And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
Jehu's invitation to observe his fervor is a self-confident, self-exalting display that calls attention to itself and presses others to come, see and follow it. It is impulsive and rash zeal, not according to knowledge, undertaken on self-assumed judgment without close communion with God. It is outward religious busyness that seeks to be engaged in and credited with some great work, while active labor coexists with neglected prayer, lack of humble devotion, and overlooking of inward character and entrusted duties. It is a harsh, critical, Pharisaical spirit that condemns others while exalting self, determines to control minds and make others see as it sees, and wounds the erring under claim of protecting the church. In contrast, true service requires humility, distrust of self and a broken heart, with the Holy Spirit abiding within to lead to compassion, gentleness, recognition of one's own faults, and tender presentation of truth.
Jehu's False Zeal Exposed
Jehu's invitation to come and witness his fervor for the Lord is a self-confident, self-exalting display that calls attention to its own zeal and forcefully presses others to look, admire, and ride along with it. It presents personal zeal as proof and as reason for others to follow, making fervor itself the spectacle. Such triumphing before the victory is gained is misplaced.
That zeal is impulsive and rash, not according to knowledge and not guided by close communion with God. It is undertaken on self-assumed judgment without connection with God, acting on one's own responsibility in place of humbly seeking wisdom from a divine source. When self rises up without that communion, it pours forth a torrent of unsuitable words instead of presenting truth with gentleness and tenderness.
It appears as outward religious busyness that seeks to be engaged in and credited with some great work, giving the impression of doing something wonderful. Active work and apparent zeal of this kind can coexist with neglected prayer, pride, and lack of humble devotion and inward care for souls. The little graces that make a lovely Christian character are overlooked while bustle is mistaken for service. It can also rush ahead of providence into self-imposed work while neglecting duties already entrusted.
It is a harsh, critical, Pharisaical, self-righteous and judging spirit that condemns others while exalting self. It fastens upon another person to dissect character and ferret out everything that can condemn, making zeal a cover for accusation and suspicion while neglecting one's own repentance and character. It withdraws from the tempted and tried who do not meet its ideas and exalts its own ideas and opinions as supreme.
It becomes a hard determination to control minds and make others see things just as one sees them. Under the claim of protecting the church from unbelief, it treats an erring brother with want of mercy and love, with hard feelings, indifference, neglect, contempt, bruising and wounding, causing distress and anguish. What is called care for the church is thus hard dealing toward God's children.
Left to itself it moves servants to do a punishing work God has not given them. It leads to punishing those who reject warnings and reproofs, and to taking grave decisions on one's own responsibility such as cutting offending members from the church. God may give a Jehu a work to do under His hand, but His workers cannot do that punishing work with success.
Whatever the profession, such zeal is self-deceived, gratifying self and feeding a self-complacent feeling while the soul remains defiled by unsubdued, uncontrolled selfishness and the plague-spot of selfishness. It proves religion professed but not practiced, with the Spirit of Christ and the love of Jesus absent from the heart and the people unconverted. It comes from a root of bitterness not dug out, which will spring into life again with suspicion, jealousies, insubordination, disrespect for acknowledged servants, and riding over authority if given occasion. It excludes Jesus, brings dissension and hatred, joins itself to error and division so that zeal is no sound example, and places a person in the ranks of the enemy to do his work.
True Zeal's Humble Fruit
Zeal of Jehu's kind does not unite hearts and is known by its fruits as contrary to Christ and the opposite of His meekness and lowliness. Triumphing before victory is gained is misplaced, heaven takes no delight in such exhibitions, it is not safe to bind interests up with it, and for God's true workers it brings sadness of heart, making elevation by it a sad day for the one lifted up. God may give a Jehu a work to do under His hand, but He has not left any of His servants to do with success the punishing work of punishing men who will not heed His warnings and reproofs.
In contrast, the Holy Spirit abiding in the heart leads a person to see and recognize his own faults and defects of character, to pity the weakness of others, to forgive as he wishes to be forgiven, and to be pitiful, courteous, compassionate and Christlike.
True service requires humility, distrust of self, a broken and contrite heart, and humble thoughts of self, letting Jesus take possession to cleanse the soul and the Holy Spirit possess the heart. It requires abiding in Christ and keeping a firm hold upon Him in meek, lowly self-distrust, seeking wisdom from a divine source through close communion with God, watchfulness and prayer. Without that communion self rises up in self-exaltation.
Truth must be presented with divine tact, gentleness and tenderness from a softened, sympathetic heart, with the right word at the right time given with meekness and fear, gentle as dew and still showers reviving withering plants. Letting self rise up pours forth a torrent of unsuitable, harsh words unbefitting the truth that harms the work of winning souls. It is not the human agent who moves the soul, but heavenly intelligences impressing truth upon the heart and Christ working within to will and to do of His good pleasure that converts sinners, saves those in deception and error, and gives power to overcome.
Those guilty of Jehu's spirit must heartily confess error and sin, humble the proud heart before God, cast aside their own ways to accept God's teachings, and help most those who need help most. They must go to the very ones they injured and bruised to admit sin, ask forgiveness, seek their prayers for healing, make restitution as far as possible, and become careful, kind and tender toward brethren while remaining true to principle and loving their souls.
Especially in church discipline, leaders must not act rashly on self-assumed judgment and responsibility with a hard spirit and no connection with God, such as cutting offending members from the church. They must humbly and earnestly seek wisdom from God, counsel with conference leadership, patiently investigate the charge, and deal with offenders in the fear of God with humility, sorrow for those gone astray, and earnest prayer.
