Israel at Shittim
25 1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the people began to commit sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab.
Bowing to Foreign Gods
2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel joined himself to Baal of Peor, and the anger of our Father burned against Israel.
4 Our Father said to Moses, "Take all the chiefs of the people and execute them before me in broad daylight, so that my burning anger may turn away from Israel."
5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor."
Phinehas Stands in the Gap
6 Then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman to his brothers, right in front of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up from among the assembly and grabbed a spear. 8 He followed the man of Israel into the inner chamber and pierced both of them through—the man of Israel and the woman, through her belly. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped. 9 Those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
A Covenant of Peace
10 Then our Father said to Moses,
11 "Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites by being zealous with my own zeal among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal. 12 Therefore say: I am giving him my covenant of peace. 13 It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for me and made atonement for the Israelites." 1 1 v13 Phinehas's covenant of everlasting priesthood and his act of atonement point ahead to Jesus, the eternal priest whose zeal for our Father and once-for-all sacrifice bring a lasting peace no human priest could secure.
14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, a clan leader among the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur; he was the head of a clan in Midian.
16 Then our Father said to Moses,
17 "Treat the Midianites as enemies and strike them down, 18 for they treated you as enemies with their deceit, by which they deceived you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor."