God is Jealous
23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a graven image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24 For the LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
Deuteronomy 4:23-24
We don't often think of jealousy as an attribute or trait that is noble or worthy. Yet Moses warned the people that the Lord's jealously was like a "devouring fire". Fire is a common image for the judicial wrath of the Judgment of God. God himself associates fire with His jealousy. Ezekiel 36:5 speaks of "My burning jealousy" and in 38:19 "in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath". The prophet Zephaniah proclaims in Zeph. 3:8: "All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy". Asaph, the psalmist wrote "How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?" (Ps. 79:5)
In the same way God also associates fury with His jealousy: "I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy (Ezek. 16:38). "Thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury (36:6). "My fury will show in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken" (38:18-19. The prophet Nahum declared, "God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; the Lord avenges and is furious" (Nah. 1:2).
However, God's jealousy and wrath are not sinful, evil, or the source of capricious attitudes or deeds. It is part of his righteousness that demands justice. It is also seen in his love. I cannot think of a better analogy than that of a parent. If someone hurts my child, I am going to be furious desiring justice for restitution. It is because I love my child that my emotions create in me a jealousy for what is best for him or her. When we offend, reject and spit upon God's love, we can expect punishment. That ultimate judgment is portrayed as being cast out where there is darkness and gnashing of teeth. To be permanently separated from the source of love is my definition of hell. One can choose by virtue of being made in the image of God to live one's life outside the boundaries of faith in this life. But, there will come a time when "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that 'Jesus is Lord'". The judgment scene is portrayed as one where people will cry out, "But Lord when did we see you hungry, naked, thirsty or in prison?" God is a jealous God because he cares about the way we treat people. The way we act makes a difference in how we will spend eternity. Not realizing that the Lord is a jealous God is a fatal mistake with grave consequences for humanity.
Deuteronomy 4:23-24
We don't often think of jealousy as an attribute or trait that is noble or worthy. Yet Moses warned the people that the Lord's jealously was like a "devouring fire". Fire is a common image for the judicial wrath of the Judgment of God. God himself associates fire with His jealousy. Ezekiel 36:5 speaks of "My burning jealousy" and in 38:19 "in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath". The prophet Zephaniah proclaims in Zeph. 3:8: "All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy". Asaph, the psalmist wrote "How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?" (Ps. 79:5)
In the same way God also associates fury with His jealousy: "I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy (Ezek. 16:38). "Thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury (36:6). "My fury will show in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken" (38:18-19. The prophet Nahum declared, "God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; the Lord avenges and is furious" (Nah. 1:2).
However, God's jealousy and wrath are not sinful, evil, or the source of capricious attitudes or deeds. It is part of his righteousness that demands justice. It is also seen in his love. I cannot think of a better analogy than that of a parent. If someone hurts my child, I am going to be furious desiring justice for restitution. It is because I love my child that my emotions create in me a jealousy for what is best for him or her. When we offend, reject and spit upon God's love, we can expect punishment. That ultimate judgment is portrayed as being cast out where there is darkness and gnashing of teeth. To be permanently separated from the source of love is my definition of hell. One can choose by virtue of being made in the image of God to live one's life outside the boundaries of faith in this life. But, there will come a time when "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that 'Jesus is Lord'". The judgment scene is portrayed as one where people will cry out, "But Lord when did we see you hungry, naked, thirsty or in prison?" God is a jealous God because he cares about the way we treat people. The way we act makes a difference in how we will spend eternity. Not realizing that the Lord is a jealous God is a fatal mistake with grave consequences for humanity.
Labels: Deuteronomy 4:23-24, Jealousy, wrath
posted by Bradford L. Stevens @ 9:00 PM
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