The Point Of Phineas

a. Immorality of the fertility cults -- Baal; Pan

b. Insolence of Zimri -- v. 14 (Midianite woman -- as MOSES!)

1) High Ranking -- above the Law?

2) Kings wrote the Torah to remember they were also subject

3) No respecter of persons -- Acts 10.34

And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality,

c. Indifference of the woman -- v. 15

d. We can become our own gods -- Article in which we dictate our happiness to God -- "It is MY way or NO way." -- Who is God? Who is really influencing our lives?

e. [Passover Seder -- Second Cup -- Praise --

* If he had merely rescued us from Egypt and not punished the Egyptians -- "Dayenu" (it would have been enough)

* If he had only destroyed their gods, but not parted the Red Sea -- "Dayenu"

* If he had only drowned our enemies and not fed us with manna -- "Dayenu"

* If he had only led us through the desert, but had not given us the Sabbath -- "Dayenu"

* If he had only given us the Torah, but not the land of Israel -- "Dayenu"

A Different God -- A Different Man

James Michener, writing in his book, The Source, tells the story of a man named Urbaal, who, was a farmer living about 2200 B.C. He worshiped two gods, one a god of death, the other a goddess of fertility.

One day, the temple priests tell Urbaal to bring his young son to the temple for sacrifice--if he wants good crops. Urbaal obeys, and on the appointed day drags his wife and boy to the scene of the boy's "religious execution" by fire to the god of death.

After the sacrifice of Urbaal's boy, and several others, the priests announce that one of the fathers will spend next week in the temple, with a new temple prostitute. Urbaal's wife is stunned as she notices a desire written more intensely across his face than she had seen before, and she is overwhelmed to see him eagerly lunge forward when his name is called.

The ceremony over, she walks out of the temple with her head swimming, concluding that "if he had different gods, he would have been a different man."

III. Serious Obligation for the People of God (10-13)

A. A Godly Zeal/Jealousy -- Taking Responsibility; Maturity; 5 Women in Chapter 27

1. Not the petty jealousies we have -- [Laura -- "You're looking at Jessalyn more than me."

2. God knows we need him to be like him and his motivation is his deep love for us -- "I am a jealous God"

One day, in 1888, Alfred Nobel picked up the morning newspaper and read his obituary. It was his brother who had passed away, but an over-zealous reporter, who had failed to check the facts, wrote that the world saw Alfred Nobel as the inventor of dynamite, an armaments manufacturer, a merchant of death.

Because of this unusual chance to see his life as others saw it, Nobel resolved to make clear his true desire for peace. He arranged that the income from all of his fortune would fund an award to be made to those persons who did the most for the cause of peace. And so, today we remember Alfred Nobel not as an arms merchant, but as the founder of the Nobel Prize for Peace.