The Jealousy of God

I. A Jealous God? A. Sounds slanderous 1. We know the green-eyed monster as a vicious vice, but our God is perfectly good. 2. Hard to imagine Him being jealous. B. Don’t be making God up in our imaginaon. 1. His revelaon tells us the truth about Himself. 2. Revealed through many agents. a. The b. His Son – Hebrews 1: 1-2 c. Scripture – Has not le record to be lost through oral transmission. C. Scripture doesn’t seem to hide or downplay God’s jealousy at all. 1. Exodus 20: 5 2. Exodus 34: 14 – His name! Not inconsistent with the foregoing statements. 3. Part of His Holy Perfecon 4. A constant move for God’s intervening acon. a. Repeatedly throughout . b. I Corinthians 10: 22 – James 4: 5 5. We are not to dwell on His goodness alone – Romans 11: 22 II. How can it be a virtue in God and such a vice in humans? A. Anthropomorphism 1. God is a personal being and we are more like Him than anything else in all creaon. 2. Scripture uses language drawn from our personal experiences, but without the corrupng and liming influence of sin. 3. His jealousy is not a compound of envy, anger and wounded pride as ours so oen is. 4. Vicious jealousy is an expression of “I want what you have and I hate you because I don’t have it”. a. Infanle resentment, malice and meanness. Potent because fed by pride. b. If indulged for long can tear an otherwise solid character apart. B. Jusfied jealousy 1. Zeal to protect a love relaonship (Numbers 5: 11-31 – The suspicious husband) 2. An aspect of God’s covenant love for His people. 3. References oen have to do with idol worship provoking Him. a. 16 – as a whore - vs. 38 b. – Oholah & Oholibah - vs. 4 4. God’s jealousy in light of His overall plan leads Him to protect, judge, destroy and discipline. 5. Also leads Him to restore when His people properly respond – II Chronicles 7: 14 III. The Jealousy of God requires us to be Zealous for Him. A. His concern for us is great. Ours should also be. 1. All God’s people should be passionately & posively devoted to Him. To His person, His honor, His cause. 2. The word for this is zeal. B. Examples 1. Elijah – I Kings 19: 10 2. Phinehas – Numbers 25: 11 3. Paul – Romans 10: 1-2 , Titus 2: 14 4. Jesus – John 2: 17 C. His message to a church that no longer is – Revelaon 3: 15 1. How many modern churches are big, respectable, presgious and lukewarm? 2. Vs. 19 – Why we have to keep praying, singing “Revive us again” and meeng to “provoke” one another – Hebrews 10: 25