Jehu's invitation to observe his fervor is a self-confident, self-exalting display that calls attention to itself and presses others to come, see and follow it. It is impulsive and rash zeal, not according to knowledge, undertaken on self-assumed judgment without close communion with God. It is outward religious busyness that seeks to be engaged in and credited with some great work, while active labor coexists with neglected prayer, lack of humble devotion, and overlooking of inward character and entrusted duties. It is a harsh, critical, Pharisaical spirit that condemns others while exalting self, determines to control minds and make others see as it sees, and wounds the erring under claim of protecting the church. In contrast, true service requires humility, distrust of self and a broken heart, with the Holy Spirit abiding within to lead to compassion, gentleness, recognition of one's own faults, and tender presentation of truth.
Jehu's False Zeal Exposed
Jehu's invitation to come and witness his fervor for the Lord is a self-confident, self-exalting display that calls attention to its own zeal and forcefully presses others to look, admire, and ride along with it. It presents personal zeal as proof and as reason for others to follow, making fervor itself the spectacle. Such triumphing before the victory is gained is misplaced.
That zeal is impulsive and rash, not according to knowledge and not guided by close communion with God. It is undertaken on self-assumed judgment without connection with God, acting on one's own responsibility in place of humbly seeking wisdom from a divine source. When self rises up without that communion, it pours forth a torrent of unsuitable words instead of presenting truth with gentleness and tenderness.
It appears as outward religious busyness that seeks to be engaged in and credited with some great work, giving the impression of doing something wonderful. Active work and apparent zeal of this kind can coexist with neglected prayer, pride, and lack of humble devotion and inward care for souls. The little graces that make a lovely Christian character are overlooked while bustle is mistaken for service. It can also rush ahead of providence into self-imposed work while neglecting duties already entrusted.
It is a harsh, critical, Pharisaical, self-righteous and judging spirit that condemns others while exalting self. It fastens upon another person to dissect character and ferret out everything that can condemn, making zeal a cover for accusation and suspicion while neglecting one's own repentance and character. It withdraws from the tempted and tried who do not meet its ideas and exalts its own ideas and opinions as supreme.
It becomes a hard determination to control minds and make others see things just as one sees them. Under the claim of protecting the church from unbelief, it treats an erring brother with want of mercy and love, with hard feelings, indifference, neglect, contempt, bruising and wounding, causing distress and anguish. What is called care for the church is thus hard dealing toward God's children.
Left to itself it moves servants to do a punishing work God has not given them. It leads to punishing those who reject warnings and reproofs, and to taking grave decisions on one's own responsibility such as cutting offending members from the church. God may give a Jehu a work to do under His hand, but His workers cannot do that punishing work with success.
Whatever the profession, such zeal is self-deceived, gratifying self and feeding a self-complacent feeling while the soul remains defiled by unsubdued, uncontrolled selfishness and the plague-spot of selfishness. It proves religion professed but not practiced, with the Spirit of Christ and the love of Jesus absent from the heart and the people unconverted. It comes from a root of bitterness not dug out, which will spring into life again with suspicion, jealousies, insubordination, disrespect for acknowledged servants, and riding over authority if given occasion. It excludes Jesus, brings dissension and hatred, joins itself to error and division so that zeal is no sound example, and places a person in the ranks of the enemy to do his work.
True Zeal's Humble Fruit
Zeal of Jehu's kind does not unite hearts and is known by its fruits as contrary to Christ and the opposite of His meekness and lowliness. Triumphing before victory is gained is misplaced, heaven takes no delight in such exhibitions, it is not safe to bind interests up with it, and for God's true workers it brings sadness of heart, making elevation by it a sad day for the one lifted up. God may give a Jehu a work to do under His hand, but He has not left any of His servants to do with success the punishing work of punishing men who will not heed His warnings and reproofs.
In contrast, the Holy Spirit abiding in the heart leads a person to see and recognize his own faults and defects of character, to pity the weakness of others, to forgive as he wishes to be forgiven, and to be pitiful, courteous, compassionate and Christlike.
True service requires humility, distrust of self, a broken and contrite heart, and humble thoughts of self, letting Jesus take possession to cleanse the soul and the Holy Spirit possess the heart. It requires abiding in Christ and keeping a firm hold upon Him in meek, lowly self-distrust, seeking wisdom from a divine source through close communion with God, watchfulness and prayer. Without that communion self rises up in self-exaltation.
Truth must be presented with divine tact, gentleness and tenderness from a softened, sympathetic heart, with the right word at the right time given with meekness and fear, gentle as dew and still showers reviving withering plants. Letting self rise up pours forth a torrent of unsuitable, harsh words unbefitting the truth that harms the work of winning souls. It is not the human agent who moves the soul, but heavenly intelligences impressing truth upon the heart and Christ working within to will and to do of His good pleasure that converts sinners, saves those in deception and error, and gives power to overcome.
Those guilty of Jehu's spirit must heartily confess error and sin, humble the proud heart before God, cast aside their own ways to accept God's teachings, and help most those who need help most. They must go to the very ones they injured and bruised to admit sin, ask forgiveness, seek their prayers for healing, make restitution as far as possible, and become careful, kind and tender toward brethren while remaining true to principle and loving their souls.
Especially in church discipline, leaders must not act rashly on self-assumed judgment and responsibility with a hard spirit and no connection with God, such as cutting offending members from the church. They must humbly and earnestly seek wisdom from God, counsel with conference leadership, patiently investigate the charge, and deal with offenders in the fear of God with humility, sorrow for those gone astray, and earnest prayer.