The Attraction of God’s Jealousy

Why we should be grateful for God’s jealousy

This is the final post in a series on how God tested Abraham by calling him to sacrifice his son Isaac (see Genesis 22). To read from the beginning, click here.

God’s fierce, covenant love is what draws us even though he tests us. His love is worth everything. His love is better than life. And his love can be trusted. In fact, one of the most encouraging things about Abraham’s test is God’s jealousy. It shows how much he cares about you. Your love matters to the Lord of all.

The worst thing that can happen to you is not to be tested as Abraham was; the worst would be if the Lord of the universe did not care about your love. I do not want the one who holds my life in his hand to be indifferent. I am glad my affection matters infinitely to him. What could be more flattering or give greater significance? Not success or fame. Not family. And not wealth. Not anything we withhold from him. God tests deeply because he loves deeply. He will prove true to those who prove true to him.

Such love is why we need not fear this trial. Fallen hearts avoid surrender. In some ways we want to be close to God and his blessings, yet at the same time we want to keep our distance lest he require us to surrender what we love most. We fear what he will ask from us. This is one reason people avoid God, the Bible, and church. They know they have something he wants, and they do not intend to release it. It has become their god, their supreme desire, the one thing they feel they cannot live without. If the choice is between God and Isaac, they choose Isaac.

Surprisingly it is this unsettling quality of God’s heart—his jealously of Isaac—that assures you can wholeheartedly draw near. For he requires surrender because he loves you greatly. He requires surrender because that love will satisfy infinitely more than your Isaac. He requires surrender because he knows his generous intentions to reward your sacrifice extravagantly. And he requires surrender because he is God; therefore he alone deserves your ultimate devotion. It glorifies him, and that glory will delight you forever.

In the end, we lose what we withhold from God and keep what we give. Abraham’s ultimate test ends with these words about him and his son: “They arose and went together to Beersheba” (Genesis 22:19).

July 19, 2021June 14, 2021

A Personal Reflection on God’s Jealousy for His Own Glory

God’s jealousy for his own glory is right and good and loving.

God is holy because he delights in and guards his reputation.

We all can relate to this. We know what it is like to care about our reputation, to want a good reputation. And we want to have a good name. We want others to think and speak well of us.

In a perfectly noble sense, this is what it means that God is jealous for the glory of his name. Here are some examples of his coming right out and saying that:

“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)

“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:11)

Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’” (John 12:28)

God’s concern for God’s glory

Here are other examples showing God’s pursuit or protection of his own glory:

Jesus said, “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” (John 4:23)

“God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:28–29)

“When [Judas] had gone out [to betray the Lord], Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.” (John 13:31–32)

These are just a few examples showing that God’s own glory is of ultimate importance to him. He is not shy about it or apologetic. The Bible everywhere assumes it is right for God to receive and seek glory, and that we owe him worship and thanksgiving. (See also 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 3:21; Revelation 5:11–14; Romans 1:18–22)

What is right for God, but wrong for us

God’s jealousy for the glory of his name is an aspect of his holiness that is harder for me to understand. But I know it is right; the God of the universe should not be any other way.

It is right because God only does what is right.

It is right because it is right and necessary for God to do and feel things that it is wrong for his creatures to do and feel. God’s role in the universe is utterly different than ours. God’s worth is infinitely greater than ours. Our worth is derived from him; his worth is intrinsic to himself, from himself, independent of anyone or anything.

And it is right because God is love, and love unselfishly seeks the welfare and happiness of others. God’s unselfish love is obvious when you consider the attention he gives to meticulously governing all that exists and continually providing for each of his creatures. “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:16)

Yet this loving, unselfish God at the same time is jealously devoted to the glory of his own name. Those two seemingly contradictory things are not contradictory according to what God has revealed about himself in the Bible. They are perfectly harmonious. God is both an unselfish, generous lover and a self-centered seeker of glory.

