Rev. Thabiti Anyabwile is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Rev. Anyabwile is a sought-after conference speaker and is the author of many books including The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity
Rev. Anyabwile addressed the topic Cosmic Treason: Sin and the Holiness of God from Numbers 25. He divided the text into four sections.
HORRIBLE CONTEXT (verses 1-5, and the preceding chapters)
At the very same time that God was protecting the Israelites from their enemies (thwarting the efforts of Balak), the people of God are “whoring after the daughters of Moab.” The Lord assigns the death sentence for these offenders, and a gruesome one (vs. 4). Furthermore, he calls upon the leaders of Israel to participate in the judgment (vs. 5).
Sin is cosmic treason.
1. Sin is moral in nature.
Many in our day deny the nature of sin. People don’t think it is wrong. If they choose to do something, they assume it cannot be sin (on the basis of their moral authority). Self-rule: “It is right because I desire it. I need nothing beyond that as justification.” There is a big difference between David in Psalm 51 “Against you and you only have I sinned” and Frank Sinatra “I did it my way.” An R&B group sang, “If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right.” Self-rule. Autonomy.
2. Sin is individual — Individual people commit particular sins.
3. Sin is personal in its offense. — It lands on the sight of a holy God. It is a personal rebellion.
4. Sin is treasonous in nature. — It is a betrayal.
5. Sin is dangerous. — It approaches the wrath of an omnipotent God. Many who live in rebellion to God think God is OK with them. Hebrews 10:26-31 ends with “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Do we really believe that? Do we warn others of that?
STARTLING SCENE (verses 6-9)
A man is walking through the camp in a state of brazen rebellion. “One of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel.” The man is taking the woman for the purpose of committing sexual immorality. And Phinehas rises up and kills them both in the very act.
When we sin against God we often think of it as independent of God. “I wasn’t thinking about God at the time.” But that is a reflection of disdain and contempt toward God.
James 4:4 tells us: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
Sin distorts our sympathies. When we read a gruesome passage like this, do we have an impulsive reaction to identify the with the Israelite man and the Midianite woman rather than with the Holy God who was offended. And then we read in verse 9 that 24,000 were killed. We think “that’s an over-reaction.” Rather than “Yes, You vindicated your name, Lord.”
So sin causes us to form a treasonous alliance such that we identify with sinners against the Holy God. Sin leads to our ruin apart from Christ.
Sin should cause weeping and deep remorse. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit.” (Ps 34:18) As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. (Ps 17:15)
HONORABLE COMMENDATION (verses 10-13)
The Lord commends Phinehas because he is jealous for God with the same jealousy that God has for His own name. We have become a kingdom of priests. We should all have a profound jealousy for God’s name.
It is true that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” And it is also true that “We are most satisfied when God is most glorified.” What else should a pastor zealously want for His people than that God be known, loved, and honored among his people? To care most about anything less than the supremacy and glory and honor of God is itself treasonous. It is to abandon God’s own agenda for Himself. It is to choose some lesser end than what God Himself has appointed.
But Phinehas is not the only one or even the main one to be commended. God Himself is to be commended. Yes, Phinehas is to be honored for making atonement and assuaging God’s wrath. But God is also to be commended for the covenant that He establishes with Phinehas.
CLOSING OBSERVATIONS
1. Because sin is treason, it requires discipline and correction. When the Father in His holiness loves His people, the outcome is that He corrects those He loves. God’s love walks hand in hand with His holiness. Pastors ought not to neglect discipline in our churches. And we should all (as Christians) not bristle at correction. Resolve now to receive correction when it comes (as an evidence of God’s love to restore and build His people).
2. Because sin is treasonous, it requires atonement. Phinehas makes an atoning sacrifice here, but Jesus makes the ultimate sacrifice. Here Phinehas wields a spear; it would be sinners who would wield a spear and pierce Jesus Christ, whose death removed the wrath of God not for a season but forever.
3. We have juxtaposed the redemption in Christ with the way that the Mideanites and the Israelites are remembered in these last verses. Verses 17-18 identifies Zimri and Cozbi as the “Benedict Arnolds” of the book of Israel. God then uses the Israelites as the means of exercising judgment upon the Mideanites.
In a room this size, there are perhaps some who have never called upon Christ as Savior. My friend, do not be remembered as a “Benedict Arnold.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It will mean eternal ruin. It will mean endless torment. Come to Christ and be saved. End your treason. Be reconciled to God.