Tag: jealous God

Praise Yah!

*Isaiah 17-18

*Psalm 112

*Revelation 9                                                

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today is 9/11, it’s appropriate to remember and reflect.  In today’s Revelation reading we’re continuing on with some of the things from yesterday, so  if you’ve not read through that, go ahead and take a second to get caught up.  Today as we start reading on Revelation 9, the 7th seal has been broken, and 4 of 7 trumpets have sounded, and things are about to get worse for those on the earth.  Even still, during all of this man won’t repent but continues to “worship demons, idols of gold and silver, nor repent of their murders or sorceries or sexual immorality or their theft” (Rev 9:20-21).

            That being said, our primary focus today isn’t going to be the apocalyptic events that are going down, but more a study of “how we got here” to this dark time, and how we might be (possibly) spared from the righteous wrath of God in that day (see Rev 9:4).

            So let’s take a step back and look at things.  We know that God, our creator, owns not only us but the entirety of the earth and everything on it (and the heavens, etc, etc, see Ps 24:1 for reference).  He’s proud of His creation, because He thinks (and I agree) that He did a good job when He made it (see for  reference:  Gen 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:25, and 1:35).  I think any reasonable being looking at the beauty of the creation would agree, particularly if you overlook the glaring ugly things that we’ve done to the planet, the giant tacky roadsigns along the freeway of creation.  God did an amazing job.  The creation, as it was and as it was intended, is beautiful.

            We also know that, as the proud Father of this creation, one of the biggest pet peeves that God has is that His creation gives the praise and glory that is due to Him to something or someone else.  That’s why when God warns the people about idolatry, He let’s them know right off the bat that it’s because he is a (rightfully) jealous God (see Ex 20:5, 34:14).  Imagine for a moment if you spent a long time planning, designing, and then building a beautiful (insert anything you’d like to imagine here).  You finish it, it’s fantastic and beautiful, and absolutely surpasses all expectation.  You nailed it! 

            Then a group of folks come up and admire your (whatever it was), and they are just brimming with praise: “Great job!  Lovely work! Beautiful!” and you are justifiably happy, because you really did a good job and it’s being acknowledged.  Then one of them goes “Yea Bob, great job!” and they all turn, pat one of the folks on the back repeatedly, and walk off talking about what a great job Bob has done.  WAIT A MINUTE! Who’s this Bob guy?  YOU did all the work, Bob wasn’t even nearby.  What the heck?!  Now stop for a moment and think: how do you feel right now?  That’s probably kind of how God feels when we give the praise and glory that is due Him to any other thing, or being.  When we do such things, we may be worshipping demons.

            A very good portion of the Old Testament before the Exile was essentially an object lesson against idolatry.  Here in Isaiah 17:10-11, we see again as a warning: “10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation And have not remembered the rock of your strong defense. Therefore you plant delightful plants And set them with vine branches of a strange god. 11In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the morning you cause your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap In a day of sickliness and incurable pain.” (LSB).  So, the branches of a “strange god” can seem “delightful”.  We can hedge and fence it in and think it’s pretty, and we can cause these fabrications to flourish, but the harvest of such an abomination will be “sickliness and incurable pain”.

            I believe no man can know the mind of God, or fully understand Him.  That being said, there are things that God reveals about Himself.  He has feelings, He’s offended when we act rebelliously, and He loves us fiercely.  He’s proud of what He made.  There is only one of Him, and He made us and everything we can see.  Through the ages, men have planted delightful plants, and set them with the vine branches of a strange god, fenced them in, and made them look appealing.  God has warned us about this, so it is the absolute height of folly to worship any other God than has been revealed to us in scripture.  That’s why it’s so important to be discerning when reading scripture.

            When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment was, he said “the greatest commandment is this: Listen!  God (YHWH) is the only God, and you should love Him with your heart, mind, and soul.  Second to this, you should love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29 and following).  In his ministry, Jesus gave all glory and credit to God.  Be like Jesus.  Give God the credit He is due, love Him for it, and exhibit that love as an action by loving the other people that God created as much as you do yourself, that’s how to honor God.  We don’t need to add strange stuff to the bible to make the story beautiful, it’s already beautiful.  When we add to what is written, we’re planting “delightful plants with vines of a strange god”.  It’s just not what God told us, He’s actually specifically told us not to do such a thing.  Don’t do that.  The word of God is enough.

            In our Ps 112 reading today we see a number of critical understandings on how to give God the glory (all following from LSB).  Firstly: “1Praise Yah! How blessed is the man who fears Yahweh,“.  Secondly: “4Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. 5It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; Who sustains his works with justice.”.  This would fall under that “love your neighbor as yourself” bit that Jesus quoted just above.  Be compassionate and gracious, righteous and generous to your fellow creation.  This is reiterated, and noted additionally that this type of behavior will be rewarded here: “9 He has given freely to the needy, His righteousness stands forever; His horn will be raised in glory.”  Set yourself up for success, and begin trying to love your fellow creation, radically.  Conversely and by comparison, “10The wicked will see it and be vexed. He will gnash his teeth and melt away…”. 

