We are living in a day of grace, and so we are not called to the kind of action that Phinehas undertook. However, the moral principles we may learn from this story are still relevant for us today. Many Christians in our generation refuse to take a stand against evil among the professed people of God. They condemn as “javelin throwers” those who take a stand out of love for the Lord and for His people. Grace maintains the truth: those who only want to hear about the love of God fail to recognize that the God of the Bible is light and love.

Furthermore, we need to keep the end of the journey in view. Sad to say, just when the end is in view, people get tired and willing to give up. Numbers 25 shows us the danger of giving up scriptural separation. The Lord wants us to be faithful to Him till the very end. He encourages us not to give up, nor to compromise. As a man of God, Phinehas was linked with the ark of God and with the holy vessels. His knowledge of the glory of God enabled him to act decisively.

Israel had failed to learn what suited the holiness of God on their wilderness journey. The sad story described in Numbers 25 is evidence of this. Is this not similar to the history of the professing Church as the Lord describes it in Revelation 2 and 3? Can this not happen in our personal lives too? Let us learn to recognize His holiness and act consistently therewith as Phinehas did, waiting for the day when sin shall taint no more.