He is the Zealous One

By Yolandie Mostert (May 2023)

 

His eyes are like doves by the rivers of waters (Songs 5:12a) 

 

Today’s message will focus on the eyes of Jesus and the zeal we can find in His eyes. John had the privilege to see Jesus in the fullness of His power and glory. He describes Jesus’ eyes as flaming fires. The flames in His eyes speaks of His zeal. We can see zeal, passion and devotion is His eyes.

and His eyes like a flame of fire (Rev 1:14b)

… will Your jealousy burn like fire?  (Ps 79:5) 

The word translated as jealousy also means zeal.

 

Devotion in doves eyes

Let’s pause for a moment to look at the devotion of Jesus. All through His life on earth His eyes were focused on His Father. The reference to the eyes like doves enforces this image. Doves have binocular vision or one in which both eyes are used synchronously to produce a single image. They focus on only the object at which they are looking and everything else fades. Jesus looked at His Father and then acted. Every action that Jesus did on earth, He saw from His Father

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. (Joh 5:19) 

We should fix our eyes on Jesus with the same devotion. Everything that we see Him doing, we must do the same. He set the perfect example. When our lives can be arranged in this way – to listen and do – to see and do – people will see His fullness and glory in us. Then hearts will be changed. Not through religion and a lot of talking. No, through living with our eyes fixed on His eyes and doing what He is doing.

 

All of this can sound very poetic leading to the next question: ‘but how do I see what He does?’. In the same manner in which Jesus saw what His Father did. He has spent a lot of time with His Father. Sometimes all through the night alone on a mountain in prayer. The more time that we will spend in His presence, the better we will learn to see in order to do.

 

Seven Spirits

Back to the eyes of Jesus that burns with zeal. What is the fire that can be seen in His eyes? The Bible gives us the answer. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit – the seven Spirits that burn before the throne of God. The seven Spirits are sent out into all the earth. Let’s read Revelation 5:6.

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (Rev 5:6)

Why are the seven Spirits sent out, still in the context of His eyes? I believe we find the answer in 2 Chronicles 16:9.

For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His. (2 Chron 16:9 AMP)

His eyes are not searching for a single mistake in order to punish us. I still remember the old Sunday school song about this. No, His eyes are searching for hearts loyal to Him. Why does He search for them? So that He can support them and show Himself strong on behalf of them. The passion and fiery eyes of our God is praise worthy.

 

Plumb line

We find another reference to the seven eyes of God moving throughout the earth in book of Zechariah.  The Lord rejoiced when He saw the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. There was plumb line in his hand because he was busy rebuilding the temple.

Who [with reason] despises the day of small things (beginnings)? For these seven [eyes] shall rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD which roam throughout the earth. (Zec 4:10 AMP) 

The new temple looked inferior in the eyes of the people that knew the former temple. The Lord did not agree. He was glad about the rebuilding process. This should encourage us. Even though people around us disdain and talk down to what we are doing for the Kingdom, God’s eyes are not focused on what men sees as great. No, His seven eyes are focused on what we have in our hand – the plumb line. The instrument that is used to build a straight wall. Spiritually, we use the plumbline to measure between truth and lies. God looks at the intension of our heart and how that translates into zealous action.

 

The zeal of our King

We need to understand and appreciate the zeal of our King so that we can have the same zeal. There are plenty of Scriptures that speaks of God’s zeal. Due to time and space, I’m only going to share three. This shows us who our King is. He doesn’t sit passively on His throne. He’s passionate. He is the devoted, zealous One.

The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will stir up His zeal like a man of war; He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies. (Isa 42:13 AMP)

In one of the previous messages we looked at Jesus Christ as the Warrior. In this Scripture we can see that facet again. Whatever He does, He does it with zeal. Many times we only have a picture of Jesus with a still, soft voice. Yes, He is that too, but in this verse, He is described as the One that shouts out. He is a warrior, a man of war, raising a war cry – full of zeal.

 

Maybe this shocks you or messes around with your picture of who He is. I want to encourage you to study the Scriptures yourself. This is what makes Him so wonderful and unfathomable. We will never reach the full depths of the richness of who He is. He is all these facets at the same time. He is soft and loving, while giving a war cry with zeal. Learn to love every facet of who He is. Don’t just pick out the ones that you like. Ask the Holy Spirit for a revelation of His fullness.