            So, we need to honor, fear, and love the God who made us.  We see that we can do this by listening to God, honoring God as He has revealed Himself to us (and without adding bits), and by loving the rest of the humans He created as much as we love ourselves.  It’s simple, and it’s important.  Listen now though, and I will tell you a great secret, an opportunity for you to help cover any foolishness and sin that you have done.

            I have 2 dogs, and 1 is named Bo.  Whenever something is destroyed, when something is chewed up or broken, when my bread is gone off the top of the counter, we always know: “it was Bo.”  It’s always Bo.  He is just terrible, he eats our food, he tears up our trash, he chews up things we need.  He is also the most loving dog I’ve ever met.  When I prostrate myself on the ground to pray, Bo will come and lick my head until I get up.  Then he’ll try to wiggle his head under my head and lick my face, and lay down with me, trying to get his head in a position where he can (continue to) lick me all over my face profusely.  My point in bringing this up is: Bo is the bad dog.  Bo is the one who destroys things.  It’s always Bo.  It’s also almost impossible to be mad at Bo when he’s so loving and he’s licking your face repeatedly for about half an hour.  Take the hint.  We need to “be like Bo” in the manner of our affections towards God – also, stop stealing the bread.

REFLECTION QUESTION

What are some practical things we can do to ensure that we aren’t planting strange vines in our garden, and to be more loving toward God?  Try to think of at least 3.

PRAYER

Father God, You have made me and all things in this place.  All glory belongs to You.  Thank you.  Please forgive me when I fail you, and help me.  I love you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Justified Judgment


Nahum 1-3

The book of Nahum takes place a century after Nineveh repented following the preaching of Jonah. It took less than a hundred years for the city to return to idolatry, violence, and arrogance. Nineveh was proud of her supposed invulnerability, with walls that reached 100 feet high and a moat surrounding the city that was 150 feet wide and 60 feet deep. The Assyrians, who ruled the city, were known for being an unusually cruel and blood thirsty nation, who were spiritually and morally depraved. Not only did the leaders and inhabitants of Nineveh violate God’s laws, they often did so by preying on God’s chosen people, the Israelites.

The prophet Nahum was a messenger of the divine judgement against Nineveh. The first chapter of Nahum declares the looming destruction of Nineveh and illustrates God’s power as an omnipotent, holy, and jealous God who will punish the wicked to avenge his own. Although He is a jealous God, he is also slow to anger and is long-suffering. Remember, he nearly destroyed the city one hundred years earlier, in the time of Noah. Despite his mercy and patience, His righteousness, holiness and justice prevent Him from leaving the wicked unpunished. Nahum announced God’s specific judgement against Nineveh, interweaving blessings and hope for Israel. Judah was to be no longer afflicted by Assyria, rather God would vindicate them, as He is the stronghold and fortress to those who put their hope in Him.

The second chapter of Nahum vividly details the future assault of Nineveh, at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. God’s vindication is justified through depictions of Nineveh’s treachery against her enemies. In verse 13, God himself declares, “Behold, I am against you” – not something that any person or nation in the world should want to hear!

Chapter three continues to detail the arrogance of Nineveh, as well as details of their fate and God’s righteous wrath against them. Our Heavenly Father won’t allow arrogant or violent empires to endure forever. Nineveh’s fate is a testimony of God’s commitment to bring down the arrogant in every age. God is grieved by the death of the innocent and his goodness and justice compel him to allow the downfall of oppressive nations.

Nahum 1:7 declares, “The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And he knows those who take refuge in Him.” May we all humble ourselves before God’s justice and trust in His sovereignty and timing to punish the oppressors of this present, evil age.

Prayer:

God, you are awesome, omnipotent, holy, mighty and just! We pray that our nation, her leaders, and her people would humble ourselves and turn to you. May we submit to your ways, trust in your plans, obey your laws and seek your righteousness. Father, forgive us for putting our trust in mankind and things of this earth, rather than fully depending on you. You are our strength, our hope, and salvation! In your precious son’s name, we pray – Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• How might you react if you were a citizen of Nineveh hearing this prophecy?

• How can the people of Nineveh’s actions serve as a warning for modern society?

• How does this chapter influence your understanding of sin and its consequences?

• How does Nahum 1 influence your understanding of God’s protective love for His people? 

-Beth Osborn

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When God says, “Enough”

Patient God – Jealous God

Nahum 1-3 and Revelation 11

In Nahum, we read of God’s declaration of destruction against Nineveh.  You may recall that over 100 years prior to Nahum, Jonah had preached against Nineveh.  At that time, the people repented of their sins, so God didn’t send destruction at that time.