Self-centered

That for me in my human thinking is part of the stumbling block: God is self-centered. When a human is self-centered, it is obnoxious, unloving, immature, and often dangerous to others. But that is because a self-centered, narcissistic human is living in delusion and falsehood, since the world does not actually revolve around him. Everything he has he received, and his life should actually revolve around his Creator, Sustainer, and God and around his family, neighbors, and society.

But for God to be self-centered is completely true and necessary. Everything that exists actually does revolve around him and depend on him. He actually deserves all glory for everything, and so for him to deflect that glory to anything else (such as “Mother Nature,” the idolized Cosmos, the laws of nature, or the American economy or military) or anyone else would be false. Because he deserves glory, because he is worthy of glory, that glory should actually come to him, just as an employee should be paid for her work.

God should not try to prevent or avoid what ought to be his. He should not say, “Aw shucks, it was nothing,” because that would be false and would negate what ought to be. What God does is great and ought to be glorified—indeed it must be glorified. When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey and received the praises of the people, and the religious leaders objected, he said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40)

To shift anything or anyone away from being God-centered is to kill it, for God is the source of everything. A newborn infant should be mother-centered. A human needs to be food-and-water centered. God knows we must be God-centered for our very existence and for all happiness, and therefore he is loving when he insists on it as the highest good.

Why a great God takes human actions seriously

Here is another thing that can seem to my puny, human perspective to be somewhat unworthy of God: namely, to care what people think about him, especially what his enemies think. Shouldn’t he be above that, secure in himself, impervious to criticism?

No, the Bible presents a starkly different response from God. He is in fact infinitely concerned about what people think and say of him, and how they respond to him. He delights without end in the praise of angels and humans. At the Final Judgment he plans to shut the mouths and bend the knees of every person who has spoken falsely about him. He plans to make his enemies his footstool.

God’s concern for what people think and say of him results not from any insecurity whatever in God but from how seriously he has chosen to take his creation. He takes us seriously because he chose to make us in his image, and his image is infinitely important. His words and actions are important, and he has created us so our words and actions are important.

Moreover, he made a universe of objective morality, where the moral or immoral actions of responsible moral beings like us have objective consequences. This life is not make-believe, not a fantasy, not a board game. We can’t just put away the pieces, fold up the game board, and forget about it.

For example, the disobedient and unbelieving words and actions of Adam and Eve in the Garden changed not just their lives, but the lives of all their descendants, all life and natural forces like weather on earth, and even the nature of the universe. (See Romans 8:19–23).

God became a man

The greatest evidence that God chose to invest infinite significance in the words and actions of humans is the Cross of Jesus. The reason Jesus had to suffer and die for our sins is that God chose to make humans whose words and actions matter. Right and wrong matter. And the glory of God is a matter of right and wrong above all else (Romans 3:23).

The Son of God became a man, continues to be a man, and will forever be a man—fully God and fully human—in a resurrected human body, with a full human nature. One member of the Trinity took upon himself the nature of humanity forever! Clearly God takes human beings seriously. He has invested us with infinite meaning and significance, and therefore our words and actions are significant, and therefore our praise or our profaning words infinitely matter to him.

This therefore is another important aspect of God’s holiness. To say God is holy is to say he delights in and jealously protects the glory of his name, in heaven, in all the created universe, on earth, and in particular among the humans he created in his image and with whom he has united himself forever.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

July 12, 2021June 11, 2021

Why God Is Jealous for the Glory of His Name

God is jealous for the glory of his name much like you are concerned about your reputation.

To say God is holy is to say he delights in and jealously protects the glory of his name.

God’s concern for his name is at best a distant idea for most people, so let’s compare this to some things we might relate to.

Imagine a salesman living and working in a medium-sized community where a salesperson’s reputation quickly gets around. He cannot succeed without being trusted. He must develop a name for honesty and for delivering what he promises. Therefore his reputation is of ultimate importance to him.

Imagine a mother deeply committed to caring for her three young children. Her sense of identity and worth is lovingly wrapped up in the welfare and health of her children and family. Imagine how she would feel if a malicious rumor somehow started that she was neglecting her children, not changing her toddler’s dirty diaper for hours, sitting around watching movies half the day.

