Under the Curse

Verse: In him was life and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:4-5

Topic: What does it mean to be zealous?

Personal Piece: This week has been pretty busy.  We had a two-day snowstorm and got about a foot of snow on Monday and Tuesday.  So I ended up taking Tuesday off and picked up a shift on Thursday.  Needless to say, I was unable to write my post for on Thursday.  But that's given me 3 extra days to really meditate on this word of zeal and really wrestle with it.  This word has really been turning around in my head with the new release of my childhood favorites and an unfortunate "scandal" that goes with it.  I'm talking of course about Beauty and the Beast and Le Fou's "Sexual Orientation".  I haven't said a lot about the subject because I know it a sensitive one but God and I really had to have some serious conversations about whether I should see it.  That may sound really judgmental but...well just keep reading.

Thought of the Week: This week I want to share with you a story about a man named Phinehas.  This is a story from the Bible that very few talk about and even fewer preach on but in the last year or so Phinehas's story has become one of my favorites (ok yeah, so pretty much every story in the Bible is my favorite).  Now before we get to Phinehas we have to set the background with a story that many people do know.  The Israelites had been released from slavery in Egypt and they had departed from the mountain of the Lord after receiving the law and building the Tabernacle.  After nearly 40 years of wandering around in the desert they were finally nearing the promised land.  They had seen miracles and word of Yahweh's power had spread to the people who lived in the land and they were struck with fear.  One king in particular, King Balak of Moab, decided to do something about these imposters.  He summoned a man named Balaam who had a reputation for witchcraft.

Now I just need to pause here for a moment and explain something.  Many people tend to get confused by Old Testament references to God causing something bad to happen or in this case communicating with a man who could be nothing more than an ancient witch.  The Old Testament makes very few references to Satan and his cohorts.  Off the top of my head I can only think of  two occasions (in the garden of Eden and in the book of Job) where Satan is clearly referenced.  I do not believe this is because Satan was not as active or because God suddenly changed from judgmental to loving somewhere between the testaments.  Rather I believe it is because God accepted the blame for many of Satan's actions.  This may seem strange but at that time people were known for worshiping any god they could find, even the bad ones were worshiped out of fear of punishment.  Yahwah in his goodness and love...and jealousy wanted all the worship for himself.  Even if it was out of fear.

This said we can read the story of Balaam with the understanding that he usually had the power to curse the enemies of his king and that he usually did it for evil.  We can probably even assume that it was a demon that told him not to go to the king because it knew that the true God was with the Israelites and Balaam would be powerless.  You can read the rest of the story for yourself but the important thing is that Balaam knew and made it very clear to the king that he was unable to curse these people who were under God's covenant.

So Balak decided to change that.  He came up with a plan to pull the Israelites out from under God's protection.  He sent women into their camp to pull at the lusts of their heart and bring them into their temples.  "So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.  And the Lord's anger burned against them." (Numbers 25:3).  In that moment a plague broke out in Israel that would kill 24,000 people.  The curse that Balak had requested was coming to fruition.  Not because Balaam's words were stronger than Yahweh's but because the Israelites has removed themselves from the covenant.  They had received the law, they had heard the 1st and 2nd commandment recited and yet they chose to remove themselves from the covering that following that law put over them.

This is when Phinehas comes in.  Phinehas was the grandson of Aaron and great-nephew of Moses. Like his father and grandfather before him he served as a priest in the tabernacle.  But that day he would make a name for himself that even King David would praise decades later (Psalms 106:30).  A man came into the camp with his Midianite lover, flaunting his sin for all to see.  Phinehas was filled with zeal and followed them into their tent and killed them...and God's anger was abated.  In fact, God praised Phinehas for being as zealous as he was.

Zeal means to have great enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause.  In other words to be passionate about something.  Phinehas definitely had that ground covered.  Now I'm not saying that we should go out and kill all the people who aren't obeying God's laws, that would NEVER be acceptable in this day in age like it was back then.  But it does bring forth a strong image of what God wants from us.  I have heard numerous stories of modern day witches who could curse some Christians but couldn't curse others and that it all came down to whether they were living under God's anointing.  Today sin is the only covering many live under.  Hollywood is like the Moabite woman who have come into the camp and pulled the once dedicated men into their pagan temples.  That is a strong and convicting picture and one that I am still struggling with.

Growing up I never wanted to be seen as a judgmental bigot.  I have taken  many strives to keep my mouth shut when it comes to other people's lives.  I have tried to just live my life in a way that keeps the fingers pointed away from me.  It's not safe to stir the waters, not safe to create waves.  After all if there are waves there's more likelihood of drowning.  But if you're a frog sitting in a pot of water that is over a fire, then some waves might be exactly what you need to bring you to your senses.  Despite all this strife surrounding Beauty and the Beast being blown way out of proportion it really caused me to think what other stuff I fill my life with or have on my shelves that may be pulling me back under the curse of depression and anxiety.  I want to be under God's covenant, I want to live under his protection but the more time I spend following the lusts of my flesh the less I can expect his protection.  And that is just unacceptable to me.

Digging Deeper:  The story of Balaam can be found in Numbers 22-24 and Phinehas's story can be found in Number 25.

For more about being under the Lord's covering check out John Bevere's book Under Cover.

For more about the Old Testament reference to God check out "The Cosmic Conflict of God's Character" by Brad and Dorthee Cole

Challenge: Take an evaluation of your life and the ways that you may have removed yourself from God's covering.  Evaluate your media intake, your relationships, your daily/weekly activities, even your food intake and present it all to God.  Ask him what he might be purifying you of.  What is hindering you from getting the fullest blessing you can get from him.  Determine what he is asking for and then make a decision to let those things go so that you can come back under his covenant of blessing.