But that repentance didn’t last, and the people of Nineveh became more idolatrous and more sinful than ever.  So in Nahum 1:2 we read,  “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.”

Normally, we think of jealousy as a bad thing, like “You have something I want, and I’m jealous.”  Many times in the Bible, God talks of his jealousy as a relationship He wants to protect – sort of like a husband and a wife who are united.  If one strays, the other would be very jealous, not wanting to share their spouse with another.  In this case, God doesn’t want anyone worshiping anyone but Him, but Nineveh is worshiping idols – making God jealous.

And similarly, we typically also think of vengeance as a bad thing – and for us to take vengeance is indeed wrong.  But God is a holy God, and can’t tolerate people flouting His law and do nothing about it.  We’re told in Deuteronomy 32:35, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.”

So in Nahum, God is declaring war against Nineveh and its people because of their sins.  It seems kind of odd, then, that verse 3 continues by talking about how patient God is:  “The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.”

God had indeed been slow to anger.  He had given the people at least another 100 years to get right with Him.  He had been very patient.  But at some point, even God has had enough and will act, not leaving the guilty unpunished.

This was true for Nineveh, when it was destroyed in 612 B.C.  And this fact is still true today.

We’re told in 2 Peter 3: 9-10, “9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” 

Again, God is patient, wanting everyone to repent.  But the time will come when He will destroy not Nineveh, but the earth, because of her sins.

In today’s reading in Revelation 11, we read about 2 witnesses that will prophesy for 1260 days at the end of this evil age.  They will be killed, and then after 3.5 days, they will be resurrected and caught up to heaven.  Then, in Revelation 11:15, the seventh trumpet will sound, and it will be declared, “The kingdom of  the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”  Then in Revelation 11:18, we read, “The nations were angry and your wrath has come.  The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great – and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

Notice in this passage there is a good news / bad news situation, declaring that God’s wrath has come (a bad thing), but also the time for rewarding His servants (a good thing)

In Nahum’s time, even with the bad things he was prophesying against Nineveh, Nahum was able to comfort God’s people with Nahum 1:15, “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!”  At the same time the guilty were being punished, the righteous were celebrating because of the peace they were about to enjoy.

We don’t know when, but we do know that one day, God will get so angry with the sinfulness rampant on earth that he will say, “enough”.  He will send horrible plagues and destruction, and then send Jesus – who will judge the living and the dead, destroying the wicked in the lake of fire, and granting eternal life to the righteous.

Since we know these things are coming, what kind of lives should we be living – as we await the return of Jesus?  The choice is yours.  But there will be consequences.

-Steve Mattison

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway.com here – Nahum 1-3 and Revelation 11

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Unfaithful

Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 92-93

                Occasionally, in my work as a chaplain I  meet an older couple who tell me they have been married a long time.  A few say they’ve been married 50 years.  Still fewer 60 years.  I can only think of 1 or 2 that I’ve met that made it 70 or 75 years.  Think about what it takes to be married to the same person for 75 years.  You have to be married at a young age, you both have to stay healthy enough to live at least into your 90’s, and you have to be able to figure out how to get along with another human being for 75 years.  Those are no small feats.  Statistically in the United States only about 5% of marriages make it to 50 years and far less to 60 or 70 or more.  According to the US census the average marriage lasts 8.2 years and the percentage of divorce is somewhere between 40-50% for all marriages.

                Marriage is a covenant.  A covenant is a faith commitment between two or more persons and God.  God established the covenant of marriage to be between a man and a woman till death do them part.  Because of human brokenness and our propensity to unfaithfulness, God made a provision for divorce in Deuteronomy 24.  Divorce is better than murdering your spouse.  Call it the lesser of two evils.  But it was never God’s intention for marriages to end in divorce.  It’s more of an accommodation to sin and brokenness than an ideal.

                Yet, even God had to divorce his unfaithful wife.  Woa, Nelly!  What are you talking about?  God never got married because, he’s… God, right?   Actually, God uses the image of marriage to describe His relationship with Israel.  God is the husband and Israel is His bride.  It’s an image that appears in today’s reading of Jeremiah and it appears in many other places in the Old Testament.  In fact, the book of Hosea is an entire book about this.  God uses the image of an unfaithful bride because it brings an immediate, visceral response to the reader.  Nobody like to be cheated on by the person that they love.  It’s one of life’s most painful experiences.  Go listen to Carrie Underwood’s song “Before He Cheats”.  That pretty well captures the rage that comes when someone you love is unfaithful.  Has anyone ever cheated on you?  If so, you know how much it hurts.  And God wants his people to understand how much they have hurt him by their unfaithfulness and idolatry.  Read Jeremiah 3-4.  That’s written from the perspective of a husband who found out that not only has his wife been cheating on him, but she’s a prostitute, selling herself out on the street.  Ouch!

