In a previous column, our reference Scripture was from the Apostle Paul’s writing in Romans 12:11 where he implores us to be “Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” We observed that the Greek word for “fervent” is the same word from which we get the term “fever.” A “fever” can refer to that elevated body temperature that warns us there may be a health condition that needs our attention. On the other hand, we sometimes use this word to denote one’s overwhelming “passion” for something in their life or an unrelenting “purpose” that seems to be the essence of their life.
For an overview of the lives of many Old Testament characters who caught the “fever” for serving the Lord in some capacity, we need only go to the Hebrews “Hall of Faith,” Chapter 11. There we find a man by name of Enoch, whom we first met in Genesis 5:18-24. Enoch had a passion for walking with God, and he sought to live constantly in the presence of God. Verse 22 tells us that Enoch caught the “fever” and “walked with God after he begat (fathered) Methuselah three hundred years.” What fervor, what consistency!–to walk day by day in the conscious presence of God for “three hundred years.” One day while they were walking together, God just decided to take Enoch on home with Him. God was not partial to Enoch for today we have the precious promise of God of His Presence in James 4:8, “Draw nigh (near) to God, and He will draw nigh to you.”
As we look further in Genesis 6:9, we find that Enoch had a great-grandson who caught the “fever” for walking with God, also. Genesis 6:5, 11, describes the wicked condition of the society in which Noah lived, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
God told Noah that because of the evil, corruption and violence, He was going to destroy all mankind from the face of the earth except for Noah and his family. This announcement put a fire in Noah’s heart to preach the righteousness of God and to warn the people of his day of God’s coming judgment and destruction. The Bible calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness” (II Peter 2:5) and seems to imply in Genesis 6:9 that he may have preached this message 120 years. God’s testimony of Enoch in Genesis 7:1 was, “The Lord said unto Noah…for thee have I found righteous before me in this generation.” Hebrews 11:7 expounds on this thought and clearly tells us that Noah was an heir to the righteousness of God because of his faith. Neither was God partial to Noah for the Bible is clear throughout its pages that the righteousness of Christ is available to all men everywhere by His grace through our faith in Him as Saviour and Lord.
Hebrews 11:8-10 tells us of another man by the name of Abraham who caught the “fever” for believing God. Abraham lived a life of believing God amidst humanly impossible circumstances as recorded in Genesis 11 and following chapters. Galatains 3:6 tells us, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Hebrews 11:6 sums it up for us, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him (God). God was not partial to Abraham either for Jesus in His time on earth preached, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him (Jesus) whom He (God) hath sent.” And we pray, “Lord we believe on the Lord Jesus; help us in our times of unbelief in our lives (Mark 9:24).”
— Randy Zinn is pastor of Russell Missionary Baptist Church, Russell, Ark.; formerly of Okmulgee.
