Nehemiah 3:20
After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
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Nehemiah who had such a heart of repentance and a burning desire to see Jerusalem rebuilt and the people of God restored {Neh.1:6,2:5} was given permission by King Artaxerxes to go and repair the walls of the city. He told the Jews that God had made it possible and they responded saying, 'Let us arise and build.' So they put their hands to the good work. {Neh.2:18}

There was a very large untold number of Jewish men and families who worked on those walls, beginning with the Sheep Gate, all to protect the Temple which had been rebuilt by Ezra a few years earlier. The very detailed account of those workers on the wall is recorded in the third chapter of the Book of Nehemiah, and seems far too boring for most people to spend much time reading!

However, as Paul wrote, all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable, so a long time ago I had determined to carefully (prayerfully) read every word. Name after name, family after family, group after group, and all of a sudden it struck me: one name among that very large Spirit inspired list jumped out—the Lord saw in Baruch something that was different, something that set him apart. The difference was his zeal.

Zeal is defined as 'enthusiastic devotion, often fanatical’ and implies energetic and unflagging pursuit. (Merriam-Webster) Enthusiasm comes from the Greek word 'entheos' which means God within, and fanatic comes from the Latin word 'fanum' meaning temple, which is said to have been used to describe people who were inspired by a god. I desire to be notable like Baruch because I am a radical, fanatical, enthusiastic follower of Jesus Christ my Lord. Oh, did I forget to define 'radical'? A word coming from the Latin 'radicalis' meaning root—something that the church needs to get back to. After all, we have been instructed in Deuteronomy that we are to love the Lord with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might. {Deut.6:5} That is a command that Jesus Himself referred to as the first and foremost command! {Mat.22:37} That sounds like 'zeal' to me!

The apostle Paul chose to do that when he said that he had determined to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified writing to the Corinthians. {1Cor.2:2} Of course Jesus had said to the religious leaders of His people, “But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men. He was also saying to them, you nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” (Mark 7:7-9)

It is certainly worthy of note that the two men, Moses and Elijah, who were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration were men of zeal. Moses was noted “because when he had grown up he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin;” {Heb.11:24-25} And the prophet Elijah who would proclaim 'I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.' {1Ki.19:14}

King David, speaking before there was a Temple in Jerusalem, spoke prophetically of Jesus saying that 'zeal for Thy house has consumed me.' {Ps.69:9} We are that house, we are the temple of the living God {1Cor.3:16}, and that should give us cause for enthusiasm and make us a bit radical. That is the birthmark of the children of God whose citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. {Php.3:20}

True Christianity is a faith of totality! That is not a name for a new denomination, but an age old truth. God the Father has given us all, everything, through the death and resurrection of His only, His beloved Son, and all He asks of us is, (drum roll please) ALL!

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord (YWYH) is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) (my emphasis)

TRUE DISCIPLES MUST GIVE ALL