Imagine how an entrepreneur feels when she starts a company and invests much money and time to name and brand it and then to promote and market that name and brand. That name, the company logo, the values and standards it represents, its products and services—all are of ultimate importance to her. If a competitor begins to slander her company in the media, she will take that seriously and do all she can to maintain the truth about the identity of the company she has given years of her life to start.

These are examples of a normal human concern for reputation and name, for the value we all place on our identity and what others think of us, and the human need for self-respect.

The glory of God’s name

These examples are limited, imperfect windows into understanding God’s concern for his name. The stakes are infinitely higher for him. This is not just about someone’s business turning a profit; at stake is who is the God of the universe. Who created all things and thus owns everything and everyone? Who has the right to define right and wrong? And who has the right to give commandments to mankind and require obedience? Who deserves ultimate allegiance? Who deserves exclusive worship and love? And who matters more than anything or anyone? Who actually is the Almighty Lord at the center of everything? Who is the most glorious of all beings?

All that and more is at stake in God’s name. And therefore he takes seriously his name, identity, glory, and reputation in the earth. He does so for his own sake, for the sake of the truth, as well as for the sake of the people he created, who cannot have a right relationship with him apart from a true knowledge of him.

Intolerant of false gods

The truth about God’s name has been at the center of Israel’s long, troubled relationship with him. After delivering them in love from bondage in Egypt, God entered into a covenant of faithfulness with Israel, but again and again they turned their faith to idols, to the false gods of the nations like Baal and Molech. This is the running theme through all the prophets whom God sent to correct them.

Through the prophet Isaiah, for example, God says, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols” (Isaiah 42:8).

At Mount Sinai, Moses, speaking for God, says, “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14).

God’s very name is Jealous, meaning he does not tolerate rivals to his glory. He will not give his glory to another, not to another god nor to a human who wants to play God. Therefore he is unswervingly opposed to false gods and human pride.

Jealous

Webster’s Dictionary says one meaning of the word jealous is, “intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness.” Another sense of the word is, “vigilant in guarding a possession.” Both of these senses of jealous apply to God.

One reason God is jealous for his name is his perfect goodness. He seeks the highest good in all things, and he himself is the highest good. Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). Therefore the manifestation of his glory and the sacredness of his name are the best things that can happen to the world and to you. He alone brings life, and therefore he alone is peace, joy, love, and every good thing.

Vindicating his name

When God’s name is profaned, he takes action to vindicate it. Sometimes this involves salvation and sometimes judgment.

God’s name was profaned, for example, among the nations when he sent Israel into exile as a consequence for their stubborn (centuries-long) breaking of his covenant, so he told Ezekiel the prophet:

“Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” (Ezekiel 36:22–23)

Vindicated by giving salvation

Happily for Israel in this case, God vindicated his name by saving them from exile in Babylon and restoring them to their land. God says he will completely reverse their fortunes, not because they deserve it—they definitely do not—but as a display of his name.

Ezekiel continues: “[24] I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. [25] I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. [26] And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. [28] You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. [29] And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. [30] I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.” (Ezekiel 36:24–38)

Vindicated for God’s sake

God then doubles down on why he is showing this kindness to Israel, and it is not because they in any way deserve it. They in fact deserve only judgment.

“[31] Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. [32] It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

“[33] Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. [34] And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. [35] And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ [36] Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

God’s undeserved goodness to Israel vindicated his holy name.

God is holy because he delights in and guards his reputation.

March 4, 2019July 17, 2021

Jealous Love

God is a jealous lover.

One of the most important things you need to know about God’s love is that it is a jealous love. It is an aspect of God’s love that few people understand or take into account.

Consider the difference between the love of close friends and the love in a romantic marriage. If I sit down with a close friend for lunch, and he mentions having enjoyable lunches with several other close friends over the last month, I’m happy for him. But if I sit down with my wife for lunch, and she mentions having enjoyable lunches with various men she is fond of over the last month, I’m not happy for her. Friendship and marriage are different relationships.

