Zeal #AtoZChallenge

This year for the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge I have chosen a single word for each letter of the alphabet. Each of these words is important in the Bible. I am including a story in each post. Links from biblical references go to Bible Gateway.

Zeal appears in the Bible fewer than 40 times depending on the translation searched. This includes zealous and Zealot. Zeal is defined in the Collins Scrabble Dictionary as great enthusiasm or eagerness. Zealot is a political enthusiast (in the New Testament it refers to a member of a particular political group). Zeal is a word connected both with God, whose zeal for justice and righteousness leads to anger, and with his enthusiastic (zealous) servants. It is perhaps worth mentioning that the word enthusiasm is derived from Greek words meaning inspired by or possessed by a god. In the case of believers in the God of the Bible, this is the Holy Spirit.

Two people, who stand out for their zeal have appeared previously in these posts for the A to Z challenge. Elijah, whose story is told in this post and the post for Letter Q and Paul, Letter E and Letter Y.

To jump to the story Elijah’s Zeal for the Lord click here.

Phinehas, a priest who was the great-nephew of Moses, was zealous for God’s honour. Numbers 25:11 This led to a promise from God that his descendants would have a lasting priesthood. Numbers 25:13

In Deuteronomy 29, when the covenant was renewed, verse 20 states that God’s wrath and zeal will burn against anyone, who worships foreign gods (idols of wood, stone or metal). He will not forgive them.

King Saul’s zeal for eradicating the Gibeonites led to trouble, which King David had to deal with. 2 Samuel 21:1-14

Isaiah prophesied to King Hezekiah that the zeal of the Lord would accomplish the prophecies regarding Sennacherib’s fall.

The zeal of the Lord is a recurring theme in the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel.

Baruch zealously repaired a section of the wall of Jerusalem Nehemiah 3: 20

Psalm 69:9 was quoted in John 2:17 when Jesus cleared the temple because of zeal for God’s house.

Advice from Proverbs is to have zeal for the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 23:17 Fear is more like awe and respect in this context.

In the New Testament zeal is mentioned in the context of being zealous for a good reason (the fear of the Lord) or for bad motives.

Elijah’s zeal for the Lord

Elijah lived in the time of the wicked King Ahab of Israel, who served Baal, a foreign god worshipped by Ahab’s foreign wife, Jezebel.

Elijah, a prophet of the Lord, told Ahab that there would be no rain and no dew for the next few years except at Elijah’s word.

The Lord told Elijah what he must do next. Elijah obeyed, going to hide in the Kerith Ravine, where ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day and he drank from the brook.

When the brook dried up, because of the drought, The Lord spoke to Elijah again. Again Elijah obeyed, going to Zarephath of Sidon and staying with a widow, who had obeyed Elijah’s instructions, gaining a miraculous supply of food.

Some time later the widow’s son became ill and died. She was angry with Elijah, but he took her son, laid him on his own bed and prayed to the Lord that the boy would live. The Lord heard Elijah’s cry and restored the boy to life. Elijah restored him to his mother, who said, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of God from your mouth is the truth.’ (Letter Y tells a similar story from the New Testament.)

After more than two years the Lord told Elijah to present himself to Ahab, and the Lord would send rain on the land.

Ahab’s wife Jezebel had been killing the prophets of the Lord, but Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace, had hidden one hundred of them in two groups of fifty in separate caves. He had supplied them with food and water.

Ahab had been sending people everywhere to look for Elijah in order to kill him.

Obadiah reluctantly took Elijah to Ahab. What happened next is a very well-known story involving a show of strength between one prophet of the Lord (Elijah) and 450 prophets of Baal. The people were convinced by what happened that Elijah’s God was Lord. Elijah had the prophets of Baal killed. The Lord sent rain as Elijah foretold.

Jezebel was furious that her prophets had been killed. She wanted Elijah dead.

