A Generous Jealousy (Exodus 34:14)
Let's go before God In Prayer.
Lord, you are who you are and there are times and you're not rare. When what you are does not line up with what we want. With what you what you are does not line up with what we expect. The problem there, lies with us we confess and we pray. There Was X few minutes, you will humble us. You will draw Listen to The Beauty of you who you actually are not what we want you to be. In Jesus name. I'm in. it'll hardly come as any news, it to any of you that God, often does things that men don't like Anywhere ideas are exchanged. You will find complaints against the morality of God. Let me know straight this with a single famous quote that summarizes all the thoughts of all falling man about God's allegedly objectionable Behavior.
You'll recognize the quote. The god of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction jealous and proud of it. A petty unjust unforgiving kontrolfreek, a vindictive cleanser, a misogynistic homophobic, racist. Infanticidal, Genesee tile, filicidal pestilential megalomaniacal, sado-masochistic, capriciously malevolent, bully.
you will no doubt recognize the eloquence of Notre Dame Fiesta, Richard Dawkins who makes this statement in the opening pages of his most famous book, The God Delusion now not everyone, get Express this idea so well, But this is the fundamental posture of Fallen man. When confronted with the character of God, is revealed in scripture, we don't like it. Why do we like it?
When we see God is, he's revealed himself in scripture and we're falling, unredeem men, why does Matt kind of response bubble up from our gut? There's a reason for that. God, doesn't conform to our standards. When viewed through Fallen blinded, rebellious, you and I got appears to be there. I said a very Grievous sinner, indeed.
and in our encounters with an unbelieving world and perhaps even in our encounters with our own hearts, We hear an awful lot about these things. from within and from without attacks on the doings and feelings of God, come thick and fast and they can be really, really hard to handle The howls of Dawkins are nothing new, man. He's been screaming like this since the garden gate closed behind Adam. The natural reaction of unredeemed man before the demands of a holy God. You were the person of a holy. God is to accuse the woman doll. Gave it to be with me. It goes back that far. To accuse to attack the high, their own depravity beneath. What I will call the seeming sins of God.
It's an important for a sippy alleged to have been seeming sins of God and I intend to follow another kind of eloquence all together. I Echo the greatest poet of the entire English language the mighty John Milton who explains the goal in his great, epic Paradise, Lost with the following prayer, he's praying to the Holy Spirit and he says, what in me is dark illumine. What is low raise and support that to the height of this? Great argument? I may assert Eternal Providence. And justify the ways of God to man. So just in case you were wondering, that's the side, I'm on not dockets. Just to make that real real clear, did they sermons call the generous jealousy? And it deals with the question of the jealousy of God, we're going to address what divine jealousy is not worded. The rest of the Divine jealousy is good and we're going to talk about why God's jealousy is loving next 2 weeks. Are you doing today? We're going to have another sermon called behind a frowning Providence, coating from the great William Cooper. Expels the mysteries of an incomprehensible God who is often acting and incomprehensible ways to bring about in comprehensible glories, in which all things work together for good. More on that later are to springboard texts. This morning are number one, Exodus 34:14 for you shall worship. No other God for the Lord whose name is. Jealous is a jealous God.
And in case that sounds a little too complimentary for you. Let's go to Deuteronomy 4 24 for the Lord. Your God is a consuming fire. A jealous God.
Are springboard. Text for the morning. Show us at the jealousy of God is not out there at the periphery. Somewhere is a minor idea. First of all, I'll get to this later. He sticks, It Slam in the middle of the Ten Commandments that makes it pretty important.
But in this text, he himself says that jealousy is his name.