The love that God has for us is much more like romantic love than friendship love. He does not accept rivals.

Jealousy is defined as being “intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness” (Webster’s). A second sense is, “fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions” (The Online Dictionary).

As our Creator and the Savior who loves us infinitely and has purchased us with his blood, God has rights to us. We are his beloved, his possession. He will not smile upon unfaithfulness.

God is jealous

God reveals the jealousy of his love most clearly in his instruction about idols. Concerning the idols of the nations, God commanded Moses: “You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)” (Exodus 34:13–14, ESV). God is not only jealous; his very name is Jealous. That means his nature is jealous; his identity is jealous. His love for his people is so great, so intense, so all-consuming, that he will not tolerate rivals. He is fiercely protective of our relationship with him and our affection for him.

That is flattering. Who else loves you that strongly? Get ahold of that, and you will never have problems with self-respect or significance. The God of the universe, the greatest being in existence, loves you so much that he is jealous for your attention, worship, and affection. He is jealous for your love not in a needy, weak, immature way—which is of course impossible—but rather in the holy way of guarding what rightly belongs to him alone.

Jesus is jealous

Both the Old Testament and the New affirm God’s jealous love.

Jesus said, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).

He also said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).

As this verse suggests, the New Testament speaks not only of the idolatry of worshiping statues but also the idolatry of loving anything or anyone in this world as much or more than God. What is our ultimate concern? What do we really live for? If it is anything or anyone but God in Christ, then it is an idol that provokes God’s jealousy. As I said, this is very important.

Idols that are not statues

We see more about this in Philippians 3:18–19 where the apostle Paul describes the behavior of people who are “enemies of the Cross of Christ”: “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” This verse again teaches that idolatrous gods are not just statues and literal idols, but rather any desire or passion that masters us, for which we supremely live. In this case Paul said it was these people’s belly. They lived for food. Not only that, their minds were “set on earthly things.” Their thoughts and preoccupations revealed that their ultimate concern in life was not God but the world and its pleasures.

Obviously there is nothing wrong with food or satisfying our hunger. The problem for these people was the degree of their focus on food and worldly things compared to their professed love for God.

The apostle Paul speaks further about excessive desire in Ephesians 5:5–6: “You may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

This is serious. Paul says covetous, greedy people are idolaters, and they are not going to inherit God’s kingdom. That means they will not be saved. Remember, the last of the Ten Commandments was “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17). This is an especially important warning for us in America, for we live in a culture of more, more, more. Greed is so accepted and applauded and normal in our culture, and so encouraged by advertising, that it can be difficult to recognize in ourselves.

When Paul speaks about being “covetous” in the verse above, he is not just referring to the desire a person has for the possessions of others; he is also referring to excessive desire for wealth and possessions, that is, to greed. That is the dual meaning of the Greek word translated “covetous” above (pleonektēs).

Contentment

That God’s love is jealous does not mean true Christians must take a vow of poverty. It does not mean a wealthy person must give away all his or her possessions (in America, most are wealthy by historical or third-world standards). It does not mean we should feel guilty or lost if we want something. The real question is do we really love God? Do we truly desire more of him and the things of God? Do we delight in him? Are we content with having him, his kingdom, and salvation?

If that is so, everything else will have its proper place in our hearts. Money and possessions will simply be tools for which we give thanks to God and which we use for his purposes. In that case, God wants us to enjoy them and glorify him by giving thanks.

That’s Paul’s message in 1 Timothy 6:17–19: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Guarding your affections

You must know your heart. You must prayerfully discern whether you have a problem with greed and covetousness. This is as serious as living in unrepentant sexual sin or thievery or bitterness. God’s love is jealous. He wants all your heart. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38).

If your love for God is not your first love, he knows it and he is jealous (see Revelation 2:4).

If your love for this world is hot but your love for God is lukewarm, he knows it and is jealous. (see Revelation 3:15–22)

He wants you to love him the way that he loves you.

