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About Jesus Steve Sweetman The
Zeal Of The Lord Almighty In
Isaiah 9:1 we learn that God humbled the "land of Zebulun and
Naphtali" in judgment by allowing an Assyrian invasion.
These lands are located at the northern end of what we call the In
Isaiah 9:2 and 3 the prophet predicts a day when oppressed Israelis
living under "the shadow of death" would "have a great
light dawn upon them". The
dawning of this great light would begin the joyful restoration of
national Israel. In
Isaiah 9:4 and 5 we see one example of Israel's constant struggle with
her pagan enemies; a struggle that exists to this very day. Isaiah
predicts the coming of an Israeli Messiah in verses 6 and 7 when he says
a child would be born; a son would be given.
The government of Israel
would be on His shoulders. He
would once and for all deliver Israel
from her enemies and bring her everlasting peace.
He would reign from David's throne over His kingdom forever.
Truly, this Messiah is Wonderful.
He is also Israel's Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, and Prince of Peace.
He is the Lord Jesus Christ. This
portion of Isaiah's prophetic writings ends in verse 7 with the words,
"the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this".
All that I've just repeated from Isaiah's prophecy will be
fulfilled. Although the Lord
Almighty is beyond our comprehension, if understood, this phrase
provides us with a glimpse of the powerful God we serve.
What we see from this glimpse has been long lost in the world and
is being ignored in much of what we call church these days.
The
Hebrew word "quinah" is translated as "zeal" in the
NIV. This word finds its
roots in the Hebrew word "quina", which means, "to become
very red", as in a person's face turning red when upset and angry.
Thus, "quinah" is translated into English in the Old
Testament as, jealousy, envy, angry, and other related words.
"Quinah" is used in the Old Testament in reference to;
the strength of sexual desire, man's passion towards God and His house,
God's jealousy for His people, men in the depth of adversity, God's
anger towards sinful man as seen in His wrath, and, man's addiction to
envy things he shouldn't.
Based
on the definition of "quinah", this tells me that God's face
is becoming progressively more red these days.
His jealousy for Israel
and His aguish over her continual unrest will cause his anger to explode
into wrath against Israel's enemies. Wrath
is a sudden explosion of anger. Even
though God's long suffering delays such an explosion, the explosion will
come. Like a volcano, God's
anger builds up until it erupts into a violent explosion, devastating
all it falls upon. The Bible
calls this the "wrath of God".
You may not think God would act in such a way, but Isaiah says
differently when he uses the word "quinah", or,
"zeal" in English in this passage.
Note
that God is called the "Lord Almighty" in the NIV.
The KJV states it a bit clearer in my opinion when it calls Him
the "Lord of host". "Lord"
is translated from the Hebrew word "Yahweh".
"Yahweh" means "I AM", or, the One who lives
in the eternal present. No
wonder the future of all things is in Yahweh's hands.
The
word "Almighty" in the NIV, or the word "host" in
the KJV, is translated from the Hebrew word "tsaba".
"Tsabe" is a military word meaning a host of soldiers.
Yahweh is in fact the ultimate military general, leading the
mother of all armies. You
can certainly see how the "zeal of the Lord Almighty" will
accomplish every last prophecy concerning the restoration of Israel. A red faced Yahweh, with
pent up jealousy for Israel, will allow His anger to explode into wrath upon The
"zeal of the Lord Almighty" will accomplish this".
In other words, "the Lord of a vast heavenly army, motivated
by an intense jealousy for His people
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