Pinchas,Pinehas

Numbers 25:10 to 30:1                                                                                   

Haftarah: 1 Kings 18:46 to 19:21

Psalm 139                                                                                                                            

Apostolic Writings/Newer Testament/B’rit HaChadashah: Matthew 13:24 to 43

 

Pinchas is an exciting character. He was of course a grandson of Aaron and a Levite (though not a Kohen). At the end of last week’s portion we read about the events leading up to a judgement plague. This week we begin by reading the account of how Pinchas, by his zeal for The Almighty and his jealousy for the sake of His Name, suspended that plague. By killing the two main protagonists he secured peace and was rewarded with a spirit of zeal – Ruach Kinah.

The word “kinah” is linked with the Hebrew kana, which is at the root of jealousy and zeal. The difference between the two is that jealousy in a human is negative, as it aggressively “defends” ownership while zeal is positive and is rarely for anything other than a good cause. Here Pinchas acts out of altruistic zeal in order to defend the Name of The Almighty. He was rewarded greatly. Not only with the spirit of zeal, but with a promotion to being a Kohen.

The event happened in Shittim, which is the Hebrew for Acacia. As a word it is linked with “sotah”, which is a word for “harlot”. They are both from the root “sh’tus”, which means “folly”. Israel acted in a manner unbecoming the children of The Most High.

Why we act is as important as what we do.

In our portion from the Kings the great prophet Elijah starts out feeling sorry for himself (with just cause!). He did mighty things and, after the dust had settled, found himself alone with no food, no friends and no shelter.

Then he is reminded that, After The Fire, the presence of The Almighty is with him. He is reminded that, although his job is important, he won’t complete the entire task; he will only complete the task set before him. Others will complete the entire task.

That’s a bit like us. Yes, being an Evangelist, Pastor, Prayer Group Leader insert your role / title here is vitally important. However, as Tony Higton pointed out to me before you were here, someone else did this; after you’re gone, someone else will do this.

Psalm 139, as I have said before, is possibly my favourite Psalm. A good friend of mine has just released his 34th album, and Psalm 139 is on it. “Psalms and Hymns” by Ishmael is available now from www.ishmael.org.uk and features not just Ish (whose recovery from leukaemia is praiseworthy in itself!) but also Andy Piercy, Martin Smith, Cathy Burton, Dave Bilbrough and many others.                                                                                                                

Ish is maybe best known for songs like “Father God I Wonder”, and he’s a terrific bloke. The Psalm is a gentle reminder that, wherever we find ourselves, The Almighty is near. It’s not that He’s watching every move, because that’s just scary. It’s rather that He’s concerned and reachable. It’s even more that, wherever we are we cannot get away from the fact that He loves us!

The passage from Matthew is an important one for Evangelists. It tells us that our job is spreading the seeds. It is also our job to do what we can to ensure that those seeds are well received, but as with Elijah, we have one main job.

The wonderful Escoffier invented what is still known, 76 years after his death, as a Kitchen Brigade. At the bottom are the washers up, going through the ranks of commis chef, sous chef, chef de partie to chef de cuisine. In a top kitchen a saucier (sauce making specialist) will never try his hand at baking; a waiter will never try his hand at cooking. So, in many ways, is the “Body of Messiah”. We are one body with many different parts; one commonwealth yet all identifiable; all “one new man” as it were; yet we all have specific roles and specialities and expertises.

Baruch HaShem!!