The Problem With Zeal

2Ki 10:16  and saith, `Come with me, and look on my zeal for Jehovah;' and they cause him to ride in his chariot. (Young's Literal Translation)

2Ki 10:31  But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

(NKJV)

What were the sins of Jeroboam?  These are the main ones:

1.  1Ki 12:28  Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!"

2.  1Ki 12:31  He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

3.  Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.

1 Kings 12:32-33

Jehu had zeal; plenty of it.  But the Word of the Lord accuses him of two things:

1.  He didn't walk in the law of the Lord, and,

2.  He didn't depart from the sins of Jereboam.

Zeal without fear of the Lord is destructive.  There are many in our day that have zeal for the Lord.  They undertake all kinds of activities to try to promote His name and get others to pay attention to Him but it isn't according to the pattern God has called for in His Word.  Thus the world gets a mixed message.  The call that goes out from these people tends to be more self serving than God serving.  Note Jehu said "come see my zeal."

Zeal without reverence for God allows us, to undertake things in His name which He didn't ordain and it produces works of the flesh.  Nothing coming out of the flesh will ever produce righteousness and holiness.

Zeal without God fear allows us to ordain people to ministry that aren't qualified.  It allows us to erect edifices that aren't commissioned by God and it allows us to justify worship that is unholy and not pleasing to Him.

Zeal will allow you to do something simply because it "feels" good and right.

Zeal without the knowledge of what is holy keeps the flesh firmly entrenched.  It won't challenge the flesh and its desires.  The flesh will never have to get out of the driver's seat under these circumstances. 

Zeal that isn't anchored in the Word will give the devil an open door to work under the cloak of something supposedly good and right.

Do we need zeal in the kingdom?  Absolutely!  But it needs to be the zeal of the Lord not a zeal for the Lord.

Both these men were commissioned by God to do something.  They were anointed to do what they did.  And they stood at a key moment in time to make a difference.  Then they deviated.  The call became about them instead of God and His plans.  Their zeal took a deadly turn.

David had zeal; plenty of it.  But note that David spent time in God's presence and in His word.  It helped keep him on the right track.

My prayer for myself is that I won't ever have a lack of zeal but may it always be centered in God with a passion to promote His kingdom and no other.