Zech.
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
Zechariah 12:10
Zechariah 12:10
Mourning
Talmud 2 explanations of mourning
“What is the cause of the mourning [mentioned in the last cited verse]? — R. Dosa and the Rabbis differ on the point. One explained, ‘The cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph’, and the other explained, ‘The cause is the slaying of the Evil Inclination (yetzer hara)’. It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, “And they shall look upon me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son…”
-Sukkah 52a, Soncino Press Edition
-Slaying of yetzer Hara
-Slaying of Mashiach ben Yosef
Yetzer HaRa (evil inclination)
Gen. Kayin and sin
Yakov4
Matt. Yeshua on what’s in mans heart
Pinchas the War Messiah
Moses raised an army of twelve thousand Israelites and sent them to make war on the
Midianites. He also sent Pinchas into battle along with several holy items.
This was a Holy War.
Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them.
(Numbers 31:6)
Although Pinchas led the army into the battle, he was not the high priest. His father Eleazar had the office of the high priesthood, but the Talmud refers to Pinchas as one “Anointed for War (Meshuach Milchamah),or similarly “War Messiah.” The “Anointed for War” was a priest that marched out with the armies of Israel and served as their intercessor and representative of the Almighty on the battlefield.
Typically, the Anointed for War was not the high priest but a deputy of the high priest. As the army prepared for war, the priest designated as Anointed for War rallied the soldiers, encouraged them, emboldened them, prayed over them, and
accompanied them to the battlefield (see Deuteronomy 20).
Dev 20:2
“
When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people…
“
The “Anointed for War” alludes to King Messiah who will take the battlefield like David His father and fight the wars of the LORD. He fights with supernatural weapons: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6).
The Almighty anoints Him with the Spirit of power to overcome the enemies of Israel.
The Torah says that Pinchas brought “the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm” with him into battle. Interestingly, the Torah also specifically states that Pinchas brought these holy vessels. The supernatural weapons prevailed in the battle.
What are “the holy vessels”? Jewish tradition explains that Pinchas carried the High priest’s breastpiece with the Urim and the Thummim in them so that the army could consult with the Almighty on the field of battle. The Talmud explains that the “holy vessels” refers to “the ark with the tablets which The ark represented the presence of God on the battlefield.
When the ark would set out, Moses said, “Rise up, O LORD! And let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You” (Numbers 10:35).
Pinchas had also carried the silver trumpets created for rallying the nation and sounding the battle cry. The trumpets invoke the coming of Messiah as it is said in Isaiah:
“a great shofar will be blown” (Isaiah 27:13).
Psalm 110 depicts the Messiah as both priest and warrior.
He is the priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” but He also shatters kings and leaves foreign nations filled with corpses:
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; therefore He will lift up His head. (Psalm 110:4–7)
The Lord told the children of Israel to take revenge upon Midyanim in war. The children of Israel did what God had commanded however they kept for
themselves booty, their flocks, goods, and other things, as well as keeping the women alive. Though the children of Israel obeyed G-d’s command to destroy Midyanim, they kept some of the things which caused them to fall into sin and break faith with the Lord.
In his classic work on ethics and philosophy, Chovot Ha’levavot / Duties of the Hearts, Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Pakudah z”l (Saragossa, Spain; early 11th century) relates the story of a tzaddik who met victorious warriors returning from battle. He said to them,
“It is premature to rejoice, for you have won the battle and collected booty only in the small war. The greatest battle, though, still lies ahead.”
The soldiers asked him, “What battle is that?”
He answered, “The fight against the yetzer hara and its agents.”
–Until here from Chovot Ha’levavot, Sha’ar Yichud Ha’maaseh Ch.5
Difference between the Sin of the Golden Calf and the Sin of Baal Pe’or
Worldly things have a tendency to draw and pull upon our desires, especially things
which are satisfying to the sinful Yetzer HaRa (will of the flesh). In the Torah we are shown how the children of
Israel struggled and wrestled with their thought lives, relationships, and finances. These are the very same things we wrestle with today. In my own life I sometimes hold onto little things which I am not quite willing yet to give up which is wrong. Just like the children of Israel, my passions are strong, and my behavioral patterns run deep along with a desire to love and serve God. I am certain you too have similar struggles in life. For example, we fall into the habit of eating too much or becoming the victim of negative attitudes to name a few. As believers we have such great victory in Yeshua but then we turn around and find ourselves in another great defeat. Believe me, you are not alone if you are feeling this way; every believer from the day they place their faith in Yeshua has struggled with sin. It is the war that wages between our spirit and our bodies.
There is a connection. Our evil inclination put Him to death…
Many have asked the question “who killed Mashiach?” And of course many blame the Roman Authorities, the Jewish people, the P’rushim and Tzadokim, the Zealots, and so on. But in reality two facts remain: 1) We all put Him to death– we are all responsible, because of our evil inclination. Not only this, but also 2) Mashiach didn’t resist; He laid down His life. Slaying the evil inclination; putting to death our carnal desires (whether they be from us or ideas that the world has sold to us), and submitting to the will of God