Zeal for His Own Name

I used to think that the zeal of the Lord was representative of His anger or judgments of men... That was an accurate picture of what His zeal is, but very incomplete....The zeal of God is so much of who He is and describes His emotional makeup-letting us know how He functions. He is not stoic or unaffected-- He is full of zeal, fiery passion over mankind and over His own name.

We know this because through Scripture, this is how He reveals Himself.

When John sees the One seated on the throne in Revelation 4, he sees Him as a jasper and a sardius (or carnelian) stone. A Jasper is like a diamond, clear and radiant. A sardius is red and represents the firey zeal of the Lord.

Revelation 4:3- And he who sat there [on the throne] had the appearance of a jasper and a sardius stone...

He is like a sardius stone....

Other scriptures talk about the zeal of the Lord as well... Song of Songs 5 describes Jesus as being radiant and ruddy( inclined to a healthy reddish color; Reddish in color, especially of the face, fire, or sky)...and also about the love of God being jealous, strong as death, and demanding as the grave. Isaiah calls Him a zealous mighty man of war.

Deuteronomy 4:24- For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous (passionate) God.

Isaiah 42:13- The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war He stirs up His zeal.

The first commandment in Exodus 20:5 says you shall have no other Gods before Me, for the Lord your God is a jealous God... jealousy implies passion over His own name and for us. He is jealous that we would worship Him alone.

The zeal of Lord is also described as accomplishing the will of the Lord on the Earth. Isaiah talks about the zeal of the Lord more than any other book in the Bible.

Isaiah 9:7- Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

2 Kings 19:3 and Isaiah 37:32- For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant... the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this...

The zeal of the Lord will do this. Do what? Establish the government of Jesus on the earth. Save a remnant in Jerusalem. Accomplish His purposes. What will do this? The zeal of the Lord.

Jesus himself had zeal for the Lord. In John 2, after Jesus drives out the merchants from the temple, His disciples were noted as remembering Psalm 69:9 where it is written, "zeal for Your house will consume me". Jesus is passionate for His own house of worship. He is passionate for His own name. And the Father is passionate for the name of Jesus. So much of the end time judgments are about that very thing. The Father gave Jesus glory before the foundation of the world and desires that He would have the glory.

So the zeal of the Lord is clearly an important concept to really delve into. It is clear in Scripture that one of the primary lenses through which we should view the Lord is through the lens of His zeal. In this we find understanding of His character, the way he desires to reveal Himself to men, and His ways of dealing with mankind.

In considering the zeal of God, I am blown away by the apparent, obvious, overwhelming passion that God has for mankind. This concept is understood, at least in part, in the church today. Everything is about the Love of God... He loves you, He wants to heal you, He wants to prosper you, come to Jesus, you'll have a better life. About the benefits of knowing Christ, to humanity.

But today in considering the zeal of God for mankind, I am struck by the revelation of how much God loves Himself. It is His zeal for His own name that causes Him to have such passion for the sons of men.

I think that alot of times in thinking about the Love of God it is easy to just consider the benefits of knowing God-- Healing, salvation itself, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit, better quality of life, even the feeling of experiencing His presence-- all of the wonderful benefits that are ours in knowing Christ Jesus and having fellowship with Him. When considering relationship with the Lord, I oftentimes only consider the impact of it on my heart, emotional status, or physical reality.

But today I am struck with the fact that all of those things are to one holy end-- the renown of His name and the inheritance of the Son. Humanity, the crowning jewel of all creation, is meant to be an inheritance for Jesus-- a Bride for the eternal Bridegroom.

Ephesians 5:25-27, 31-32- Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church ans gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her with the washing of water and of the Word, so that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish...

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

So we are the Bride of Christ and He is saving us daily that He might present a holy Bride to Himself.... It is not our interests that are number one priority to Him. That is a tough pill to swallow... especially when in our humanity, we want everything to be about us.

All of these benefits are yes, for our good-- for MY good-- but htey are to produce love in my heart for Jesus, to draw me near to Him, so that I may glorify Him and become equally yoked in love as the true Bride of Christ-- His inheritance and great desire.

Colossians 1: 13-20, 22

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. [WHY? Because...] He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth...All things were created through Him and for Him (John 1). And He is before all things and Him all things hold together (Heb. 1) And he is the head of the body, the Church (Bride, see Eph 5). He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might be preeminent.

For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through Him to reconcile to himself all things....He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.

It is all in order to present to Jesus, or, really, for Jesus to present to Himself, a spotless Bride as His inheritance. Why??? Because that's what Jesus asked for.

John 17:24, 26- Father I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory which you have given me because You loved me before the foundation of the world. That the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.

Again, it's His passion for His own name, His own glory. His love for Himself that causes Him to save us, to redeem us. Yes, He is passionate over us... Because He made us in His image, with passionate emotions, to reflect back to Him the glory that He dwells in.

It is all for His glory, His fame, His renown, His glorious inheritance.

This makes alot of things make sense... like the end times... but more on that later. This is long enough...

*Father, impart to my heart a great worth for Your name. Holy Spirit, come do what You love to do and bring a witness of the Son to my heart. Let me know His infinite worth and the glory of who He is*