11. HIS ZEAL

Job 39:24: “He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage.” This describes the warhorse speeding along, motivated by anger and rage. I think the terminology used here of “swallowing the ground” means that the distance between him and the target is quickly diminished by the adrenalin rush, the righteous indignation and fierce rage that possesses the spirit of the warhorse.

Politically speaking, we now live in a world where all anger and rage are regarded as evil. Tolerance is the politically correct attitude toward all evil. No one is allowed to be angry at evil. As a result, western nations have become “milk toast” and mushy.

We are taught that civilized people should never get angry at anything, let alone evil. We are told we must take our time in the face of evil and must never rush to identify the target in case we hit the wrong one. We are told that our war planes cannot drop bombs on ISIS in case there are innocent civilians in the building, in the oil tanker or truck, etc. The rules of engaging the enemy have now become so feminized and emasculated that we can no longer win a war.

In the meantime the enemy punches us right between the eyes and scoffs at our so-called tolerant and sissy behavior. There are too many progressive, socialist, educators both within the church and the nation who want to destroy and take away our manhood. They want to take away our guns and fighting spirit. They want to turn us into a bunch of jelly fish wimps.

We see a different spirit in David. 1 Samuel 17:45-47 states: “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.”

Verse 48 tells us : “And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David HASTED, AND RAN toward the army to meet the Philistine.” In the face of great danger, David is filled with the same spirit of Job’s battle horse. He ran towards the enemy.

As believers, we are called to do battle with God’s enemies. We are to be “slow to anger” with one another, but never with the devil. We should not drag our feet to man the battle stations, the prayer meetings, where we fight it out with the devil.

Ephesians 6:12 says: “For we wrestle (hand to hand combat) not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

May God hasten our steps to run to the prayer meetings where we can start slinging our stones at the Lord’s enemies. It’s high time for us who dare to call ourselves Christians to get really mad at the devil, and not at each other. Tolerance can only be towards each other as brethren, but not towards sin or the powers that tempt us to sin.

We need to be clothed with the zeal of the Lord, the same zeal that caused Jesus to cast out the money changers in the temple (John 2:15-17). It’s high time we 21st century Christians cast off this wimpy tolerance toward evil and become eaten up by the same zeal for God’s house that Jesus had.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell