DRAWING NEAR
MAY 14
Tempering Zeal with Sensitivity
The twelve apostles included "James the son of Zebedee" (Matt.
10:2).
There's the story of a Norwegian pastor whose motto was "All or
nothing!" His life and preaching were stern, strong, powerful,
uncompromising, and utterly insensitive. Reportedly the people in his
church didn't care much for him because he didn't care much for them.
In his zeal and ambition to advance the kingdom and uphold God's
standard, he neglected everything else--including his own family.
One day his little daughter became so ill the doctor warned him that
if he didn't move her out of the cold Norwegian air to a warmer
climate, she would die. He refused, telling the doctor, "All or
nothing!" Soon his little girl died. His wife was so grief-stricken
she would sit for hours holding her daughter's garments close to her
heart, trying somehow to ease her pain.
When the pastor saw what his wife was doing, he gave away the clothes
to a poor woman in the street. All that remained was a little bonnet,
which his wife had hidden so she would have some reminder of her
precious daughter. When the pastor found it, he gave that away too,
lecturing his wife on giving "all or nothing." Within a few months,
she too died--of grief.
Now that's an extreme example of insensitive zeal, yet there are many
pastors, evangelists, and other Christian workers who are so zealous
for the Lord and so task- oriented, they don't see the pain their own
families and congregations are suffering.
James could have been like that if he hadn't yielded his life to
Christ. He began as a zealous and insensitive disciple but God
refined his character and used him in a marvelous way.
Examine your own ministries and motives. Are you sensitive to your
family and the people you serve with? Zeal can be a wonderful quality
but it must be tempered with love and sensitivity.
Suggestions for Prayer:
If you have been insensitive to those around you, confess that to
them and ask the Lord to give you a greater sensitivity from now on.
For Further Study:
Eli the priest was negligent and insensitive to his family. Read 1
Samuel 3:1-4:18.
What did the Lord tell Samuel concerning Eli? What was the
outcome of Israel's battles with the Philistines? How did Eli
and his sons die?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
1 Samuel 3:1-4:18 (NKJV)
3:1 Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the
word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread
revelation.
2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his
place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not
see,
3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD
where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,
4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!"
5 So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he
said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down.
6 Then the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went
to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did
not call, my son; lie down again."
7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the
LORD yet revealed to him.)
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and
went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli
perceived that the LORD had called the boy.
9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if
He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant
hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times,
"Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant
hears."
11 Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in
Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 "In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken
concerning his house, from beginning to end.
13 "For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the
iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and
he did not restrain them.
14 "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity
of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering
forever."
15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the
house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" And he
answered, "Here I am."
17 And he said, "What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please
do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide
anything from me of all the things that He said to you."
18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he
said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."
19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his
words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been
established as a prophet of the LORD.
21 Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed
Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out
to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and
the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
2 Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against
Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the
Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the
field.
3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel
said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let
us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that
when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies."
4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the
ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwells between the
cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there
with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook.
6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said,
"What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews
mean?" Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into
the camp.
7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into
the camp!" And they said, "Woe to us! For such a thing has never
happened before.
8 "Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty
gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the
plagues in the wilderness.
9 "Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that
you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you.
Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!"
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man
fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of
Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.
11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni
and Phinehas, died.
12 Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and
came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat by the wayside
watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man
came into the city and told it, all the city cried out.
14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What does the
sound of this tumult mean?" And the man came quickly and told Eli.
15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he
could not see.
16 Then the man said to Eli, "I am he who came from the battle. And
I fled today from the battle line." And he said, "What happened, my
son?"
17 So the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before the
Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people.
Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God
has been captured."
18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that
Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck
was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had
judged Israel forty years.
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
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In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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