Zealous for the Lord

Text: Num 25:1-13
MORE LESSONS: Exo. 32:22-29
Bible Reading in One Year: Psalms 46-48

Israel had transgressed the law of God by committing sin with the Moabite women. While Moses the servant of God stood on the altar and was rebuking them for the evil they had done, one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman. He probably put his hand round her neck and leaned on her as they walked like they were not concerned with what the man of God was saying, determined to go into the camp to commit sin. Phinehas went after them with a javelin and stabbed them to death. Thereafter, Jehovah turned His anger away from the house of Israel because Phinehas was zealous to avenge unrighteousness on behalf of God. God also made a covenant of a lasting priesthood with him. The zeal and enthusiasm with which you serve God can determine what you get from Him. 

The reason many people are serving God and are not getting a return for their services and giving is because they are not doing such acts zealously. Anything you do for God reluctantly is a waste of time and energy and you will not get a reward. Worse still, you can even incur God's anger and punishment. Be zealous to do right and to serve God.

But it is not just enough to be zealous to do right; you must also be zealous to do something about the wrong that is happening around you. Phinehas took a spear and avenged iniquity. Many of us need to learn a lesson from this. Sometimes while doing things right you see a colleague doing wrong but you don't bother to correct him and thereby you have aided the wrong act. Phinehas was living right; if he was not, he wouldn't be able to correct someone else. But he also didn't stop at just living right, he went ahead to confront wrong. If you see a brother doing wrong and you turn your face the other way or encourage him, you have partaken of the sin. Instead of being tolerated, the sinning person needs to be confronted and corrected. God's blessing to Phinehas was that he and his descendants shall be priests for all times. 

By this one zealous act, Phinehas rescued the nation, distinguished himself and got his unborn children blessed. Some of the blessings we are enjoying today are the products of the zeal of our parents. This is where parents have to pay due attention to their lives. If as parents, being in church three times a week is already a problem, what will the children inherit? This man left an unforgettable heritage for his children; this should be our zealous pursuit in this generation.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that you will serve God in an extraordinary way all your life.
* Pray that the spirit of immorality will not prevail over you.
* Ask God to help you live a consecrated life.
* Pray that you will never be a partaker of sin.

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