Elijah had already very energetically run faster than Ahab’s chariot to avoid the rainstorm. Now he fled with a servant to Beersheba in Judah. Then he went on alone into the desert. He had lost the will to live, but an angel visited him twice with bread and water. After eating and drinking this he travelled for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

The Lord asked him, ‘What are you doing here Elisha?’

Elisha claimed to have been very zealous for the Lord. The Lord told Elijah to stand on the mountain, while the presence of the Lord passed by. Then there was a destructive wind, next an earthquake followed by a fire. The Lord was not in any of those. After the fire there was a gentle whisper. ‘What are you doing here Elisha?’

Elijah came to the mouth of the cave and again told the Lord how zealous he had been and how his life was in danger. The Lord commissioned him to go back to the Desert of Damascus and anoint a king of Israel, a king of Aram and Elisha as a prophet to succeed Elijah. Elijah felt that he was alone, but God had seven thousand in Israel, who had not worshipped Baal. The next part of the story can be found in Letter Q: Elijah and Elisha.

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The story abridged here may be found in 1 Kings 17-19:18

Youth #AtoZChallenge

This year for the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge I have chosen a single word for each letter of the alphabet. Each of these words is important in the Bible. I am including a story in each post. Links from biblical references go to Bible Gateway.

Youth appears in the Bible fewer than 100 times, varying with the translation searched. Youth may mean an age range towards the beginning of a person’s life or a young person (especially a young man.) Youth is used in the Bible in several places to set out a length of time – ‘from my youth until now’. It also continues into early adulthood. There are references to the wife of your youth Proverbs 5:18 and the children of one’s youth. Psalm 127:4

The word Young appears many more times, but describes animals as well as people.

Youth does not disqualify anyone from serving God Jeremiah 1:6-7 and 1 Timothy 4:12

The psalmist asks God not to remember the wrong-doings of his youth. Psalm 25:7

The Psalmist has been taught by God and trusted him from his youth. Psalm 71:5 and Psalm 71:17.

Youth is renewed like an eagle’s. Psalm 103:5

There is advice to the young Ecclesiastes 11-12

A young missionary

A young disciple, Timothy was living in Lystra, where his mother was a Jewish disciple. Paul heard about Timothy from believers in Lystra and Iconium (towns in Asia Minor) and wanted to take Timothy with him on his travels. Because Timothy’s father was Greek, Paul decided that Timothy should be circumcised. (Paul’s writings about circumcision do not seem to agree with this decision, which seemed to be to please the local Jews.)

Timothy travelled with Paul, Silas and other companions, who sometimes went ahead of or stayed behind Paul. Luke was sometimes in this group and gives some first-hand accounts in the book of the Acts of the Apostles about the events in places they visited.

After travelling with Paul and learning much from him and his companions, Timothy was sent to Macedonia with Erastus. Paul with his companions, caught up with Timothy after a riot in Ephesus, caused by people, whose livelihoods were threatened if Christianity were to replace the worship of Artemis. The companions were Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Tychicus and Trophimus – men from places Paul had visited in Macedonia and farther east. Luke’s party joined them at Troas, where a remarkable event occurred.

Paul was talking late into the night. He had a lot to say before his planned departure the following day. A young man named Eutychus was sitting in a window on the third storey. He couldn’t stay awake and fell to the ground. The fall killed him, but Paul went to him and threw his arms around him.

Then Paul announced. ‘He’s alive.’

Paul went on talking until daylight. The young man went home alive and the people were greatly encouraged.

After his adventures with Paul, Timothy became a pastor in Ephesus. He received two letters from Paul encouraging him in his ministry. The first letter was sent from Philippi and the second from Rome three years later. Paul regarded him as a son and warned him not to allow people to disregard him on account of his youth.

