Bible Study – The Armor of God 8: The Cloak of Zeal (WORD)
Another piece of armor, not described by Paul but mentioned in Isaiah, is the cloak of zeal. While not listed with the rest of the armor of God, this cloak factors heavily in the lives of Christians everywhere.
Why is the cloak of zeal important to us as Christians?
Isaiah 59:17 –
“For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.”
Just as the Roman soldier would be uncomfortable and less inspired to wage war against his enemy without his cloak, the soldiers of the Lord can very easily find themselves in a similar situation without their cloak of zeal; for an unmotivated and uninspired soldier will hardly match up against a determined devil and his minions.
What is zeal?
Zechariah 8:2 –
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her.”
We see that the Lord Himself is passionately zealous about His people and the plans He has for them. I think that a good, simple way to explain what zeal is would be that zeal is motivation, inspiration, and also determination. In other words, zeal can be almost anything that drives or fuels a person. For Believers, zeal should be that burning desire to do God’s will and to live according to His purpose.
Can our zeal go astray if we don’t base it on right knowledge?
Romans 10:2
For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
Paul himself was zealous in persecuting the Church (Philippians 3:6), until he learned that was not what God wanted. When he aligned his goals with God’s plans, his zeal became very effective.
What biblical examples of zeal can we learn from?
Numbers 25:5-11
So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”
And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal.”
When Israel’s sexual immorality with their pagan neighbors led them away from the true God and toward worshipping the pagan god Baal, Phinehas took a stand. After God told His followers to kill all those who were now worshipping Baal, an Israelite had the nerve to walk—in plain sight of everyone—to his tent with a pagan woman. He apparently thought he was too important to have to obey the laws against adultery and idolatry. Phinehas, on fire with zeal for God, followed the two to the tent and ran them both through with a spear.
It seems like a harsh response, but Phinehas receives commendation from God and a later reference in the Psalms. Why? Because when God gives us a command, we are to keep it. The zeal of Phinehas is remarkable because, while the rest of Israel just stood and watched, Phinehas stood up and took the initiative, acting on the word of God. God does not command us to take lives today, of course, but the example shows the kind of zeal we must have.
Colossians 4:12-13
Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.
John 2:15-17
When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
What better example of zeal could there be than our Savior and King, Jesus Christ? When He saw that money changers and sellers of livestock had overrun God’s temple and were cheating people (in Matthew 21:13 Christ said they had made it a “den of thieves”), He drove them out. The disciples recognized this as a case study in being motivated by godly zeal.
Conclusion
So as we can see, for the Believer to be able to successfully wage war against the devil, his minions, and the many tricks and obstacles that he will be using in his attack against the Believer, he/she must be motivated, inspired, and determined to not only fight . . . but to win! I cannot think of a better motivator than being cloaked with spiritual zeal.