If you recognize a problem with your desires, I urge you to meditate on and even memorize all the Scriptures above and below, for the Word and the Spirit have the power to change our affections.

The apostle James wrote: “¹ What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? ² You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴ You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’?” (James 4:1–5, ESV).

The apostle John wrote: “¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17).

Jesus said, “¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” (Luke 8:14).

Hebrews 13:5–6 says: “⁵ Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ⁶ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen mankind wants to love the world and its pleasures as much as, or more than, God. Fallen people want to love God and idols.

God’s way: God will not accept spiritual adultery. His love is a jealous love.

Life principle: God’s infinite love offered to us in Christ requires that we change our loves. We must guard our hearts against loving anyone or anything with the intensity that we love God.

I invite you to read my weekly posts about
knowing God and his ways better.
—Craig Brian Larson

October 22, 2018December 29, 2020

Why a Good God Is Jealous for His Holy Name

God is jealous for his holy name because being good means guarding what is sacred.

We come now to the aspect of God’s holiness that may be the hardest for us to understand. Therefore, it is vital that we meditate on this, for anything we do not understand about God’s holiness seriously cripples our knowledge of God and hampers our properly revering him.

When we say that God is holy, it means that he is jealous for the honor of his name. He is holy because he guards and vindicates the honor of his name.

He does this because he alone is good, and he alone is God. Because he is good and God, he perfectly understands what is sacred and protects it. God rightly understands that there is nothing more sacred than his own name. Psalm 138:2 says, “You have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

Guarding what is sacred

All people guard whatever they regard as sacred. For example, one of the most sacred things in the possession of the U.S. government is the U.S. Constitution. I have been to the National Archives several times to view it. I found it displayed at the center of attention in a large, majestic hall along with other important historic documents. Thick, protective glass encases it. The room is dark, because light harms the ink and paper of the documents. There are guards throughout the building. (Actually, I think it is only a facsimile of the Constitution on display; they keep the original locked safely away.)

Suppose the administrators of the National Archives did not protect the Constitution with care. Suppose they decided to put the original document on a table, so anyone who wanted could have the experience of touching it. What if the administrators decided that even children should be able to hold and even write on it with crayons as a way of experiencing U.S. history? Would those administrators be good? Would they be doing their duty?

Suppose that terrorists tried to destroy the Constitution by blowing it up with a bomb. The terrorists charge into the building with guns drawn prepared to neutralize the armed guards assigned to protect the building and its documents. What would we say if the guards did nothing to stop the attack but instead ran out the back door in fear? Would we call these guards good? Would they be doing their duty? No, a good guard would shoot any terrorist seeking to harm the most sacred document in the nation.

We need the sacred

In any community, society, or family, when people profane what is sacred, that community begins to disintegrate unless someone vindicates the sacred. For what is sacred is the basis of all morality and values, meaning and significance. Therefore, it is good for humans that God is jealous for what is sacred, and that he vindicates what is sacred when it is profaned. God is good to us when he is jealous for his holy name. It is wrong for anyone to do anything less.

Our problem with God’s jealousy

Our problem with understanding God’s jealousy for his name is that we don’t rightly understand the sacredness of God’s name, reputation, and the idea of God. We don’t understand the sheer horror of violating his name. We hear God’s name violated every day. But to profane the Holy One is unthinkable to a good person. To violate the sacredness of God’s holy name is the horror of horrors, the evil of evils, because God is the ultimate holiness, the most sacred of all that is sacred.

We would react violently to hearing our own name defiled, or the name of a family member we love. But many react far less, if at all, when God’s holy name is profaned. This reveals how calloused and blind a person can be to God’s holiness. Our names do not have one billionth of the sacredness of God’s holy name, yet many are more concerned for the honor of their names than the sacredness of God’s name. They just don’t get it. And so, they don’t understand why God in his perfect goodness is jealous for his name, and why in his goodness he must be so. An absolutely good God could do nothing less than guard the most sacred name, the most sacred reputation, the most sacred idea in the universe from the defilements of evil persons. And that is so even when that name is his own.

