Christian Living

ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE HAS EATEN ME UP

by Chi Onwuchekwa
02/14/19
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“Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up’” John 2:17 (NKJV)

Welcome to this edition of the Awakening Call. Our topic for this week is zeal for the house of God and I am hoping that as we read this we can give a little time for introspection – just so see if we are truly zealous for God and His house and if yes, just how zealous we are.

In John 2:14-16, Jesus’ disciples witness how He overturned the tables of and drove out those who traded in the temple. In observing this, they remembered the words of Psalm 69:9 and concluded that what they had just witnessed was a result of Jesus’ zeal for His Father’s house.

The Oxford Dictionary defines zeal as having:

“… great energy, fervor, devotion, commitment or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective…”

In other words, the disciples saw what Jesus did as proof of His fervent commitment, His devotion and enthusiastic pursuit of God’s Kingdom.

I believe that it is absolutely impossible to know the LORD and not be devoted to or be fervently enthusiastic about Him and all that concerns Him. A sincere appraisal of God – His person, His ways, His wisdom, His love, His acts will show us One who is truly worthy of our fervent love and devotion. Thus, being zealous for the LORD and His house is the only viable option if we are to remain faithful to the faith till the end. The cold and lukewarm in the faith will struggle to stand in these times.

There has emerged an unrighteous boldness in defying our God and His kingdom values. Personally I cannot find any other faith or ‘religion’ that most men have had the audacity or temerity to insult more than Christianity. Our God has been called all kinds of disrespectful names by men who are literarily sustained by His breathe. God’s truth and position on things are continually being challenged and overturned by laws and government regulations all over the world.

I have observed that there are religions that most are reluctant and careful to attack publicly; religions that would not be silent in the face of any form of disrespect or insult to their founders. But when our God, the LORD GOD, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Preserver, The Sovereign Ruler of all worlds known and unknown is insulted, Christendom is quiet. Yes, ours is not a physically violent faith, but is there anything illegal in being zealous for God and for His Kingdom? Is there anything wrong with expressing righteous anger and indignation against any form of disrespect or dishonor to the LORD our God?

So many issues have raged against the church in the last decade or two, but our silence in the face of it all is the loudest and most profound response. How many of us can stay silent and unresponsive to verbal or physical assault to our biological parents? Not many I guess. So then, how is it that the majority who claim to be sons of God have kept silent in the face of persecutions against the Church and of degrading and disrespectful statements against God and His Kingdom? Does our silence not stem from a lack of zeal and devotion to the Lord our God?

Does God want us zealous for Him? Yes. Isaiah 59:17 describes our God as the One who is “…clad with zeal as a cloak.” If we indeed are made in the image of God who is clad with zeal, we also must be a people who are clothed with zeal as a cloak.

The qualification for zeal though is that it must be based on knowledge – of God and of His will and purposes. Though zeal connotes passion, yet it is not an all emotional experience. In Psalm 119:139, the zealous gives reason for his zeal. He states:

“My zeal has consumed me

 Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.”

Jesus also had a reason for His zealous acts in John 2:14-16 – He knew that the house of God is meant to be a house of prayer.

Also, our zeal must be visible. The overturning of the tables and the driving out of the traders from the temple were outward manifestations of Jesus’ zeal towards God. If indeed we are devoted and passionate about God, then we must take steps to express that zeal for zeal connotes fervency and passion – deep emotions that spill over into our physical actions. In 2 Kings 10:16, Jehu says to Jehonadab – “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.”

In Numbers 25:1-13, we read of how the zeal of a single Israelite turned away the wrath of God from the nation. And God rewarded him with a covenant of peace for being zealous to challenge those who dishonored Him. While, thankfully, we now stand under a better covenant of the Blood of Jesus that has turned the wrath of God away from us, we must however find godly ways to speak and affirm the truth about God and of His Kingdom and His infallible Word. A quote ascribed to Edmund Burke states: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Does it not seem true that one of the strongest reasons why God’s values and position on things have been continually eroded in this generation is that we, who are God’s salt and light, have chosen to stay silent and passive in the battle between good and evil?

I pray that God will this day baptize us with His Holy Ghost and fire; that the fire of the Spirit will consume every coldness and lukewarmness in our hearts; and that the renewed zeal of as many as read this article will “… stir up the zeal of the majority” in the household of faith – “ Corinthians 9:2.

Shalom!

Chi Onwuchekwa