Psalm 106 vs 24-48 - Many times

Read: Psalm 106 vs 24-48

Many of us have grown up with the Bible and many of its stories have been familiar to us since childhood. However, the more I read the Bible the more aware I am that I have a selective knowledge of the Bible. There are some parts of the Bible that I know very well and there are other stories and when I read them it’s as if I’m reading something for the very first time.

This morning we come to the second part of Psalm 106. Like so many of the Psalms it refers to events from the stories of Israel’s time in the wilderness after leaving Egypt and before arriving in the Promised Land. Today we read of events at a place called Peor and we meet a man called Phinehas. To be honest I didn’t really know this story before reading it today. The Psalms have a huge role in connecting us with parts of the Bible that we can easily overlook. 

In Numbers 25 Israel, on their journey across the wilderness, were staying in the region of Peor, and there they ‘yoked themselves’ to the Baal of Peor, indulging in all kinds of sins and completely turning from God to worship idols. In vs 7 a man called Phinehas steps forward. (There is another Phinehas in the Bible who was a son of Eli, but this isn’t him). Phinehas took drastic and decisive action to root out the sin that was so threatening the people. God was really pleased with him and withdrew His anger from the people; ‘since he (Phinehas) was as zealous for my honour … as I am’.

There are other stories about Phinehas (he’s mentioned 10 times in the Bible) and each time we get a picture of someone who is zealous for God’s honour, someone who is careful to give God first place in His life and who desires that for the lives of others. Psalm 106 says that Phinehas will be remembered for ‘endless generations to come’ (vs 30-31), urging us to be zealous and careful today to see God honoured in all we do.

Prayer: Father give to be a zeal for the honour of Your Name. When I see sin around me help it to weigh on me. Thank You that Jesus has come to defeat sin once and for all. All this I pray in His Name. Amen.