An example of God’s jealousy for his holy name

Ezekiel 39:25–28 says:

“²⁵ Thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. ²⁶ They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, ²⁷ when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. ²⁸ Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land.”

So, God says, “I will be jealous for my holy name.” The word jealous first brings to mind its meaning in romantic relationships: “intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness” (Webster’s Dictionary). But Webster’s gives a second sense for the word jealous: “vigilant in guarding a possession.” The Online Dictionary puts it this way: “fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions.” God’s right and possession is the sacredness of his name and the sacredness of the idea of God. He is jealous for it, fiercely protective of the sacredness of his name, fiercely vigilant for the sacredness of his name. God is holy. He is good. So, he guards what is sacred.

Vindicating his holy name

And when God’s name has been profaned, sooner or later he vindicates it. In verse 27 above, God speaks of a time when he will have “vindicated my holiness.” The Online Dictionary says that the word vindicate has the meaning: to “show or prove to be right, reasonable, or justified.”

Sooner or later God will always vindicate the holiness of his name. He will show and prove that he has always been right, reasonable, and justified.

When we say that God is holy, we are saying he is jealous to vindicate his name.

What profanes God’s holy name

Obviously, God’s name is profaned when he is spoken against and when people say false things about him.

His holy name is also profaned when it is taken in vain. Therefore God protects his name with a command: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).

His name is profaned when people called by his name (Christians or Israelites) do wrong and unholy things, even if they never speak against him. For example, in Leviticus 20:3 God says of those who sacrifice their children to idols: “I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.” In this case, God’s holy name is associated with something he hates.

Our way and God’s way

Our way: We do not fully understand the sacredness of God’s name, reputation, and the idea of God. We are not as jealous for the honor of God’s holy name as he is.

God’s way: God perfectly understands what is sacred and why he must protect and vindicate it. God’s jealousy for the honor of his holy name is one thing that makes him holy.

Life principle: We should treat the holy name and idea of God as the most sacred of all that is sacred. We should fear profaning his name either in speech or by doing something that associates God’s name with something he hates.

February 5, 2018February 3, 2018

After God’s Heart

God’s heart is important for those who want to experience his presence. God has heart. If we are to practice God’s presence, he must have our hearts.

God said, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22)

What does it mean that David was after God’s heart?

It means David pleased him and thereby inspired his affection. The direction of David’s heart pleased God’s heart. David was directed toward God in love, trust, and obedience.

Examples

Here are some of the things David wrote that demonstrate this:

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Psalm 84:1–2)

“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:1–2)

“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You” (Psalm 63:1)

“I trust in You, O LORD, I say, ‘You are my God.’” (Psalm 31:14)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)

David came as close to obeying the great commandment as anyone ever has: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

As a result, he moved God’s heart.

God’s heart

That God would speak in this way reveals something ultra-important about him. He has heart. He feels. God has affections. He is love. He cares what we do and think and say and seek and love.

This explains why he describes himself as a jealous God (see Exo. 20:5), because he wants our love and responds to our love or lack of it.

He delights in those who love, trust, and obey him.

Our obedience

Obedience is crucial to being a person after God’s heart. Immediately following God’s statement of affection for David, he added the explanation: David “will do all my will.”

That was not incidental because the situation that prompted God to commend David was King Saul’s disobedience. God had told Saul what to do and how to do it, and Saul had violated the commandment. He had not been careful to obey.

The prophet Samuel rebuked him, “Now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:14)

Our hearts

Those who successfully practice God’s presence understand the central importance of the heart. They understand God’s heart. They understand God wants their heart. It’s all about the heart.

So to practice God’s presence is to monitor our hearts. Whom do we love supremely? Trust and obey supremely? Desire supremely? Delight in supremely? To whom do we ascribe ultimate value and surrender what we most value? For whom do we live?

All this rests on a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, for no one can please God apart from his beloved Son (John 14:6; 1 John 2:23). The most important and necessary way we walk after God’s heart is to believe and love his Son, of whom the Father spoke the ultimate words of affection: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17).