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The stories may be found in the Acts of the Apostles Acts 16-20
Paul and Timothy wrote to the Corinthians 2 Corinthians 1:1 and the Colossians
Paul’s letters to Timothy are 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy

Timothy is mentioned:
in 1 Corinthians 4:17 Paul was sending him to Corinth
in 1 Corinthians 16:10 Paul recommends Timothy to the Corinthians
in 2 Corinthians 1:19 Paul, Silas and Timothy have preached to the Corinthians

Paul wrote with Timothy to the Philippians and hoped to send Timothy to them soon. Philippians 2:19-22

Timothy had returned from visiting Thessalonica 1 Thessalonians 3:2-6 when Paul, Silas and Timothy wrote to the Thessalonians.

Some of the information in this post was from The Amazing Collection for Women, Big Dream Ministries. 2005/2006

Xenophobia #AtoZChallenge

This year for the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge I have chosen a single word for each letter of the alphabet. Each of these words is important in the Bible. I am including a story in each post. Links from biblical references go to Bible Gateway.

Xenophobia means the fear of strangers. The word does not appear in the Bible. Letter X is always tricky!

However the Bible has plenty to say about strangers, aliens, foreigners, sojourners and Gentiles (non-Jews). The Law given to Moses has rules for the treatment of these people, who may not be worshippers of the Lord. They were to be treated with justice. Exodus 22:21;23:9; Leviticus 19:33,34; Deuteronomy 1:16;10:19;24:1 (Bible Gateway topical)

Ruth and Naomi

In the history of God’s chosen people, they were often strangers themselves, travelling to the Promised Land, exiled or travelling for various reasons. (Letter I and Letter P)

The well-known story of Joseph is set in a time when there was a famine. A later story from the time when Judges ruled begins with a famine.

Naomi and her husband Elimelech lived in Bethlehem with their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion.

Because of the famine, Elimelech and his family went to a country the other side of the Dead Sea – Moab. They settled there, but Elimelech died leaving Naomi with her two sons. Life was very hard for widows in those days. Naomi’s sons married local girls, Orpah and Ruth. After about ten years of living abroad, Mahlon and Kilion also died.

Naomi received word that the Lord had provided food for the people in her original home. She and her daughters-in-law prepared to go to Bethlehem. They all set off together, but Naomi began to wonder what would be in store for her daughters-in-law as foreigners in a place they did not know.

She told them to return to their own mothers and prayed that they would find new husbands. Both Orpah and Ruth declared that they would stay with Naomi, but she argued with them, spelling out the difficulties they would face. Orpah was convinced and returned home, but Ruth promised to stay with Naomi. ‘Where you go I will go. Your God will be my God.’

They continued on their journey until they arrived at Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. Some of the people in Bethlehem recognised Naomi after all this time. She told them not to call her Naomi (which means pleasant), but Mara (bitter). She blamed God for the change in her circumstances. (Letter N mentions the meaning of names.)

Ruth as a foreigner had the right to glean in the fields, picking up the grain the harvesters had missed. She went out to a field and began to glean. It was a field belonging to one of the relatives of her late father-in-law – a well-to-do man named Boaz. He protected and helped her while she was working in his field even leaving sheaves for her to collect.

Another part of the Law set out that a widow should be married to a close kinsman of her husband and any children would be considered to be from her first marriage.

Boaz was not the closest relative, but acted according to the custom of the time to ascertain that the closer relative did not wish to carry out his duty as a redeemer-kinsman.

Ruth and Boaz were married and Naomi was blessed with a grandson, Obed. Obed grew up and became the father of Jesse, whose youngest son became King David.

Boaz, Obed, Jesse and David all were ancestors of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Thus Jesus was from the House of David. Interestingly Boaz’s mother was Rahab from Jericho. She had helped Joshua’s spies.

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The story of Ruth is told in the book of Ruth. It is only four chapters long and well worth reading. Rahab’s story is in Joshua 2 and Joshua 6. The genealogy is in Matthew 1:1-17.

Joseph’s story is in Genesis 37-50.

Two occasions when Jesus met Gentile women are in Matthew 15:21-28 and John 4:1-42

Bobbie Ann Cole (mentioned in my post for Letter V) is also looking at the story of Ruth.