                Jeremiah 3 begins: “If a man divorces his wife
    and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
    Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
    would you now return to me?”
declares the Lord.  -Jeremiahs 3:1

            Most men in that situation would say “heck no” (or something even stronger).

                And yet…even with all of that hurt and rage and betrayal and pain, God is still willing to take his bride back.

“If you, Israel, will return,
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,
 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
then the nations will invoke blessings by him
    and in him they will boast.” –Jeremiah 4:1-2

            That’s what you call mercy.  That’s what you call grace. That’s what you call undeserved favor.

            God called his people to a true change of heart. 

            The original sign of the covenant in Israel was circumcision.  God told Abraham and his descendants to physically circumcise every male born in Israel as a visible sign that they were part of the covenant people of God.  They were uniquely in relationship with God and offered their exclusive allegiance and worship to God.  But far too often these people who were in that covenant relationship with God had hearts that were far from God.

So God spoke to them through the prophet Jeremiah:

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire
    because of the evil you have done—
    burn with no one to quench it.” –Jeremiah 4:4

Back in the time of Moses God spoke to Israel and said that they were to Love Him with all their heart. (Deuteronomy 6:5).  What does any husband want?  His wife’s whole heart.  Just as any wife wants her husband’s whole heart.  That’s why unfaithfulness is so painful and leads to so many broken hearts and broken marriages.  God wants those in a covenant relationship with Him to give Him their whole hearts.

God criticized Judah for failing to return to God wholeheartedly: “her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” (Jeremiah 3:10).  God is NOT interested in our half-hearted repentance, our half-hearted worship, our half-hearted service, our half-hearted relationship.  God wants our whole-hearted love.

God created us in His image.  We love, we hurt, we get jealous and angry. That means that God also loves, God hurts when betrayed, God gets jealous and angry.  Jeremiah shows us how heartbroken God was with his faithless bride:

“Your own conduct and actions
    have brought this on you.
This is your punishment.
    How bitter it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
    I writhe in pain.
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds within me”- Jeremiah 4:18-19

And yet, God loves us so much, he invites us to return to Him.

“Return, faithless people;
    I will cure you of backsliding.” Jeremiah 3:22

Have you been giving your heart to someone or something instead of to the God who loves you?

Of course we can love other people, parents, spouses, children, friends.   We can love our jobs and love our homes, we can love pizza and love a pet.  But no love should come before that one true love, that love above all loves, the one with whom we’ve entered a covenant, God.

David loved God and wrote many love songs to God.  Here’s one:

“It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.”  -Psalm 92:1-2

How will you love God today?

-Jeff Fletcher

PS- In November my wife and I will celebrate 37 years married- we’re almost halfway to 75!!

You can read or listen to today’s Bible reading passages at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 3-4 and Psalm 92-93

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Why So Many Rules? (Exodus 21-23)

Josiah - rules

In these three chapters we get a long list of dos and don’ts. There are so many specific situations mentioned in these chapters about how to pay back someone for a stolen ox or what to do if you beat a slave etc. What surprised me most about this section is the intense punishment for a lot of these rules! Did you know that if you strike one of your parents you should be put to death according to the Exodus law?!? That is crazy to me, thankfully though I can’t remember ever hitting my parents so I’m all clear on this rule.

Another topic mentioned a lot in these chapters is the, ‘no other gods’ theme. It is twice mentioned that there is only one God; I love how the entire Old Testament reinforces this idea of one God. This makes me think of Exodus 34:14 which says that God is a “jealous God”. Most people think that God being jealous is a bad thing but it is actually beautiful. This means that God values us and our praise so much that He only wants it for Himself. YHWH created us to worship Him and no one else but Him. In case you’re new to the whole Bible thing YHWH is the name of God. It brings me such joy to know that there is an all powerful God out that there that cares about me enough to be jealous for me and my praise. He could literally have anything He wanted but God gave us the choice and He fights for our praise.

This section reminds me of my appreciation for the new covenant, the one that we are all under as Christians. Reading all of these rules made me exhausted and I could hardly bear the idea of having to follow them all of the time. I was thinking of how glad I am that Jesus came to fulfill the law so that we are no longer made to keep any of these specific rules. However this doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want now; if anything Jesus raised the bar for Christians. Instead of the whole eye for an eye concept, we are to turn the other cheek. Instead of repaying an enemy for what we stole, we must love and pray for our enemies. Jesus on one hand has set us free from exact law keeping, but he has put on us a greater burden of true love. I encourage you to thank God for the sacrifice of giving His son for us and to thank Jesus for being willing to die for you and move you under the new covenant.

If I had to summarize these three chapters into one sentence it would be this. Long story short God had a lot of rules to follow and back then breaking one of them meant serious business. Until tomorrow and thank you for taking the time to read this!

 

— Josiah Cain