Quick question: What’s the only thing that could make a sin-induced plague even worse?
Answer: More sin. Specifically, more sin that’s done in broad daylight of everyone in the camp and within close proximity to a holy place.
That type of action should normally evoke a pretty hostile response. After all, if someone tells an obvious lie inside a church building (and yes, I know there’s nothing inherently sacred about a building), we do a double take. “Did he really say that? And here? Isn’t God watching?”
It’s surprising then that Phinehas seems to be the only one that reacted to the transgression that took place in Numbers 25:6, which describes a man taking a Midianite woman and having relations with her near the Tent of meeting.
The specifics are a little fuzzy. Was he having public sex in front the Tabernacle? Was he consummating a marriage in his personal tent?
Whatever it was, we know from the Text that (a) it was in the sight of all Israel and (b) in full view of Moses.
That leads to more questions, though. If Moses knew about it, why didn’t he respond? Why was it that Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, was the one to take a spear and end the spectacle?
In my opinion, this passage says less about Moses and more about Phinehas, but you are welcome to drag Moses for his apathy if you want. Several Jewish commentators have, for varying reasons. Some argue that his silence created a leadership vacuum that Phinehas rushed to fill.
The more interesting argument is that Moses was caught in a paradox. He had married a Midianite woman himself (remember Numbers 12 with Aaron and Miriam?). Because of that, what right did he have to say that this relationship was wrong?
But all sources are in agreement that Phinehas acted here because of his own zeal for the Law. In so many ways, he is the exact opposite of his grandfather: Whereas Aaron turned a blind eye to sin on occasion and sometimes even helped, Phinehas’ zeal propelled him to execute an offender on the spot. Literally.
We can’t ignore just how drastic a step this was, either. According to Numbers 25:15, the male offender was Zimri, a leader’s son among the Midianites, and the woman was Cozbi, the daughter of an elite Midianite family. Killing both of them without fair trial risked both civil war and war with the Midianites.
If there was any doubt in Israel’s mind as to whether this was execution was warranted, God puts that to rest in Numbers 25:17: “Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them.” According to the next verse, the deception led by Balaam was seen as a direct religious attack, and it needed to be stopped ASAP.
The Text doesn’t villify Moses for his inaction, as just or unjust as it may be. But it does exalt Phinehas for taking the necessary drastic steps to stop a sin from becoming much worse.