Pinchas “Phineas”
Numbers 25:10–30:1
1 Kings 18:46–19:21
1 Kings 10-12

The Feasts! Again?

This Torah portion is like a roller coaster of emotion. We begin with the account of Phineas, who takes matters into his own hands and decides that sin will not enter into his camp. His act of zeal makes a person wonder why there is not more written about him. A covenant is made specifically with him, yet he disappears from the forefront. One would think that because of his actions he would have greater exposure and maybe even a place in leadership, but he just seems to slip back into the crowd.

We then move on to Moses and instructions by Yah Himself to climb the mountain and look into the place his feet would not touch for many years to come. These words cannot be read without a deep sense of sadness. The desire to be transported back in time and plead the case for Moses is so overwhelming, even now so many years later. In almost two full books of scripture we have been a part of the life of this man, and now to see him fall short brings a deep grieving within.

Something interesting and even a bit strange happens after these accounts however. Stop and think for a moment. If you were writing The Book and were contemplating the next chapter, what would you write about after the events of Phineas and Moses? Would you write a chapter on how to have the zeal of Phineas? How about one on not allowing your emotions to overtake your actions?

Take a look at what Yah decides to write on after these two important accounts. He brings the people back to The Feasts! What? What do Feasts have to do with two people lying dead in a tent and a leader sentenced to not enter the Promised Land? The answer for us today? Everything! Let me explain.

Of course reading the accounts of Phineas and Moses year after year do impact us. But we perceive them as accounts of other people and their service to Yah, failing to internalize them. If we’re not very careful we will externalize these accounts and not allow them to do the work needed and intended. The Feasts however are something we take an active part in ourselves, week after week and year after year. Yes, it is important to learn of others who served Him, but what is far more important is how we are serving Him today. Scripture is not written to give us a great knowledge of history, but rather to produce wisdom for life today. The Feasts bring forth a weekly, monthly and yearly examination of each of our lives today. The Feasts help to keep us on His course.

It would be an interesting study, and one I challenge you to consider, to see how many times, just in Torah, we are instructed to observe The Feasts. The answer will no doubt show us just how important these days are. But is it enough to simply keep The Feasts? Should we not also be asking how we are to keep them? Here is my question. When you and I consider the coming Fall Feasts, how are we planning for them? Will we simply do what we did last year, or the year before, or the year before that? You get the message. Consider for a moment, “Has keeping The Feasts become just like reading the account of Phineas and Moses year after year?” Is it just something we do or a place we go, so that we can check it off our To Do list the same as checking off that we read last week’s Torah portion?

If over and over again in Scripture, Yah reminds us to keep His Feasts, is it not of equal importance that we consider not only keeping them, but also how we are keeping them? I dare say that keeping the Feasts has lost its meaning for some people and has become no more that another tradition with a biblical slant. If we’re not very careful they will have no more meaning than showing up for church on Christmas, Mother’s Day or Easter. Hard word, is it not? Hard, but no doubt worth the asking. In fact, if you are afraid to ask yourself this question, it has already been answered.

The Fall Feasts are approaching rapidly. Let us take another look through this Torah portion at not only the question of whether we are observing his Feasts, but how we are doing so and with what attitude. I for one believe that if we will do so, we will truly find the zeal of Phineas and maybe even His strength to help us overcome times of weakness such as Moses encountered.

The Feasts! Again? If they are this important to Him, just how important should they be to us? Keep in mind though, it is not only THAT we keep them, but HOW we keep them!