During the month of April, I’ve chosen to blog through the alphabet. Each day I will use a letter to share a Name of the Lord that begins with that letter based on Proverbs 18:10 and the fact that there is strength in the Lord’s Name. I pray you’ll be blessed and that you’ll stop by often.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

Proverbs 18:10 – NIV

Zealous God

This letter has turned out to be a bit difficult. I can’t seem to find a Name that begins with the letter “z,” but I’ve come close.

Bible Study

For instance, there is Tzur Israel which means “Rock of Israel.” And then there is Tzevaot which means “hosts or armies.” As a Name of the Lord, Tzevaot is used in connection with Yahweh and then means “God of Hosts.”

After some thought, I decided to use another characteristic of God for this letter and share about Zealous God.

We don’t use the word zealous much in our world today and you may not even know what the word means. An online dictionary defines zealous as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.”

What a great description of God! In His continual pursuit, we see Zealous God drawing Israel to Himself. His zealousness hasn’t changed. God is zealously seeking those who haven’t come to know Him.

There are two passages of Scripture that speak to God’s zeal and what He is able to do through His zeal. The first is in 2 Kings. The Israel nation had already fallen into captivity and Judah was about to fall into the same fate.

The prophet Isaiah shared a message from God to Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19:20-34. Isaiah described Sennacherib’s fall and of Jerusalem’s deliverance. In the midst of these prophecies, Isaiah spoke these words.

“The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (2 Kings 19:32 – NIV)

Our God, with great energy and enthusiasm, will accomplish what He said He would. The task may have seemed too great for this small remnant of faithful believers, but Zealous God is able to do far more than we could ever imagine. Zealous God did it in throughout Scripture and He is able to accomplish it today.

The second passage I’d like to share is from Isaiah 9. Isaiah provides hope in this chapter for a nation who wandered off from God. Zealous God, however, wanted to remedy this, so He provided the way out.

Zealous God gave the promise of the Messiah. You’ll recognize this passage. It begins with “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” (Isaiah 9:2 – NIV) The passage goes on to say, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6 – NIV)

Yes, Zealous God made a way for mankind to return to Him. In God’s zeal, He sent His own Son to draw us back to God. Jesus is the Way to God and through Jesus we have the hope of eternal life with Zealous God.

Most often, we stop reading this passage before getting to the very last section of verse 7. Take a look at these words. “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:7 – NIV)

You see, the word zeal in combination with God is used in connection with deliverance. God is most zealous when those He love are in jeopardy of being lost. Zealous God will not allow us to be left in this state. He will pursue us…zealously.

If you haven’t come to know Zealous God, why not take a moment and give Him your heart? His greatest desire is to have a relationship with you. And what’s more, He will continue to zealously pursue you.

Today concludes the Blogging A to Z challenge. I’m sad. I have enjoyed writing about the many Names of the Lord. I have learned so much about God’s nature and characteristic through His Names.

What have you learned through this month? What is your favorite Name of the Lord? I pray that you have grown closer to God by learning His many Names. I certainly have.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna