Paul started noticing the Langfords’ house the way some men notice a rival. Every morning he stood at his kitchen window and watched his neighbor back the silver Tesla out of the three-car garage. The Langfords’ roof was new. Their lawn stayed green even in August. On weekends their windows glowed with parties while Paul’s own house sat quiet, the shingles curling at the edges like they were tired of holding on.
At first he told himself it was just irritation. Then he started keeping score. He noticed the landscaping truck that arrived every spring. The Langfords got a new SUV. Their kids came home from private school in uniforms while his daughter rode the bus. One evening he searched their names online and found photos from a trip to Italy. They looked tanned and relaxed in every picture.
Paul began working late. He took on freelance projects he didn’t need and used the extra money to spruce up his own house. He told his wife the house needed it. She didn’t argue, but she stopped asking him about his day.
The comparisons followed him into bed. He lay awake calculating what the Langfords must earn. He imagined their conversations—easy, unhurried, never about bills or braces or whether the roof could last another winter. The more he thought about their life, the less his own felt like enough.
We usually think of jealousy as a bad thing, and rightly so. Jealousy can be very destructive. Jealousy of Isaac caused the Philistines to be hostile to Isaac (see Genesis 26). Rachel’s jealousy of her sister caused discord between her and her husband (see Genesis 30). Jealousy caused Joseph’s brothers to sell Joseph into slavery (see Genesis 37:11).
On the other hand, sometimes jealousy is good, or at least permissible. Numbers 5 uses the term “jealous” to describe men whose wives were being unfaithful.
The 25th chapter of Numbers tells us when Israel was at Shittim, they started bowing down to Baal of Peor. Then an Israelite brought a Midianite woman into the camp. Both of these acts were prohibited by the Mosaic Law. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the high priest, went after the man and pierced the man and the woman with a spear. After Phinehas took action, the plague that had killed 24,000 Israelites came to an end. In today’s passage we will see that Phinehas was praised for his jealousy, meaning he is an excellent example of when jealousy is a good thing.
Num. 25:10 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Notice that Yahweh was speaking.
Num. 25:11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in My jealousy.
Look at the word “wrath”. A plague had been afflicting Israel, but the plague stopped when Phinehas took action (see Numbers 25:8).
We see the phrase “he was jealous” telling us Phinehas was jealous. We also see the term “My jealousy”. The pronoun “My” refers to Yahweh. Yahweh was jealous because the Israelites were worshipping false gods and disobeying Yahweh’s commandments. Their worship and obedience belonged to Yahweh, not Baal.
Phinehas understood that the Israelites were not giving Yahweh the loyalty He deserved, so Phinehas was jealous on behalf of Yahweh. Phinehas’ jealousy was a good thing. This means it is possible for us to be jealous in a good way.
Num. 25:12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace;
Num. 25:13 and it shall be for him and his seed after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”
Phinehas was rewarded for his jealousy with a covenant that guaranteed his seed would have a perpetual priesthood.
Num. 25:14 ¶ Now the name of the slain man of Israel who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites.
Look at the word “leader”. It was a leader from the tribe of Simeon who transgressed against Yahweh by bringing a Midianite woman into the camp. This is a warning to us that sometimes it is the leaders who initiate sin. We need to be aware that sometimes our religious leaders may lead us astray.
Num. 25:15 And the name of the Midianite woman, who was struck down, was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.
Num. 25:16 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num. 25:17 “Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them,
Num. 25:18 for they have been hostile to you with their deceptive tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”
Yahweh commanded Moses to be hostile to the Midianites. The 31st chapter of Numbers records the action Moses took against Midian.
Num. 26:1 ¶ Then it happened after the plague, that Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,
Num. 26:2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel.”
The very first chapter of Numbers tells us about a census that was conducted at Mount Sinai, one year after Israel came out of Egypt. The census recorded in chapter 26 was many years later, after Israel had wandered in the wilderness for several decades.
Num. 26:3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Notice the word “in”. Israel was in the plains of Moab. Notice the word “by”. The plain was beside the Jordan River. Notice the word “at”. The plain was at Jericho.
The colors on this map represent elevation. The dark greens are lower elevations. Browns are the higher elevations. East of Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan River, is a large plain. That is where the Israelites were camped.
Num. 26:4 “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as Yahweh has commanded Moses.” ¶ Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:
Num. 26:5 Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben:
of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites;
of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;
Num. 26:6 of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites;
of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.
Num. 26:7 These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were numbered of them were 43,730.
At the first census, the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500 men (see Numbers 1:21). They were down almost 3,000 men.
Num. 26:8 And the son of Pallu: Eliab.
Num. 26:9 And the sons of Eliab:
Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called upon by the congregation, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the congregation of Korah, when they contended against Yahweh,
Num. 26:10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that congregation died, when the fire consumed 250 men, so that they became a warning.
Num. 26:11 The sons of Korah, however, did not die.
Num. 26:12 ¶ The sons of Simeon according to their families:
of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites;
of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites;
of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;
Num. 26:13 of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites;
of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.
Num. 26:14 These are the families of the Simeonites, 22,200.
At the first census, Simeon numbered 59,300 men (see Numbers 1:23). They had lost almost two thirds of their men.
Num. 26:15 ¶ The sons of Gad according to their families:
of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites;
of Haggi, the family of the Haggites;
of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;
Num. 26:16 of Ozni, the family of the Oznites;
of Eri, the family of the Erites;
Num. 26:17 of Arod, the family of the Arodites;
of Areli, the family of the Arelites.
Num. 26:18 These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, 40,500.
At the first census, Gad numbered 45,650 men (see Numbers 1:25). They had lost almost 5,000 men.
Num. 26:19 ¶ The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.
Num. 26:20 And the sons of Judah according to their families were:
of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites;
of Perez, the family of the Perezites;
of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.
Num. 26:21 And the sons of Perez were:
of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites;
of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.
Num. 26:22 These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them, 76,500.
At the first census Judah had numbered 74,600 men (see Numbers 1:27). Judah had gained almost 2,000 men.
We typically think of jealousy as being a bad thing, and sometimes it is. The book of Proverbs warns us of the corrosive effect of jealousy (see Proverbs 14:30). On the other hand, multiple passages in the Old Testament mention the jealousy that Yahweh felt when false gods were worshipped and received the allegiance that belonged to Him (see Psalm 78:58, Ezekiel 16:42, and Zephaniah 1:18).
We see both sides of jealousy in the New Testament. Paul wrote that love is not jealous (see 1 Corinthians 13:4), meaning jealousy can be bad. On the other hand, Paul also wrote about “godly jealousy” (see 2 Corinthians 11:2), meaning there are times that being jealous is good. Paul had godly jealousy because he had betrothed the Corinthians to Christ, but just as the serpent deceived Eve, Paul feared that the Corinthians were being deceived away from pure devotion to Christ.
It is permissible, proper, and required for us to be jealous when God does not receive the loyalty, allegiance, and obedience that He deserves.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”