Holy Jealousy

“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries
and keeps wrath for His enemies.
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of His feet.”

—Nahum 1:2-3

The iconic talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, was raised a Christian, but left the faith in her early adult years. She cited the reason for leaving Christianity as having heard that God was jealous, and because of that, she couldn’t accept the Christian God. To her, jealousy is a bad thing, an act of rage because something (affection, love, etc.) is given to someone else, and for humans, jealousy can be a very bad thing. However, in God, it’s totally different, because God is God, He wants our best. He is perfect and loving, and as a perfect being who loves us, He wants what is absolutely the best for us, which means He wants to give us Himself, and by giving us Himself He is demonstrating the greatest love imaginable. However, when we choose to love or devote ourselves to something or someone other than God, then we are choosing something far lesser and weaker in value. Therefore, God is jealous for us because we are His—He created us.

Imagine a young married couple. They have pledged themselves to one another—spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. If the husband or wife were to then go and give themselves in an affair to another, would not the spouse be jealous? Yes, and would it be a righteous jealousy? Of course, because the two were made for and pledged to one another. In the same way, we are pledged to God. It is to be an intimate relationship. In the Old Testament, the sign of God’s covenant upon His people was circumcision, when the foreskin of a Jewish male was cut away. Have you ever wondered why? God wanted the sign of His covenant on the most intimate part of the body, thus showing the depth and intimacy of the relationship He wants with man.

In our passage for today, Nahum gives a description of God’s holy jealousy and wrath, the attribute of God whereby He responds to any slight to His name. When God shows His wrath, it is good and right because He is the only one who knows the heart and is able to judge impartially. He doesn’t get angry quickly or without cause, but is slow to anger, because He is longsuffering—that is to say, He loves patiently.

God loves us in a way that is greater than we can understand. As believers in Christ, we will not experience His wrath—the Son experienced the full wrath of God upon the cross. We are beneficiaries of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice and we experience God’s joy and blessing. May we walk intimately with Him, knowing the full extent of His love that was shown on Calvary, and may our lives be living sacrifices poured out for the world so that they might see the holy jealousy of God who loves them with a pure, undefiled, and life-changing love. Amen.