ZEAL for the honour and glory of God is a beautiful thing. It had its pre-eminent manifestation in the jealousy of the Lord Jesus for the glory of God the Father. That was the purest and holiest zeal the world has ever witnessed. “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak” (Is. lix. 17). No selfish element marred that pure zeal. It was His meat and drink to do the Father’s will. He did always the things that pleased Him, (John viii. 29). Anything that interfered with the supreme claims of the glory of God He denounced in words of holy indignation. When He drove out of the temple those who sold oxen and doves, and the money-changers, His disciples remembered what was foretold of the Messiah—”The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (Ps. lxxix. 9). There was a holy fire burning in His heart and in it there was none of that mixture of strange fire that is so ready, at times, to enter into the zeal of the most faithful of His servants. From the revelation He gave of that zeal it is evident that He had not only His eye but His heart fixed at all times upon the glory of God. He could say in a sense no other servant could say: “I have glorified Thee on earth” (John xvii. 4), “I do always those things that please Him” (John viii. 29). But while it is impossible for any of the sinful children of men to glorify God in this supreme sense yet He has had His own faithful servants who, in face of death, trials, temptation, fleshly inducements and worldly honours, ease, and comforts, had the glory of God in view. The best of them were far from perfect but when one reads in the New Testament what Paul suffered and notes his steadfastness in the face of it and how his heart ever turned to the glory of God’s name how empty does much of that which passes under the name of zeal among men appear. What noble examples also we have in the Old Testament such as Abraham, Moses, Phinehas, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, Hezekiah, Josiah, etc., men who were zealous for God’s glory. Yet they were but fallible and the Holy Spirit has seen meet to record wherein they came short; for His method of writing the lives of His servants is not after the manner of men.
Real zeal is not always, however, that which passes under this honoured name and as God’s Word and not man’s standard is that by which zeal is to be measured we shall now turn to it for guidance in an endeavour to single out the real from the spurious.
1. Jehu’s Zeal.
Jehu was raised up and appointed to be the divine instrument in the destruction of the wicked house of Ahab. He went about his work with effective thoroughness though he did not improve it by his loud proclamation: “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” Jehu is the type of a certain class who believe that it is necessary to make a great shouting about what they are doing themselves in advancing God’s cause. They cannot understand faithfulness unless there is the sounding of the big drum going before them. Jehu’s zeal would have been none the less effective if he allowed it to speak for itself instead of speaking for it. He did well in executing that which was right in the Lord’s eyes in destroying Baal and the house of Ahab but there is this divine indictment recorded against him: “Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan” (II Kings x. 29).
2. Elijah’s Zeal.
There are two striking incidents recorded in the life of this noble witness that stand out in bold contrast—(1) The slaying of the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and (2) his flight from Jezebel to the wilderness. The strong man bent before the threat of the wicked queen; but his God was with him. When at Mount Horeb he had an extraordinary experience. The Lord passed by and a great strong wind rent the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces; this was followed by an earthquake and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the tempestuous wind, nor the earthquake, nor in the fire. All these were followed by a still small voice. He was profoundly impressed by what he saw and heard and on being asked “What doest thou here Elijah?” he replied: “I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts . . . and I, even I only, am left.” The Lord then spoke to him giving him certain instructions and added these significant words: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.” It has been said in defence of Elijah that these seven thousand should have been more public in their witness. Be that as it may, it appears that the Lord was chiding Elijah for saying that he and he only was left. If we have interpreted the words correctly then we have here an admonition addressed to all who think that they only are left to witness on the Lord’s side. There is always the danger that we should occupy the position and think that we only are faithful. It has its counterpart in the Pharisaic claim: “I am holier than thou.” Anything said is not meant to imply that Elijah was not a noble and fearless witness of the truth for he most certainly was one of the noblest but the Lord saw it necessary to tell him he was not alone.
3. Peter’s Zeal.
There is something very attractive in the character of this warm-hearted follower of our Lord. No one can deny to him a heart deeply attached to his Master and a zeal springing from a warm, impulsive nature, which at times called down upon him the rebuke of that Master. On two occasions the Lord addressed a sharp rebuke to his impulsive disciple. (1) The first occasion was when Peter began to rebuke his Master after He had made the announcement that He was to be killed. “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” The Lord turned to him saying: “Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matt. xvi. 23). Had Peter’s desire been carried out none could be saved. It was mistaken love that prompted him to speak unadvisedly with his lips. It was not after this fashion God was to be glorified and sinners saved. Silence, reverent and submissive, was the right attitude at the moment when the solemn announcement was made. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent and heavenly wisdom is needed to show the path of duty. The Westminster Divines in enumerating the sins forbidden in the Ninth Commandment while mentioning “undue silence in a just cause” also include “speaking the truth unseasonably” and give as their proof-text Provs. xxix. 11. For instance, if one might be permitted to take a concrete case, it is the duty of a minister to condemn the sin of drunkenness but should he meet one of his congregation the worse of drink it may not be a wise thing to denounce drunkenness the next Sabbath in such terms that almost all in the congregation will know who he has specially in view without first adopting the scriptural method of speaking to the erring person in private. This may be taken as an example of “speaking the truth unseasonably.” (b) The next occasion when Peter came under the censure of his Lord was when he cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant. The sight of his Lord in the hands of His enemies was too much for the warm-hearted disciple and drawing his sword he did what he had no right to do. “Put up again thy sword into his place : for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” was the solemn rebuke administered to Peter. On another occasion the Lord told His disciples to sell their garments and buy a sword (Luke xxii. 36) but on this occasion the sword was to rest in the scabbard. All of which teaches us that while there is a time that the sword should be used there is a time when it ought not to be used. It is not always a sign of heavenly zeal for a man to be laying about him with a sword. Wisdom is required in this matter and if any man lack wisdom “let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not : and it shall be given him” (James i. 5) instead of stretching forth an itching hand to lay hold on the hilt of his sword on every occasion when only the natural impulses of his nature prompt him.
