Number 25:11
“Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.”
The events that led up to Phinehas’ zeal being revealed were tragic. Balaam had disobeyed God and followed Balak to curse Israel. His action eventually was curtailed when God sent an angel to stop him. Because Balaam wouldn’t curse Israel, Balak set out to have his people join up with them and conquer them through compromise. The children of Israel succumbed to this tactic, and the wrath of God fell upon them. It was their sexual worship to Baalpeor that led to God’s wrath. When one man of the children of Israel was very open about his sin, Phinehas’ zeal moved him to slay this man and his wife for the LORD’s sake.
Phinehas will forever be known for one thing, his zeal for the LORD. When the children of Israel committed sin, he was serving the LORD. When the children of Israel had their eyes upon man, he had his eyes upon the LORD. It was this zeal that turned the wrath of God away, and eventually saved his nation from destruction.
Phinehas’ zeal was his driving force. It was that thing that drove him into action. There is no doubt that we need people who have a driving force like Phinehas’. We live in such a day when Christians are so passive about right and wrong that it is refreshing when you read about true zeal in the Scriptures. If you study history, you will always see that those who did great things for the LORD were people who had a zeal for the LORD. In other words, the LORD was their driving force. His name being lifted up drove them through all obstacles. People being introduced to Him through salvation was their driving force. Their hatred for sin drove them because they saw how it separated the people from the LORD.
Let me ask you, what is your driving force? If there was a chapter written about you and your zeal, what would it be? Is your driving force money? What are you going to do when money dries up? Is your driving force popularity? What are you going to do when your actions are no longer popular? Is your driving force position? What are you going to do when others take loftier positions than you? Friend, the things of this world can be your driving force, but they will eventually fade away.
There should only be one driving force in your life, and that should be the cause of Christ. Stop trying to defend man, and make Christ your driving force. Stop making the size of your ministry your driving force, and let Christ be that driving force in your life. You should hate sin because Christ hates sin. You should go after souls because that is the heartbeat of Christ. You should fight liberalism, for liberalism’s attacks will hurt the cause of Christ. The driving force of your life should be Christ.
The reason Christ needs to be your driving force is because He will keep you going in spite of what you face. When Christ is your driving force, you will stand against sin when all others are silent. When Christ is your driving force, you will keep going when you don’t feel like going. When Christ is your driving force, you will keep doing right when others quit doing right. When Christ is your driving force, you will take another step when your strength is gone.
Let me challenge you to lay aside all other things that drive you and let Christ become your driving force. When Christ becomes your driving force, you will find that fighting sin will not be hard. You will find when Christ is your driving force, that the only thing that matters in your life is that Christ is lifted up. It is this type of driving force that will save nations. If you truly love your nation, then you will let Christ become your driving force, for this is the only true hope it has.