That matters. That's important. You see a name? If not just annoys people make so that you can't come when you hear it. A name is a summary of identity, a compilation of character. It's a description of who somebody is. God's name, Yahweh. I am that. I am I calls to be The name jealous is a summary of who God is in his character. His stated reason, God stated reason, for prohibiting idolatry use it, he is essentially the word means over pertaining to being He is in his being jealous. When the world is going on here, then attribute is as fundamental to his being as loved as goodness as power, even as fundamental as holiness. God has a comprehensive and infinitely accurate, understanding of himself, of his imprisonment, value of his place over and above the reality that he has created given who he is. This jealousy is appropriate even necessary. So it is essential that we understand what is an attitude is a true tears and what it is not why is it appropriate for God to be jealous? This morning for no particular reason, my line drifted back to I think it was 1972. I was 10 years old and I heard a report on the radio that some complete lunatic had gotten loose and wherever it is, they keep Michael Angelo's pieta and beating the snot out of it with a hammer. The arm came off. I mean he did real real damage to it. This is one of the most beautiful works of art ever created by men and I'm jealous because my wife has been to see
Apparently they fixed it. What do you think happened? When is more on start swinging that hammer? Just take a wild guess it should have been an exchange of gunfire, it wasn't, but believe me that guy was restrain right now. Because the security apparatus in that building was jealous for the safety of that piece of Rock. Why? It's just a piece of Rock. Why was the security the team jealous for that piece of Rock?
Because it's insanely valuable. It was created by a great mind with great hands to convey a glorious reality. It was worth preservation.
Does value of the pieta Justified, any action taken in his defense? What about the value of the main character in Crown rights of the Triune Majesty? Chelsea is appropriate. Let's look at what God's jealousy is not. In almost every use of the Hebrew word, Kani referring to the jealousy of men, it refers to sinful jealousy. We are about the brothers of Joseph. Genesis 37 11. And his brothers were jealous of him with what result.
What happened to Joseph's brothers were jealous of him? He wound up with a career change. Solon energy into slavery and things got pretty Grim for him for a fairly long time. That's not the last time we hear about something like that. David has seen his thousands and David his slaying, his ten, thousands. And what happens when that check leaves the lips of the women of Israel. What happens inside Saul's heart? A very good effective King. Becomes a raving psychopath.
And Saul was very angry. This, it first thing I saw was very angry in this saying displeased him, he said they have described the David, tens of thousands, and Amelia was scribed only thousands and what more can he have, but the kingdom, here's the money shot. And saw I had David from that day on
The verb to I never had a more menacing character to it. Because a simple jealousy sees the heart of a righteous effective man and made him a lunatic.
What are the usual effects of this kind of jealous. They welcomed Joe 52. So surely vexation. Kills the fool and jealousy slays the simple.
Wrote the wrong kind of jealousy will kill you problem 634. The same thing where jealousy makes a man Furious. What does Fury usually do? Do human beings IQ.
Fury for men is usually not quite always, but very usually a really bad idea. It reduces your ability to think and makes you do things that are monumentally catastrophically. Highly damaging stupid,
And that's why the great Solomon. The wise doesn't recommend it.
The New Testament where he's not really all that different than his very similar kind of Nations. It's from it. Interest in you left, we get the word zeal. That's where we got to work, but it's a, it's a different context in the New Testament. Paul in Galatians 5 20 is making a list of extremely bad sins, that are fruits of the Flesh on that list are idolatry sorcery, enmity, strife, and right in the middle of it jealousy. But I continue to fix of anger, rivalries, dissensions division, That's a nasty horrible to be in. And there it is. Sinful human jealousy. James also deals with this and James 3:16 for where jealousy and selfish ambition. Those are synonyms exist. There will be disorder and every vile practice. So, what emerges from these examples is an exceedingly, ugly, character, flaw one with which we are all too familiar. This is jealousy in the form of insecurity. We men with regard to our women do jealousy this way, when we don't have a right to be jealous. when there's no marriage, when we get insecure,
You have a thing with which without which I am not enough, what you have. If I don't have, it makes me small. It makes me less than they like to say today. This must be overthrown or people will see how weak I am how small I am, how insignificant I am. I must take action against you for the people don't find out who I really am. That's half of sinful jealousy. That's why we get nervous when we hear God. Call himself jealous. I could God be like that.
