s jealousy/”qin’ah” because we are being transformed into the image of Master Yeshua. (Rom 8:29; Col 3:10) Consequently, Yeshua is the splitting image of His Father. (Heb 10:1)

 

Now, more than at any other time in history, Yehovah’s elect must be “qana’” with Yehovah’s “qana’” (Num 25:11). The world has devolved to such a state that that which is good is considered by the world as evil and that which is evil the world now sees as good. (Isa 5:20) Yah declares His fierce anger upon those who embrace such foolishness. It thus falls to us, Yah’s chosen ones, to jealously walk in His righteous ways and teach the world to do so as well. Yah is counting on us to image Him in this fallen, corrupt world. He’s given us all we need to accomplish this: He’s given us His Holy Spirit and His Word. And if we are willing to hold the line, using the resources He’s placed at our disposal, we can’t help but be victorious and forever in peaceful/fellowship covenant with our Creator.

 

The apostle wrote to the Messianic Roman Assembly:

 

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ro 8:35–39.)

 

Have a blessed Sabbath and an overcoming week in Yeshua Messiah, beloved of Yehovah.

 

Take care.