God’s Honor
For a God jealous (is) YHWH your God Deuteronomy 6:15
Jealous – Biblical metaphors depend on the cultural behaviors and expectations of the audience. Just like the parables of Yeshua, metaphors don’t make a lot of sense if they are removed from their cultural background. The description of God as el qana’ YHWH (God jealous YHWH) might be considered incompatible with the character of the God we think we know if we don’t understand the biblical background of jealousy.
In our culture, jealousy is not a positive attribute. In fact, we might even consider it a sin. Consequently, we have a hard time understanding how God can say, “I am a jealous God.” Our understanding of jealousy has been subjected to psychological therapy. We seek the balanced emotional life of “respect” for others. We try to repress those burning feelings that come from relationship betrayal because we have been taught that only positive emotions are healthy. But this is not the biblical picture. God’s relationship to His people is a relationship of intimacy, fidelity and unwavering commitment, usually on His behalf alone. A breach of that relationship is an attack on God’s honor, just as a rival for the love of my spouse is an attack on my honor. The metaphor is based in sexual exclusivity. Marital fidelity means ownership. You belong to me. I belong to you. The covenant bond is exhibited in sexual union. Anyone who attempts to break this bond of mutual ownership insults the owner. In a culture where personal and public honor are more important than life itself, such a usurper must be resisted in every possible way. To allow a rival is to relinquish my dignity.
God is jealous because He will never allow anyone or anything to put Him in second place with the ones He loves. He will countenance no rival for His affections. He will resist any attempt to breach the intimacy He offers to His bride. He will never let His honor be diminished by some act or actor. He is deadly serious about His love for us. That’s why the metaphors for idolatry are so often sexual. No self-respecting person allows his or her lover to be shared with another!
Since we know how God feels about this situation, the next question is this: Who would dare break such a bond? Who would risk the reprisals of God to defense of His honor? Actually, we don’t have to look very far to discover the perpetrator. It is us. God never leaves His people, but His people attempt to divorce Him. Hosea is a living picture of the intense emotional struggle of God in His effort to restore His honor and recapture the love of His people. We are the culprits here. Israel’s history of adultery is our legacy – if we don’t learn from their lessons. We need fear only ourselves and our temptations to chase another lover. May it never be! May each of us rest in His intimate concern. May we open our arms to the One who would love us eternally. God’s jealousy is our greatest protection. Embrace it because it is the sign of His faithfulness.
Topical Index: jealousy, qana’, Deuteronomy 6:15
Biblically being jealous/kana occurs within a convenantal relationship. HaShem is jealous/kana for His Bride because of the covenantal relationship which exists.
In our society, we misuse the word ‘jealous’. We say that a boy or girl is ‘jealous’ for his/her girlfriend/boyfriend. That is not Biblical jealousy because there is no covenantal relationship (they are not betrothed). The Biblical term for what modern society calls ‘jealousy’ would be ‘covetness”!
We should be glad that the Almighty is jealous for us, even if it involves the occasional rebuke. That means that we are in fact, in covenant with Him! Baruch HaShem. o/o/o/
Shalom,
“God’s jealousy is our greatest protection. Embrace it because it is the sign of His faithfulness.”
And now let us ask the question: How does G_D’s protection manifest itself to us?
I wonder what the mainline Christian response to this question might be? Feel free anyone to chime in … feel free to divulge what is taught within the church respective to G_D’s protective hedge!
From a Hebraic perspective however I can address the question. From a Hebraic perspective, protection … well … you know what … I will let Skip answer the question! 🙂
An excerpt from: Mental Telepathy
Friday, January 22nd, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen
“Hear, O earth; behold, I will bring evil on this people, the fruit of their thoughts. For they have not listened to My words and My law, they also rejected it.” Jeremiah 6:19
[What about machshevotam? This is the word for thoughts, intentions and the resulting products that come from cognitive activity. The verb behind this noun is hashav (Chet-Shin-Bet). It covers all kinds of mental acts, from thinking, devising, reckoning and esteeming to considering, planning, meditating and imputing. The pictograph shows us “a fence between consuming and the house.” In other words, mental activity is intended to separate what will consume and destroy from what will build up the house. There is a reason for this fence. Left unchecked, desire will overwhelm. What Jeremiah says is this: The people no longer regard the fence. Therefore, what was intended to act as an agent of protection has become a source of evil. Thoughts without boundaries lead to destructive consequences.
Did you notice that this is another example of twisted reality? God intended our thoughts to be a power for good, a fence of protection. Sin twists that power into something else. Released from boundaries, our imaginations are corrupted. I am quite sure we all know the reality of this pretzel. The question isn’t, “Why are we twisted?” The question is, “What is the fence that protects me from being twisted?” God answers. Torati – My Torah. The reason that the thoughts of the people are twisted is this: they have rejected the Torah. They have thrown away the fence. They are no longer protected from themselves. As a result, God Himself will bring evil upon them.]
So a jealous G_D does vigorously protect His people … His bride … as long as the bride is willing to be faithful. All that we need to be protected has been given to us! So the next time we ask G_D for a hedge of protection … let us ask ourselves … “have I left the confines of the sheep pen … am I protected?”
If the reality of the situation is that we don’t consider G_D’s mode of protection in the first place … or worse yet …. reject this mode of protection; then why would G_D listen to a request for something that was already given and rejected?
So what wedding vows have we agreed to? Are we letting Yeshua (the good shepherd) protect us with the hedge of protection? Or are we simply accepting our infidelity, leaving the pen to pursue other lovers and banking on the strength of a doctrine that teaches us: “The Lord will take us us back because we are covered by grace?
From a Scriptural perspective it is clear that we have a G_D who will forgive our whoring … but it also seems clear that we are protected only if we repent and get ourselves back into the right sheep pen!
Good message Skip! 🙂