We also reflects mistrust, if I do not act on my jealousy, you are going to do something to hurt me. You can't be trusted. I have to I you have to watch my back. Cuz I don't trust you. Why can't keep tabs on you? If I don't care, if we watch you, you're going to do something. That makes me unsafe. I'm not safe. Unless you're carefully watched or unless you're out, right? Neutralized. In some way, I have to be controlling cuz you're going to get me. It's a pretty disgusting characteristic and Security Plus and mistrust equals abject misery for everybody concerned. And this is different completely from God's jealousy. There is absolutely no point of contact between what I just described and the jealousy of God. what I just described is what that word means to you, when you first look at it, and when you experience it among falling men, And I'm going to distance us from that cuz this is not what God is in anyway. Omnipotence is out of the reach of insecurities. And it's pretty hard to worry about what you're going to do tomorrow when, you know, absolutely everything.
It's absurd to apply those characteristics to God. So why why is God a jealous? God shall see good? Well, God is jealous for just reasons. He is jealous for what rightly belongs to him. He is legitimately wrong when he is robbed of what belongs to him. Guess you're at the ATM? A big Burly nasty person comes up behind you with a 38 and says, give me your money. Do you object?
Do you have the feeling he is doing something bad? I would think so why it's your money not his and I don't care what his lawyers. Mr. Smith and mr. Wesson have to say about it, It's your money. It's not his money. And an illegitimate thing is being done. It might not be wise to punch him in the nose but I understand the impulse.
You are jealous for what belongs to you. Amanda public place. He's becoming just a little bit too friendly with your wife. Are you insecure if you're jealous of that? Know your duty as a husband to protect his clicking into place. And you're preserving what Covenant Ali belongs to you. It's a part of your responsibilities as a husband, you're not just being insecure but in that same kind of way God in the second commandment says this, you shall not bow down to these images nor serve them because I the Lord your God am a jealous God, how jealous pretty jealous visiting, the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.
Look what's going on here? The worship of God belongs to. He belongs to God. Nobody else can have it a bad thing, a wrong thing. And unjust thing has happened when what belongs to God is stolen from him by another
And God's Zeal for his own worship. Illegitimate Zeal based on a correct understanding of who he is and what his value is. That Zeal for his own worship is entirely legitimate and entirely necessary. And as he must in the face of every sin, God must act. And hear the legitimate Vengeance of God, crosses Generations. This is not a small problem. God is acting appropriately. Given what has been stolen and from whom This is just one example, the fact that God's jealous. Jealousy is just he is jealous for justice. He pours out wrath on that, which is actually evil or harmful Rebellion against him or attacks on his people when I'm jealous. I'm leaving much of the time. With an irritation of my personal space. When God is jealous, he is reacting against violations of his right and prerogative and character, it's an entirely different kind of emotion. God's jealousy is just he's dealing with things that do real harm. And he's very serious about the prophet Nahum. In the second verse of his prophecy says this, the Lord is a jealous and an avenging. God, the Lord is avenging and wrathful the Lord takes Vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.
You're serious. Is this not the kind of warm fuzzy stuff? We normally here in Hallmark theology.
In the prophets, God shows his jealousy toward two different subjects. He is jealous for his people who have stolen his work been going After idols and he is jealous for people who have hurt his people during x1000, judgment from God. He even brings down Vengeance on people. He sent to punish his people.
More on that a little bit later.
It's important when dealing with adjusted with the jealousy of God, to pick your preposition of jealousy versus for jealousy. Sinful human jealousy is jealous of something. It is born of lacking. He's bored of not having something and wanting it. It's born of unfulfilled perceived need. Divine jealousy is jealousy for something. I have the thing. If this is not an exposure of weakness or insufficiency, Divine jealous is the arousal power in the defense of something. It's inherently protective. You're some of the things that God's jealousy for text the first, use his own name. He protects his own name, Deuteronomy 32:20, one they have made me jealous. God, people are in the idolatry again. They made me jealous by what is no God. They provoke me to anger with their Idols, so I will make them jealous with those who are no people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish Nation. Moses is still raining and we're talkin about the Exile. Hundreds of years later, he is real, is doing the worship. That is God's right and do to other gods. Before God gives the gifts promised to Israel to another people to the Gentiles. So the Gentiles are, shall we say impolite Toward the Israelites. Hundreds of years later, Ezekiel is writing about exactly the same reality 3925. Therefore thus says the Lord God, now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob. I will have mercy on the whole house of Israel. And how do you summarize restoring the The Fortunes? How do you summarize? His mercy and I will be jealous for my holy name. An interesting thing to put into that context, he's being nice. He's being kind and he injects is jealousy as a motivating factor for his kindness God returns Israel from their Exile. He brings them out from under his judgment. He restores them, why? Certainly not because they're Worthy. They ever learn precisely zilch from God, we are not worthy, but he does this because he has made promises to Israel in the sight of the Nations and he will not allow his name to be called Ally.
