The "Save the Day" Christian

Today’s Verse:

Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. ~Numbers 25:11

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Someone who saves the day is someone who either prevents a problem from happening, or stops a major misfortune. He is someone heroic. He is someone that is one-of-a-kind. He is someone who, by his action and involvement, saves many people from a terrible fate. This morning, we are considering a man named Phinehas. Phinehas is a powerful example of a Christian who saved the day.

We see a flagrant ACT.

The Israelites joined themselves to Baal-peor. In a short period of time, they went from worshipping the True God of Israel to worshipping the sensuous god of the Moabites. Their grievous idolatrous worship accompanied the gross sin of immorality on a national level. So wicked and flagrant was their sin that one leader openly took a Midianitish woman into his tent before the eyes of Moses and the leaders of Israel. They had lost their sense of the holiness of God. The conscience of the men was seared and evil. No one was ashamed of what they did. Their carnality went from no shame, to no stopping, to no sense.

We see a fiery ARDOR.

Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, saw this leader, Zimri, and the Midianitish woman, Cozbi, go into Zimri’s tent. Unlike his peers and his elders who did nothing, Phinehas was moved with a fiery ardor to stop this sinful couple from going any further. He took a javelin, ran into the tent, and thrust both of these culprits through. God described Phinehas’ action as being “zealous for my sake.” The word for “zealous” is the same word translated “envy” or “jealous.” Phinehas demonstrated an intense jealousy for the name and cause of the Lord. Many of us allow the influence of peer pressure to affect our intensity. We are thermometer Christians when we should be thermostat Christians. Phinehas stood alone as a man who was not ashamed to show his love for the Lord and jealousy for the Lord’s righteousness. When others had become cold or lukewarm, he exemplified a fiery ardor.

We see a favorable ANNULMENT.

Phinehas’ action turned away the wrath of the Lord from Israel. God sent a deathly plague in the camp of the Israelites to judge their sin. One by one, people were dropping dead of this plague. Yet, it did not seem to bother any of them until Phinehas jumped in. Phinehas saved the day for Israel. His courageous action stopped the plague from taking further lives. When you and I are aggressively and compassionately winning souls to Christ, we are seeking to turn away a sinner from going to Hell. When a sinner accepts Christ as Savior, we are allowing the Lord to use us to save the day.

We see a faithful APPLICATION.

All of us need to be a Phinehas. We must be willing to stand for God even if our peers and elders do not. We must say like Peter, “We must obey God rather than man.” We must be heroic, and thrust sinful temptations and tendencies all the way through. We must exert great effort and boldness in our witness so that sinners can be saved from the judgment of God. We must be men and women who are jealous for the Lord’s glory and save the day.

Don’t be passive, don’t let sin abound, and don’t let people perish in their sins. Be fervently passionate for the Lord’s glory and holiness, and stand in the gap. Your courageous act could save the day for others.

Have a zealous God Morning!

Bible Reading Schedule: Numbers 31-32

#Numbers #Phinehas