Phinehas, Violence and Jesus

Preamble

When is it kosher to kill in God's name?  That even a loving God can kill is perhaps best grounded in God's self-love, which perhaps lies behind the concept of holiness.  Room for God's anger and wrath is made when God is not given his due, that is, when God is not loved appropriately.  That God is justified in using violence does not mean that humans are justified using violence in God's name.   I have pondered this question when trying to come up with a gambit in arguing with Taliban, Al Qaeda and other jihadist-types who kill in God's name rather liberally.  No one likes to be guilty of logical fallacies and as a Christian I am aware of aspects of my own religious tradition that have similarities with Islamic terrorism.  I intend here to discuss the incident recorded in Numbers 25 involving the character Phinehas and how it relates to terrorism and violence.

The Problem Posed by Phinehas

Numbers 25:1-5 recounts how Israel, while staying at Shittim on the east bank of the Jordan, began having sexual relations with Moabite women.  This leads to idolatry and God's anger is kindled against Israel.  God orders Moses to impale all the chiefs of the people.  Moses orders the judges to kill any who yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor (note that Moses seems to change God's original command).  So far so good.  God is justified in ordering the killing not because he is not loving but because he loves himself.

Numbers 25:6-15 recounts the audacity of a certain Israelite male (Zimri) and a Midianite female (Cozbi).  This couple flaunts itself before Moses and the whole Israelite congregation and enters a tent presumably to engage in sexual activity.  This is when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest enters the picture.  He takes a spear, enters the couples' tent and kills both of them with one thrust of the spear.

The problem with this is that on the surface, Phinehas' act is best described as downright murder, a heinous act of terrorism.  However, God seems to approve of Phinehas' act.  God stops the plague which presumably resulted from the type of sin of which the Zimri/Cozbi act was a token.  He then tells Moses that Phinehas "has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by manifesting such zeal among them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did not consume the Israelites."  God then rewards Phinehas with a covenant of peace and a perpetual priesthood "because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the Israelites."

How can God approve of this act of vigilante justice?  Are we on the same footing with the 911 terrorists who thought they were serving God?

Some Reflections

Many of the story's incidentals do not seem to help much with our puzzle.  It's true that Moses seems to be passive and that perhaps is to be faulted in not taking "official" steps needed to bring Zimri and Cozbi to justice.  However, the text does not state this and there is little to recommend this.  It would not help much because we can still fault Phinehas for acting outside the official channels.  There is no indication in the text that Phinehas had any divine prompting.

I would argue, rather, that this story represents a rather singular moment in Israel's history and that Phinehas' so impressed God because Phinehas was acting as a representative for Israel.  It should be noted that both Zimri and Cozbi represented a larger group.  Zimri was the son of Salu, the head of an ancestral house of the Simeonites and Cozbi was the daughter of Zur, the head of an ancestral house in Midian.  Phinehas' act was singular and cannot be made a template for other nefarious acts.

My Solution

My "solution" is to argue that God did not approve of Phinehas' act, but approved of Phinehas' zeal (Compare what Paul says in Romans 10:2).  Perhaps God will hold Phinehas responsible for the act even if God approved of the zeal in which it was carried out.  There is no contradiction in holding this line.  In this regard, it is interesting to point out that in one of the main allusions to this story elsewhere in the Bible, namely, Psalms 106:28-31, we are not even told of the act Phinehas' committed.  Perhaps this is so because it was not the act but Phinehas' obedience that was atoning.

The Jesus' Connection

It was been pointed out by many that Phinehas has many similarities with Jesus.  Both atoned by obedience (or so I would argue).  Though it could be said that Zimri and Cozbi were sort of human sacrifices, that aspect is not highlighted one bit (no mention of blood for example).  Likewise, Jesus' death atoned more by obedience and not as an animal-like sacrifice.  Just as Phinehas used a spear, Jesus was himself speared (John 19:34).  There could be no better contrast than between the way of Jesus and the way of Phinehas.  Jesus was obedient to God by not retaliating against evil, whereas Phinehas was obedient despite retaliating against evil.

Upshot

I started this discussion by my worries about arguing with Islamic terrorists who kill in God's name at will.  My Christian faith is that the way of Jesus is the Way.  We honor God best by loving people.  Even the argument with Islamic terrorists is affected.  One of my philosophy professors, Hilary Putnam, said it well when he claimed that we will not really win in an argument with the likes of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.  The best we can do is to change the conditions that breeds this fanaticism.  And wanting to change those conditions could very well require loving Muslims and wanting their lives to be as good as possible.  That is the Way of Jesus.