Single lesson
Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas
Numbers 25:1–18
Israel was drawn into false worship at Peor, and the events that followed showed how serious this rebellion was.
Before you teach
While Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to be unfaithful with the daughters of Moab. These women invited them to sacrifices for their gods. The Israelites ate and bowed down there, and Israel joined itself to Baal Peor. The LORD’s anger burned against them. The LORD told Moses to take the chiefs of the people and expose them before the LORD in daylight, so that his fierce anger might turn away. Moses then told Israel’s judges to kill the men under their authority who had joined themselves to…
Explain the central teaching of Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas, using two details from the reading. Israel was drawn into false worship at Peor, and the events that followed showed how serious this rebellion was.
Welcome: Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas
5 minIntroduce “Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas” and locate Numbers 25:1–18. Israel was drawn into false worship at Peor, and the events that followed showed how serious this rebellion was. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Numbers 25:1, Numbers 25:10, Numbers 25:18
Read and explain the passage
12 minWhile Israel was staying at Shittim, the people began to be unfaithful with the daughters of Moab. These women invited them to sacrifices for their gods. The Israelites ate and bowed down there, and Israel joined itself to Baal Peor. The LORD’s anger burned against them.
Then one Israelite man brought a Midianite woman before his brothers, in full sight of Moses and the whole congregation. Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw it. He took a spear, went after the man into the inner part of the dwelling, and killed them both. After that, the plague among Israel was stopped.
The LORD said that Phinehas had turned away his wrath because he had been zealous for his God among the people. So God gave him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood for his offspring. The LORD also told Moses to harass the Midianites and strike them, because they had deceived Israel in the matter of Peor and in the incident involving Cozbi.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Numbers 25:3, Numbers 25:2, Numbers 25:1, Numbers 25:7, Numbers 25:8, Numbers 25:6, Numbers 25:13, Numbers 25:11, Numbers 25:18
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with ““The LORD told Moses to take the chiefs of the people and expose them before the LORD in daylight, so that his fierce anger might turn away.” Which details explain how the account reaches this point?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. Israel was drawn into false worship at Peor, and the events that followed showed how serious this rebellion was. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Numbers 25:4, Numbers 25:5, Numbers 25:6, Numbers 25:7, Numbers 25:8, Numbers 25:13, Numbers 25:11, Numbers 25:18
Make and respond: Choices and outcomes evidence map
12 minWork on “Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas: Choices and outcomes evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Numbers 25:1, Numbers 25:10, Numbers 25:18
Closing: return to Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas
3 minRevisit Numbers 25:1–18. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Numbers 25:1, Numbers 25:10, Numbers 25:18
Questions to explore
“The LORD told Moses to take the chiefs of the people and expose them before the LORD in daylight, so that his fierce anger might turn away.” Which details explain how the account reaches this point?
The LORD told Moses to take the chiefs of the people and expose them before the LORD in daylight, so that his fierce anger might turn away. Moses then told Israel’s judges to kill the men under their authority who had joined themselves to Baal Peor. At that time the people were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Numbers 25:4, Numbers 25:5, Numbers 25:6
How does this moment affect the rest of the account: “Then one Israelite man brought a Midianite woman before his brothers, in full sight of Moses and the whole congregation.”?
Then one Israelite man brought a Midianite woman before his brothers, in full sight of Moses and the whole congregation. Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw it. He took a spear, went after the man into the inner part of the dwelling, and killed them both. After that, the plague among Israel was stopped.
Numbers 25:7, Numbers 25:8, Numbers 25:6
“The LORD said that Phinehas had turned away his wrath because he had been zealous for his God among the people.” How does this ending connect with the beginning?
The LORD said that Phinehas had turned away his wrath because he had been zealous for his God among the people. So God gave him a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood for his offspring. The LORD also told Moses to harass the Midianites and strike them, because they had deceived Israel in the matter of Peor and in the incident involving Cozbi.
Numbers 25:13, Numbers 25:11, Numbers 25:18
Make, think or respond
Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas: Choices and outcomes evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “Words or actions”, “What happens next”, “Verse reference”.
- Read Numbers 25:1–18. Use “Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Compare two actions or statements in the account and explain their different outcomes.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Israel at Peor and the Zeal of Phinehas” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Numbers 25:1–18. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Numbers 25:1–18. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Numbers 25
1 Israel stayed in Shittim; and the people began to play the prostitute with the daughters of Moab;
2 for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. The people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3 Israel joined himself to Baal Peor, and Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel.
4 Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”
5 Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor.”
6 Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
7 When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the middle of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand.
8 He went after the man of Israel into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.
9 Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
10 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn’t consume the children of Israel in my jealousy.
12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace.
13 It shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ ”
14 Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites.
15 The name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur. He was head of the people of a fathers’ house in Midian.
16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
17 “Harass the Midianites, and strike them;
18 for they harassed you with their wiles, wherein they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the incident regarding Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.