In John 2:13-17, Jesus was extremely disturbed about the unholy practices going on in the temple. Many people were taking advantage of the people who came to worship God. One of such unholy practices was the selling of sacrificial animals. The priests were rejecting sacrifices that people brought out of their own flock and will order them to go over to the store in the temple to buy the sacrificial animals and they were reselling them at inflated prices. Even those people who wanted to give to God were also hindered because the priests refused to take any money except the temple shekels.

So, to give to God, you have to go to the moneychangers, exchanging money in the temple. Exchanging Roman coins to temple shekels and they would be charged a twenty-five percent processing fee. They were merchandising the things of God and standing in the way of people who came to worship God. When Jesus saw what was going on in the temple, the zeal of the Lord took Himoverand He could not stand it. He took a whip and drove out those who were selling sheep, dove and cattle in the temple.

When the zeal of the Lord consumes a believer, it makes him to consider any reproach against Christ perpetrated by those who hate Christ and the Gospel of Christ as reproach against himself. ‘Consumed me’ means that you feel so strongly about something that it completely dominates your life. A true believer considers hatred against Christ as hatred against himself. The Psalmist says the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. What should be our natural response when men reproach and hate us because of Christ? The Bible commands us to rejoice.

In Luke 6:22-23, the Bible says: “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in Heaven.” When men reproach and hate you, Jesus said rejoice for your reward is in Heaven. Rejoicing because you are a representative of God and Jesus Christ and you should look forward to the ultimate reward, which is in Heaven.

David was a zealot for God’s house. A zealot is someone who is really, really committed to a cause. Someone who is consumed with zeal is a zealot. David said he was consumed with zeal for God’s house. His zeal, his passion for God’s house was eating him up. David demonstrated zeal for God by bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. The Philistines had captured the Ark and sent it back to the house of Obededom, the Gittite, and it remained there. No one had bothered to collect it and put it back to the tabernacle. Off David went to get it. But it ended in disaster. God struck two men who touch it. So, David gave up for a while, but then he figured out what went wrong the first time.

The people had not carried the ark in the way God had told them to. David triedagain and this time, he succeeded. This was a great example of David’s zeal for God’s house.

When we are consumed with zeal for God as believers we will go all out for the kingdom of God. We will withhold nothing, not even our lives for the sake of Christ.

• Today’s nugget: I am a zealot for Christ
Prayer: Lord help me to be passionate about your kingdom. Prayer lines: 08033299824.E-mail: [email protected]. Rev. Abel Ukachi Amadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria