INTRODUCTION
Today we are going to continue our look at the Attribute of our Awesome God.
The attributes that we have looked at thus far are ones that we can easily relate to God.
The attribute I am going to cover today is one that we may have some trouble attributing to God. It is easy for most of us to see that God is love or that God is faithful but today’s attribute is a bit more difficult.
As a matter of fact it was so difficult that when I studied all of the passages in the bible on the subject and then went to the commentaries, most of them just skipped the verses where this attribute is mentioned in reference to God. I kind of felt like skipping this one, but the evidence from scripture would not let me do that.
Toady we are going to look at God’s Jealous Love for You.
The thought of God being jealous is a difficult thing to attribute to God since in many places in the bible, jealousy is not a good thing to posses (James 3:14-16, 1 Cor 3:3, Rom 13:13)
Yet when you look in the scriptures, you see that God is called a jealous God. Listen to a couple of these verse:
EXO 20:5 "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
DEU 6:15 for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
PSA 79:5 How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
There are others also. We find from other passages that God can be provoked to jealousy.
PSA 78:58 For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.
DEU 32:16 "They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
In order for us to able to understand this most unusual attribute of our awesome God, we are going to look at the meaning of jealousy and then we will see what makes God jealous and finally we will see what right God has to be jealous over us.
Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival.
One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, "I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?"
The man frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!"
My first-grader came home and proudly reported to her dad that she was now officially a "Brownie." Not to be outdone, her three-year-old brother, Christopher, rushed up to Dad and proudly announced he was a cupcake!
Two cows were grazing in a pasture when they saw a milk truck pass. On the side of the truck were the words, "Pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, vitamin A added." One cow sighed and said to the other, "Makes you feel sort of inadequate, doesn’t it?"
Is God jealous like the storeowners were? Is God’s jealousy something that bitterly wishes ill will towards others?
Is God’s jealousy like that of the three-year-old who did not want to be out done by his sister? Is God’s jealousy like that of the cows where were envious over not having what the milk truck had?
These are examples of jealousy that man generally has. Let’s look at what jealousy is.
SERMON
I. WHAT IS JEALOUSY?
JEALOUSY is used in three senses in Scripture;
(1) As intolerance of rivalry or unfaithfulness. This would be like the jealousy that a spouse would have. They are married to their spouse and therefore have exclusive rights that go with that.
(2) As a disposition suspicious of rivalry or unfaithfulness. In other words this means that a person is always suspicious of the accomplishments of others. Saul in 1 Samuel 18:8 would be a good example of this when he became jealous of the attention that David was receiving for his military victories
(3) As hostility towards a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage. This one approximates envy.
Most often human jealousy involves hostility towards a rival. Joseph’s brothers were jealous (Gen. 37:11) and thus sold their brother into slavery (Acts 7:9). In Acts 17:5 a jealous group among the Jews incited the crowd against Paul. Jealousy, like envy, is common in vice lists (Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:20-21). Jealousy is regarded as worse than wrath or anger (Prov. 27:4). James regarded jealousy (or bitter envy) as characteristic of earthy, demonic wisdom (3:14) and as the source of all disorder and wickedness (3:16).
This would be like the situation in James 4:2 where the people were at war with one another over the material things that some had that others did not have. This would also be like the cows in the illustration.
Where does God fit into the picture? God’s jealousy fits under the first example. God is jealous for His people. In the Old Testament it was the nation of Israel. In The New Testament, it would be for the Christian.
So what was it that made or provoked God to jealousy?
II. WHAT MAKES GOD JEALOUS?
God is intolerant of rival gods (Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9)
1KI 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins which they committed.
DEU 32:16 "They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
DEU 32:21 ’They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
The thing that made God jealous was Israel’s lack of faithfulness.
God was provoked to jealousy when His people turned their backs on Him and started to worship and serve other gods.
God was angered by the divided devotion of His people. He was angered by how easily the people would turn from Him.
Think about the time that God took the Israelites out of Egypt. As soon as they got out of town, they were ready to go back (Exodus 14:12). If I were God, I would have turned them back, but God not do that.
The reason that God was jealous for His people was simple; it was His love for them. God loved His people and was upset when they rejected Him.
In Joshua chapter 24, Joshua recounts t he history the people had with God and what He has done for them, let us pick it up in Chapter 24:14-24
Joshua said that since God has done good for them, they needed to faithfully follow God, and if they did not, God would not tolerate it.
Joshua said that God would not accept the people cheating on Him with other gods or idols.
When you go back to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, you will find that the first one is that you are not to have any gods before God nor are you to make idols. He further goes on to state that we are not to worship or serve the false gods because God is jealous (verse 5).
God’s love for us is so strong that He is jealous for our devotion and love. How would you feel if you had a spouse that you deeply love and have provided and then found out that your spouse was not faithful to you? Many people have experienced this feeling.
God’s jealousy for His people was good because God took care of His people.
One expression of God’s jealousy for Israel is God’s protection of His people from enemies. Thus God’s jealousy includes avenging Israel (Ezek. 36:6; 39:25; Nah. 1:2; Zech. 1:14; 8:2). Phineas is described as jealous with God’s jealousy (Num. 25:11, 13, sometimes translated zealous for God). Elijah is similarly characterized as jealous (or zealous) for God (1 Kings 19:10, 14). In the New Testament Paul speaks of his divine jealousy for the Christians at Corinth (CORE RINTH) (2 Cor. 11:2).
III. WHAT RIGHT DOES GOD HAVE TO BE JEALOUS OVER YOU?
God’s jealousy involves His people. From what I studied, I did not find a place in the Old Testament where God was jealous for the other nations, just Israel. Why was that the case? Because Israel belonged to God, Israel was His bride.
God had the right to be jealous for Israel’s affections because He loved them and His love caused Him to provide and protect His chosen nation.
What right does God have to be jealous over us? What right does He have to desire our love and devotion? What right do I have to jealously seek the love, affection and devotion of Robyn? She is my wife.
You Belong to God
When you become a Christian, you belong to God. ROM 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. When we are immersed into Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit that marks us as belonging to God (Eph 1:13).
1CO 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
Because you belong to God, He wants what is best for you. JAM 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? God knows what is best for us, that is part of the reason that we are given the Bible. In God’s word, you will find out the best way of life that you can find anywhere. God wants His people to be the best they can be. God wants us to succeed in our relationship with Him. God does not want us to fail in our parenting, in our marriages, financially or in any other way. He wants what is best for us because we belong to Him. How many of you hope that you children end up being bums?
We belong to God because we were bought with a price!
1CO 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
1CO 7:23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.
The price that was paid for your redemption was not cheap. Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
You are special to God. God has a special love for you because He paid a high price for you, He sent His Son to die for your sins so that you could have eternal life!
God has the right to be jealous because we are His. I can be jealous for Robyn if some guy comes a flirting because she is my wife, I cannot be jealous if the same guy flirts with another woman because she is not my wife.
CONCLUSION
Having a jealous God is a hard thing to grasp, but remember that God is jealous for our heart, love and devotion. Jesus said that the greatest command was to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul and mind (Matt 22:37).
God loves us so much that He wants the best for us.
When you think about it, it is flattering to think that the creator of all things wants my love and devotion. Ladies aren’t you flattered when your husband’s jealousy flares up at times when they think someone is flirting with you?
We belong to God. When you stepped into the baptistery in faith, confessing Jesus as your Lord and savior and repenting of your sins, you freely gave your life away to God.
This is much the same way that when I married Robyn, I gave my life to her and she gave her life to me.
Give God your full-devotion, He jealously desires it from you because He loves you.