He is merciful to Israel in the Defence of his reputation. He is merciful to Israel, to protect the honor of his name and the Integrity of his promises. God's kindness to me will never in the smallest tiniest degree. Be dependent on my goodness or worthiness to him. It will always be in the Defence of his integrity. Rudy and the promises he has made that he can't break because he is truth. He is jealous for his honor and rises in defense of his honor by giving me mercy. I can deserve
talk about a fortress against feelings of divine abandonment.
I can't be forsaking the honor of God. Depends on it.
That's an interesting thing to pull out of jealousy, isn't it?
Rises in the defense of his Covenant, people, Ezekiel 36, 6, therefore prophesied concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains, into the hills, to The Ravines Into The Valleys. Says the Lord. God behold, I am smoking in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the reproach of Nations who's got mad at hear the Babylonians, the people who dragged Israel off in the Exile, the people who crushed Judah under their feet and under their weapons, God saying been seventy years. What time is come? I'm going to avenge myself upon those who have hurt you. Joe has the same idea in mind to 18, then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. And he still versus God's protective jealousy rises in defense of his people, he restores them to relationship. He heals their suffering because he's jealous. He's jealous for his name. He's jealous in protection and defense of his people. So, we see that God's jealous, he's not just legitimate, it is against violations of His Majesty of these rights. I was perogative, we see that God's jealousy is protective. Both of things that deserve to be protected, God's name, God's honor, and of things that God has chosen to love name of the EU. God's covenant people.
So the jealousy of God is righteousness. It's legitimate, it's good.
But sometimes we look at righteousness and we find ourselves at the point of it as if it were a weapon. Not everything. Is that is righteous. Seems to be loving to us. So, why is this Furious flaming jealousy? Loving
The prophet Zechariah has a good to say about this about the loving jealousy of God. In chapter one, he recorded a conversation between an angel and God in which the angel asked, God, how long his mercies will be withheld from zero. Zechariah 1-12, in the angel of the Lord said, oh, lord of hosts. How long would you have? No mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah against what? You have been angrily, 70 years And the Lord answered gracious. And comforting words to the angel who talked with me, So the angel who talked with me, said to me cry out. Thus says the Lord, the Lord of hosts. I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion and I am exceedingly angry with the Nations that are at ease for 1. I was angry but a little They further the disaster. They did more than I told them to an enjoyed it more than they should. Therefore says the Lord I have returned to Jerusalem with Mercy my house, she'll be built in it. Declares the Lord of hosts and the measuring lines. Do we stretch out over Jerusalem? Cry out. Again. Says the Lord of hosts, my cities shall again, overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again Comfort Zion, and the Lord will again shoes Jerusalem. Notice it when God explains his heart in his dealings, with his people, the name that God uses for his love. Is the name jealousy.
The name Chelsea, that's what he calls his love. The Fulfillment of all these promises is based on his jealous actions. Nobody is going to persecute my people with impunity. Not going to happen. I am jealous for her Comfort. I am jealous for her restoration. I am jealous against her persecutors. I am jealous against your enemies. I will arise. I will act. I will deliver all because I love, I love jealously.
I love with a jealous intensity. Later in the book in chapter 8 zachari goes back to the same thing. Zachariah 82. Thus says the Lord of hosts. I am bored again and jealous for Zion with great jealousy. And I am jealous for her with great Wrath. I've been in public like this one for a little bit and forty years and I don't think in all the sermons that I have ever priests in, all of my life I have ever used one word. This many times in one sermon, Weight shows us how deeply ingrained this idea is in the dealings of God.