4. The Zeal of the Sons of Zebedee.
When the Lord sent messengers into one of the villages of the Samaritans to make ready for Him and when they refused to receive Him the sons of Zebedee (James and John) to whom he had given the name of Boanerges (sons of thunder) said : “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume, even as Elias did.” But He turned and rebuked them and said, “Ye know not what spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Luke ix. 54-56). Bishop Ryle’s comment on this incident is worthy of being quoted. “Here was zeal indeed,” he says, “and zeal of a most plausible kind—zeal for the honour of Christ! Here was zeal, justified and supported by a scriptural example, and that the example of no less a prophet than Elijah! But it was not a zeal according to knowledge. The two disciples in their heat, forgot that circumstances alter cases, and that the same action which may be right and justifiable at one time, may be wrong and unjustifiable at another. They forget that punishments should always be proportioned to offences, and to destroy a whole village of ignorant people for a single act of discourtesy, would have been unjust and cruel. In short the proposal of James and John was a wrong and inconsiderate one. They meant well but they greatly erred. Facts like this in the gospels are carefully recorded for our learning. Let us see to it that we mark them well, and treasure them up in our minds. It is possible to have much zeal for Christ and yet to exhibit it in most unholy and unchristian ways. It is possible to mean well and have good intentions and yet to make most grievous mistakes in our actions. It is possible to fancy that we have Scripture on our side, and to support our conduct by Scriptural quotations [and examples], and yet commit serious errors” (Expository Thoughts on St. Luke, I. 333, 334). What a comment on the request of James and John we have in the 8th chapter of Acts where it is recorded the Samaritans received the gospel and that John with Peter preached in many villages of the Samaritans (Acts viii. 25). Who knows but one of these villages was the one John and James desired to be consumed with fire. Be that as it may John is showing more of the Spirit of Christ in this than when he desired fire to come down from heaven to consume the discourteous villagers.
5. The Zeal of the Accusers of the Woman taken in adultery.
The story of this extraordinary case is told in the eight chapter of the Gospel according to John and it has many important and precious lessons. (1) The accusers (the Scribes and Pharisees) had a very good case—the woman was taken in the very act and (2) the law was on their side—the Mosaic law left no doubt as to what the issue should be and (3) they were determined to make it as public as they could (verse 3). But while bringing the woman to be judged to the Lord they had already acted as judges themselves and in this act of theirs we discover two counts in the indictment against them (1) they had not a right motive in what they were doing—”this they said tempting him, that they might have to accuse Him.” (2) They were guilty of the same sin themselves as was solemnly brought home to them so that whoever would act as judges or as accusers of the woman they were the very last that should have opened their mouth. How does the Lord deal with the case. He takes it out of the hands of men and brings it into His own court. He asks the accusers to carry out the law of Moses as set forth in Deut. xvii. 7* if any of them are “without sin.” This must mean the sin with which they charged the woman if His words are to have any point. That searching question changed the whole situation —they went out one by one being convicted by their own conscience. Did Jesus condone her sin. No, for He said: “Go and sin no more.” What then is meant by His words: “Neither do I condemn thee.” Does it not mean that He will not condemn her to death? On another occasion he said to the sons of Zebedee as quoted above: “The Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Luke, ix. 56). The sheer hypocrisy of accusing and condemning others for sins of which we are guilty ourselves rules us out of the court of heaven as judges. Such, as we understand the narrative, seems to be one of the clearest lessons to be learned from it. It does not teach that the sin of which the woman was guilty is condoned by our Lord but it makes it very plain that her accusers were in like condemnation when He who is the light of the world put the searching question to them and revealed to them that He knew their character and history.
*“The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death.” While the penalty for adultery in the law of Moses was death yet it would appear from Ezek. xvi. 40, that stoning was the form in which the sentence was carried out in later times.
5. The Zeal of the Pharisees.
There is something very touching about the way the Apostle approaches the question of the casting away of his kinsmen according to the flesh. To him it was no mere historical matter with which he was dealing—it touched his very heart. He saw the rock on which they made shipwreck. “Brethren,” are his moving words, “my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. x. 1-3). All the zeal, even of one who could say, as touching the law blameless, was not only in vain but culpable inasmuch as there was not a submission to God’s way of salvation. Earnestness, sincerity and activity about the things of God outwardly unless there is truth in the inward parts will never take the place of that submission to God’s way of salvation that is required of us if we are to be saved.
In the foregoing paragraphs we have culled a few examples from Holy Scripture in which that which is generally known as zeal is weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. These things were written aforetime for our learning and while no reverent reader of Scripture will ever delight in exposing the failings of God’s servants or make them an excuse for their own shortcomings yet they are recorded there for our warning and if we are so-minded as to think that they should never be referred to or spoken about we are going perilously near to arraigning the wisdom of the Holy Ghost for setting up these lighthouses on the rocky coasts of time. We conclude as we began, zeal for the glory of God is a beautiful thing and there are a thousand fields in which it may be cultivated but alas! alas! when weighed in the unerring balances of the sanctuary how few of us know what it really means and as one thinks of one’s efforts the words of the Saviour come home with force to the conscience—”So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants : we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke xvii. 10).
Pride cannot sit so high but Justice will sit above her.— Thomas Brooks.