Pinchas Text: Numbers 25:10-29:40
The Census of Israel (pdf)
Pinchas Slides (pdf)
Pinchas Notes (pdf)
Overview of Pinchas (“Phineas”) Numbers 25:10 – 29:40
The Children of Israel have completed their journey from Kadesh Barnea to the border of Moab and have now moved into position to enter the Promised Land. The only thing preventing them from entering the Promised Land are those who remain from the first generation – they must die before the second generation can enter The Land…and that will happen in this Portion.
Chapter 25 – Israel’s Idolatry
This week’s Portion concludes last week’s lesson on The Doctrine of Balaam. In the opening verses we see the culmination of this Doctrine: the seduction of Israel by her pagan neighbors was rampant, and in God’s blazing anger, He sent a plague of death upon all those engaged in the acts of pagan worship (including sexual immorality). When a man from the Tribe of Simeon brought a Midianite woman into the Camp of Israel, Pinchas, the son of the High Priest, was so enraged that he killed both of them with one thrust of a spear – a human shish-ka-bob! Although it was forbidden for a Levite to take the law into his own hands, God accepted this “act of atonement” and rewarded Pinchas’ zealousness by selecting him to succeed his father as High Priest.
Chapter 26 – Israel’s 2nd Census
This Plague of Death was the final purging for Israel; it completed the destruction of that first generation that was alive when they left Egypt (except for three: Moses, Joshua & Caleb), and the next generation was ready to conquer the Promised Land. But first … another census. During the 40-year Exodus, the Children of Israel seemingly “marched in place” waiting for that first generation to die out. The ending census was only 1,820 people fewer than the beginning census that was taken 40 years earlier; a generation of zero growth. The ending census served two purposes: it identified all the military-age men who were going into the battles for the Promised Land, and it determined the size of each tribe so that the Land (after the conquest) could be proportionally distributed to each Tribe.
Chapter 27– The Daughters of Zelophehad
Deep within the census of Manasseh was Zelophehad, who had died during the Exodus and left no male heirs to inherit his land portion. His four daughters petitioned Moses to allow their father’s inheritance to come to them – specifically the land. After Moses consulted with God, their petition was granted, providing the daughters married within their tribe. This ruling worked in conjunction with the concept of the Levirate Marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10), insuring that the daughters’ inheritance (including land and genealogical rights) passed to their husbands.
At first glance this looks like one of those weird ancient Middle-Eastern customs that is meaningless to us today. However, Yeshua’s claim to the Throne of David rests upon this ruling! Yeshua had no inheritance through His step-father Joseph’s line; it had to come through Mary. Because Mary apparently had no brothers, her inheritance (to the Throne of David) became Yeshua’s because of the ruling for the Daughters of Zelophehad. Yeshua has truly fulfilled all the Torah and the prophecies!
Joshua Succeeds Moses
The chapter ends with Moses anointing Joshua as his successor. He asked Yehovah to “set a man over the congregation…” so that, in Moses’ absence, Israel would not be “like sheep which have no shepherd.” So Yehovah chose Joshua, (Yehushua in Hebrew) whose name shares the same root as Yeshua… a cleat foreshadowing of Yeshua leading His people Israel into the Kingdom. Joshua will lead Israel into the Promised Land; and Yeshua will lead His people Israel in the Kingdom!
Moses laid his hands upon Joshua before Eleazar the High Priest and before the entire congregation; it was a very public transfer of power so that all the people would know that their new leader would be Joshua. Aaron’s transfer of the High Priesthood to Eleazar was done privately upon Mt Hor (not Horeb); both Aaron and Eleazar went up the mountain, and only Eleazar came back down…wearing the Breastplate of the High Priest. Even though the transfer was done privately, everyone knew that Eleazar now wore the Breastplate of the High Priest.
Chapters 28 & 29 The Offerings
The final two chapters are a rehearsal of the sacrifices that God ordained at Sinai – please see the notes for a review of those sacrifices. Once in The Land, Israel must offer the Firstfruits of every harvest, and these verses give the details of each Feast sacrifice.
This list of offerings concludes with the Feast of Tabernacles. Each of the seven days of this Feast required offerings of bulls, rams and lambs for a Burnt Offering; goats for a Sin Offering; and the accompanying Meal and Drink Offerings. The first day saw 13 bulls offered; the second day saw 12; and each day after saw a decreasing number of bulls offered. At the end of the seven days, there were a total of 70 bulls offered. 70 is the number associated with the Nations; and it appears that Israel was offering sacrifices for the Nations. But, over time, Satan had convinced those same Nations to destroy the very Temple that Yehovah used to bless them as Israel offered those 70 bulls as a Burnt Offering for the Nations! Just as the High Priest, on Yom Kippur, had to atone for his own sins before he could atone for the sins of Israel, the Nation of Israel must have their sins atoned for before they could make the Feast of Tabernacles offering for the Nations.
Because of the zealousness of Pinchas, the final plague was stopped and Israel was ready to enter The Land; very shortly Joshua’s zealousness would bring them God’s Victory over their enemies. And it is our zealousness for God that brings us victory over our enemies!
The Haftarah Reading (I Kings 18:46-19:21)
This week’s Haftarah continues the theme of zealousness that we have seen in Pinchas. We have seen other zealous people in the Bible: Moses at Mt Sinai, Yeshua as He drove the money-changers out of the Temple, and Peter & Saul of Tarsus both led highly-zealous lives. The Prophet Elijah shared Pinchas’ zeal when he confronted and overpowered the Prophets of Ba’al in the duel of sacrifices. The Haftarah Portion continues Elijah’s story: we read from I Kings 19:1-3:
“And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there….. “
As he fled Jezebel, Elijah thought he was the only righteous one left in Israel & asked God to take his life. Instead, God fed him, sent him to Mt Sinai and ultimately sent him to his retirement. We read the conclusion of this story in verses 14-18:
“And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life. Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Haza’el as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Haza’el, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
In the Brit Chadashah, we see the application of the Daughters of Zelophehad ruling from this week’s Torah Portion. This ruling allowed a daughter to inherit from her father if he had no sons & she married a man from the same Tribe; in that case her husband became her father’s legal son and, therefore, eligible to inherit all that was due the daughter. This ruling is the key to Yeshua’s claim to the Throne of David; and why we see two genealogies for Yeshua in the Gospels. We read from Luke 3:23:
“Now Yeshua Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was the custom) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli…”
This verse begins Luke’s genealogy of Yeshua, and I suggest that the wording here draws upon the Zelophehad ruling from this week’ Portion to establish Yeshua’s legal right to David’s Throne. Mary apparently had no brothers, so “the custom” referred to in the text would be the Zelophehad ruling that transferred all of Mary’s inheritance (including the right to the Throne of David as determined through her father’s (who was also named Joseph) genealogy) to her husband, Joseph. I know this is confusing and can be difficult to follow, but we know that, when Yeshua returns, He will sit on his Father David’s throne as the Angel promised to Mary, and that is guaranteed through the Law of Zelophehad in this week’s Torah Portion!