We're dealing here with God, acting in love with love, taking the form of jealousy and Wrath. Josie and Ralph are not the most warm and cuddly of attributes.
What remember your action movies? You guys like action movies, you know, you do. I know you do. Do our guilty secret. Why do we love action movies? We love next movies because we live in a world. That's pretty unjust. But we can count on action movies to make sure the bad guy dies, a bad death, we can count on that. You see, we love action movies because the hero sees his love interest in trouble. He rises to wait for it. Action. He is jealous for her safety, he's not really all that happy about the fact that the villain got his grubby Paws all over his. His girl, his girl, his girl. So we see wrath and we like this rats, what we paid, our ten bucks, for we like the rat. This wrath means that the bad guy is going to die. His biblically required, bad death, Which is appropriate. Bad guys, should die bad desk, we believe that, because even in our fallen State, we still bear the image of God. And even though we have distorted the image of God, the thing we have distorted is God's justice. God's justice in a warped and twisted way, rest in our souls. So we want to see the bad guys out of bed, death, because that worked in Twisted version of Wrath and Jealousy. On our part is actually a twisting of something good and true and beautiful the perfect righteousness of the living. Triune God, We are jealous for justice. We are jealous because we want to see Justice done and Justice is a jealousy that loves the innocent or Justice. Is a jealousy that loves and protects and rescues the forgiven
That's what it does. Here are action movies. All failed. There's really anything Redemptive about them. Zechariah, she was just something different. It shows us a people transformed by The Loving jealousy of their God and Rich by the generous jealousy of their redeemer. Are jealous God, restores his presents to his people first three, thus says, the Lord I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem shall be called the faithful City. Not the adults for City anymore, the faithful City in the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain, not to buy a dollar for anymore. A presence of God return. The Transformers God's people are jealous. God restores the community in the fellowship and his people love him by loving each. Other vs. Says the Lord of hosts old men and old women shall against it in the streets of Jerusalem, each, with staff in hand because of great age. Folks I'm old and I sometimes don't think don't see being old as a blessing. It hurts is heavy. It makes funny noises.
But they're coming out of an exile where there have been cjis. In which families have eaten their children to survive. They're coming out of an exile. We're just been starvation and deprivation War. where there were no old man, and there were no old women cuz everybody that early And now, God celebrating the fact. Men and women of great age who need canes to walk or sipping, a mint julep on the front porch.
He finds that beautiful.
I'm married to an old lady. I find that beautiful to
In the streets of the city, should be full of boys and girls playing in the streets.
Something has to happen for. You can see that. You have to have peace and security where families can grow and rejoice into lightning each other and Delight in the world around them and have community.
Are jealous God. Delights in our Delights in the joy that he has restored us worth 6. Thus says the Lord of hosts. If it is marvellous in the side of the remnant of this people in those days, she would, it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts, you see, God rejoicing in the restored condition and you speak. Are jealous, God accomplishes a full and complete Redemption of all who are is by Covenant fully restored. Fully addressed face-to-face with him under his protection under his love for 7 that says, the Lord of hosts behold, I will save my people from the East Country and I will save my people from the West country and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people. And I will be their God. In faithfulness and in righteousness. And that's always one of the great Promises of God's covenant language. They will be my people under my protection rejoicing, in my promises defended by my power resting in my jealousy. And I will be their God, pouring out mercy and forgiveness and peace and Tranquility among them and making myself known is the highest of their Comforts enjoys. And we will dwell together, face-to-face, the lighting, and each other in this world. And in another forever. Such a God has every right to be proud of his jealousy. Don't you think?
Lord Our God. We we falling worship and rejoice. Did we are defended by so great and Furious jealousy. That we are instructed by so great and Furious jealousy. It's Your Love divorce and leaves no survivors among the enemies of yourself and your people. We ask you to work in us. A cheer Rishi of your cherishing of us in Jesus name.
