Dealing with demonic false gods takes its toll on people, especially the people of God. Numbers 25 begins this way: "Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove/Shittim (sittaym/sotet - a large tree growing in dry areas covered with black thorns, a valley on the border of Moab, scourging thorns, wood used to build the holy furnishings of the tabernacle/scourge, to pierce, to flog, a whip), and the people began to commit harlotry (zana - harlot, whore, whoredom, fornication, commit adultery, to be a cult prostitute in worship of an idol, be unfaithful to God) with the women of Moab. They (the women) invited (qara - read, proclaim, invite, preach, to call with the name of God, to cry out, to call, to be named or called out or chosen) the people to the sacrifices (zebah - sacrifices of righteousness, the Passover sacrifice, covenant sacrifice, thank offering VS. sacrifice of strife, sacrifice to dead things) of their gods, and the people ate ('akal - eat, devour, burn up, feed, be wasted and destroyed of the flesh) and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined (samad - bind, join, fastened, to adhere) to Baal of Peor (false deity of Moab worshipped with licentious rites in which women prostitute themselves, and meaning "mouth gaping wide open like a ravenous beast"), and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel." (v. 1-3).
We can see from the Hebrew meanings in the above verses that this place and these circumstances were to be a prophetic signpost of the prophesied Messiah/Christ to come, a valley of decision, but instead it became a perversion of the way, a twisting of the call and election of God and the Gospel (preaching, see above) of Messiah/Christ Jesus, a subversion of the offerings of righteousness into the offerings of licentiousness and things of death rather than life according to the meanings of the Hebrew words used. The demon gods and the evil spirits of wickedness could not have hoped for a better outcome: the people of God had joined themselves to demons.
We find out later in scripture that the use of Moabite women against the Israelites was based on advice given by Balaam to King Balak of Moab in order to separate the Israelites from their God, and in doing so, defeat them. (Num. 31:14-16). This was not a one-time strategy from ancient history. The resurrected Jesus, in His message to the church at Pergamos in the Book of Revelation, judged the church for this. Jesus said to them: "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality." (Rev. 2:14).
The meaning of Pergamos, the name of a church in Asia Minor, is very interesting. It means, "height or elevation, a tower, a fortified structure rising to a considerable height to repel a hostile attack or to enable a watchman to see in every direction." The church that had been elevated to a great spiritual height in order to watch, protect and defend the holiness of God and the human soul, had instead become a doorway into immorality and idolatry, which would prove to be a stumbling block to salvation for any Jewish person. The God and the practices of this Christian church bore no resemblance to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, nor to His commandments. Recent headlines tell us that there are again churches, like Pergamos, that have placed these same stumbling blocks between God and man through sexual immorality and abuse, as well as the idolatry of worldly dying things. Mankind was made a living soul (nefes) by the holy breath of God to be champions of Him and His righteousness, to eat from the tree of life, His Son Jesus, and to show others the way to this salvation from death to everlasting life.
From that place of death, only the Messiah/Christ, as prophetically described in the above verses from Numbers 25, whom the Israelites should have been proclaiming in the valley of thorns and scourging, can turn the human soul back to the way of life. Zion (siyun) is a way marker, a signpost, a guiding pillar to the way of Truth, according to its root meaning in Hebrew.
We find out from this sad account in Numbers 25 that Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, walking in the zeal of God, stopped the plague that had broken out among the Israelites as a result of their choice of Ba'al and unfaithfulness to God in that Shittim valley: "And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Phinehas the son of Eleazar, that son of Aaron the priest, has turned back (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My wrath from (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the children of Israel, because he was zealous with (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My zeal/for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel...Behold, I give to him (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My covenant of peace (salom/salam - peace, welfare, prosperity, safety, health, completeness, contentment, friendship/recompense, reward [see Rev. 22:12-14], render, restore, repay, restitution, finished, complete); and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel." (Num. 25:9-13). Our calling as believers in Christ requires the same zeal as God's for those who are dying spiritually and physically. Lives are in the balance.
This week's Pinchas Sabbath reading portion has another encounter with the false god, Ba'al, and involves another man of zeal for the LORD. The prophet of God, Elijah, brought to the rulers and people of Israel an example of the power of the LORD their God, who again, under pressure from an evil queen, had become involved in Ba'al worship. Elijah demanded that Israel choose between the worship of God and the worship of Ba'al. On Mount Carmel, Elijah set up a sacrifice on the altar of God, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Ba'al set up a sacrifice on an altar to Ba'al. Elijah said to the false prophets: "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." (1 Kings 18:19-24). Elijah had said to the people of Israel: "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Ba'al, follow him." (v. 21).