 

Another Scripture about His zeal. He wraps Himself in a mantle of zeal.

He put on righteousness as his breastplate, salvation as a helmet on his head; he clothed himself with garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in a mantle of zeal. (Isa 59:17 CJB) 

Take note of the things that He puts on: righteousness, salvation, vengeance and zeal. Can you recognise the four facets of Him in this verse. He is all four at the same time.

 

Fire of His passion

The next Scripture is a prophecy about the last days. We find it Zephaniah 3:8. He talks about the fire of His zeal. The fire of His passion. It’s the same fire that goes throughout the earth in the form of His seven eyes, looking for undivided hearts and hands holding a plumbline, that will also consume the earth with judgement fire. We truly need admiration for who He is.

Therefore, wait for me,” says Adonai, “for the day when I rise to witness against you, when I decide to assemble nations, to gather kingdoms together, to pour on them my indignation, all my furious anger; for all the earth will be consumed in the fire of my passion. (Zep 3:8 CJB) 

 

Up until this point I’ve talked about the fire of His passion. Now we will see how we have to be zealous in God’s zeal. The same seven spirits that are before the throne of God, the fullness of the Spirit of YHVH, dwells within us. Therefore we cannot help but be passionate about the things our God are passionate about. If we are not passionate, there is a problem.

 

Be zealous with His zeal

Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, has set a very good example. You can read the whole story yourself in Numbers 25. I want to focus your attention to verse 11. This young priest interceded radically for the congregation. The Lord was about to pour out His judgement. Listen to how God describes what happened there: He said that Phinehas was zealous with His own zeal. In other words, Phinehas wasn’t passionate from within himself, it was God’s zeal that worked through him. The result of this: YHVH gave him a covenant of peace.

Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace (Num 25:11-12) 

 

Zeal without knowledge

We also have to talk about the fleshly and human aspect of zeal. When our image of God is distorted, we can be zealous, but the zeal will come from a place of flesh and own strength. Therefore it’s so important to get our sequence right: first we have to come to realise who He really is – His fullness. It is crucial to receive this revelation from the Holy Spirit.

Further, without knowledge desire is not good (Prov 19:2) 

 

What does zeal look like without a revelation of Jesus Christ as the zealous One? We tend to end up in a loveless, religious keeping of rules and regulations.

The Galatians made this mistake. The were full of zeal, but it wasn’t holy zeal, because they misunderstood obedience to God’s law. They thought it will bring about righteousness. Their sequence was wrong. First, we have to passionately love Him and then He will be zealous in us to be zealous in obeying His instructions.

 

Paul wrote that the Jews of his day had the same wrong zeal. They didn’t truly know the Almighty. However, they had a lot of zeal. Through their zeal they tried to work out their own righteousness.

It seems to me that zeal without the revelation of the King always leads to religiosity. Where you find lists and lists and rules and regulations, you can know that there is zeal without first-hand knowledge.

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  (Rom 10:2-3) 

 

Lagging in zeal

We are also warned against the opposite. We are not to be lagging in diligence, passion and zeal. If we truly know Jesus as the zealous One, we will automatically be zealous with His zeal.

not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (Rom 12:11) 

The King James version uses a very descriptive word for lagging: “slothful”. We are all familiar with those slow, lazy animals from South America. May we never look like them in our dedication, passion and zeal for our King. If we recognise these things, being slothful, slow and lazy, in our lives, we truly need to examine our hearts with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

 

Let us ask Him to light the fire of passion in us again. Look into the eyes of Jesus Christ and allow Him to ignite you with the fire in His eyes. Allow the fire of YHVH to be zealous in you with His holy zeal.

 

Links

To listen to the introduction, as well as the Word I’ve received by the Holy Spirit concerning this series, please click here.

The audio version of this message is availalbe on our telegram channel: https://t.me/+1hYU7h46Jj1hZDc8

Part 1 – Who is the Bridegroom (background)

Part 2 – Who is your beloved?

Part 3 – He is my beloved

Part 4 – Hy is Light

Part 5 – Hy is Holy

Part 6 – Hy is the Warrior and Avenger

Part 7 – He is the Conqueror

Part 8 – He is the Head

Part 9 – The Set-Apart One

Part 10 – He is Unchanging