"His Name is Jealous"
EPISODE 89
Be Faithful to God
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How would you feel if you caught someone looking longingly at your husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend? Our natural reaction might be jealousy. And would it surprise you that God shares this same reaction towards his people?
“(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)” (Exo. 34:14).
Jealousy is such a part of God’s makeup that he uses the word as his name! Despite our typically negative views of this emotion, it must be good if it’s part of God’s nature. So, let’s explore why God is jealous and what that means in our relationship with him today.
A Holy Marriage
“And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord” (Hos. 2:19-20).
Throughout the Bible, we see our relationship with God explained using terms we can understand — a marriage. God is the loving and faithful husband, and we are his bride. We’ve made a special commitment to each other and have pledged to be united in love and sacrificial service. We share an intimate bond that ideally will never be broken.
Broken Intimacy
“... I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord” (Hos. 2:13).
While God will never leave us or betray us, we can easily be tempted to stray — chasing willfully after sin and selfishness. And God doesn’t take this breach of intimacy lightly. He’s jealous of us, demanding our faithfulness and exclusive affection. If we willingly choose to wander away from God, seeking pleasure in the arms of another, his anger burns like a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24)!
He Wants Us Back
“I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. ... They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon” (Hos. 14:4, 7).
But if we come to our senses, leave our sins behind, and return to the Lord, he’ll welcome us back to that loving relationship. He is patient with us, not wishing that any should be lost (2 Pet. 3:9). But let’s be careful not to take advantage of his mercy and grace. We can’t continue to stray from him, living lives of willful sin, and expect him to welcome us back indefinitely (Rom. 6:1-2).
So, let us praise God for his love for us, his jealousy, and our intimate and exclusive relationship!