The prophets of Ba'al called upon their god, but he did not answer, even as they "cut themselves as was their custom, with knives and lances until the blood gushed out of them." (v. 27-28). However, when Elijah called upon the name of the LORD: "...the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" The people seized the prophets of Ba'al and Elijah executed them at the Brook Kishon (qison/qos - winding, twisted, torturous/to lay bait, to lay a snare, to lure). (v. 38-40). The prophets of Ba'al were killed by the same snare and trap into which they had tried to lure all of Israel, according to the Hebrew meaning of "Kishon."
There is an often-repeated principle in scripture that the wicked, the plotters, the nations who lay snares and traps for God's people will be caught in those snares themselves, as we see in the account of Elijah and the false prophets above. (see also Ps. 7:15-16, Ps. 9:15-16, Ps. 141:9-10, Prov. 26:26-27, Esther 7:9-10, Dan. 6:24). This principle of God's justice and judgment is very important for us to know in these current times before the return of Jesus. Jesus warned that there was a snare coming upon the whole earth, set against all of the people of the earth. This snare of deception is so spiritually and physically powerful, that even the elect of God could be caught in it. (see Mt. 24:24-25, Lk. 21:34-36).
Even though Elijah brought forth a powerful demonstration from God that brought the worship of God back to Israel, after his encounter with the false prophets and the death threats from the evil queen of Israel who worshipped Ba'al, Elijah suffered an attack to his spirit. He prayed that he would die. He fled from the northern kingdom of Israel and ran to the southern kingdom, Judah, to Beersheba. There Elijah feel asleep under a broom (root word ratam - to bind, attach, to yoke up, thread tied around a finger as a reminder, horses bound to a chariot) tree. Then an angel touched him, telling him, "Arise and eat." Elijah found a cake baked on coals and a jar of water. This happened twice, as the angel then told Elijah that he had to be strengthened for a forty-day journey to "Horeb. the mountain of God." (1 Kings 19:1-8).
The broom tree was like a thread tied around Elijah's finger, according to the Hebrew meaning, to remind him of an important principle. The broom tree is a symbol in scripture of God's provision: it provides shade from intense heat, its wood is used to make long-lasting coals for warmth and preparing food, it is able to grow in harsh and desolate places symbolizing the capacity for survival and endurance in the face of adversity, its roots are used by the poor for food in times of scarcity.
In this place under the broom tree, the LORD sent an angel to provide for and strengthen his zealous prophet for what was to come.
The angel instructed Elijah to make the long journey to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. Mount Horeb (meaning "glowing, heat") is also considered to be the same as Mount Sinai, the site of the burning bush to Moses, the place where the Word of God and the Covenant of God were given to His people, and where water was given from the rock. Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, is also a place of great spiritual warfare, as we can imagine. The Hebrew root word harab means "waste, desolate, destroyer, slay, decay, ruins, dried up, attack, smite down, fight." It also means "to be amazed and astonished." The LORD worked powerfully and miraculously in this place.
Here Elijah would learn that he was not the only prophet left in Israel who was serving God zealously as he had thought. (1 Kings 19:18). Elijah would also receive on the mountain of God instructions that would bring about changes to power structures. Two new kings were to be anointed by Elijah, as well as a new prophet, Elisha. The LORD would use this combined new power structure to carry out His judgment. (v. 15-17).
Jesus also instructed His disciples that when the abomination of the antichrist and the surrounding by armies came to Jerusalem in the days before His return, they were to immediately "flee to the mountains." (Mt. 24:15-16, Lk. 21:20-22). This is the time when the snare that had been laid for the people of God by the powerful enemies of God would be turned back upon those who had plotted to deceive the whole earth and destroy God's covenant people as mentioned in the verses above.
Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's nephew Lot had also been instructed by angels: "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." (Gen.19:17). Instead of fleeing to a high place for refuge, Lot asked to go to a nearby place closer than the mountains, which was called Zoar (meaning "insignificant, ignoble, be brought low").
Spiritual enemies of God and His people are and will be rising up in these last days before Christ's return. The prophet Daniel also spoke about the people of God who would have zeal during this time: "Those who do wickedly against the covenant he (the defiler of the sanctuary) shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits." (Dan. 11:32). Instructions have been left for us in scripture, including the prophetic warnings of Christ.
If you would like to know more about the role of the zealous people of God in this time, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You have provided for us the wisdom and instruction in Your Word for these times. Help me, LORD, to learn and receive in my heart this necessary understanding by Your Holy Spirit, and to walk in the role that You have purposed for Your people. These are not ordinary times, and we are not called to be "ordinary, insignificant, or ignoble," but we are called to walk in the high places as You have instructed. I give You thanks for preparing the believers in Christ for the times to come, and I pray with the Holy Spirit for the soon return of Your precious Son, our Lord, Jesus. I pray these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."
*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.
