Knowing God: Chapter 17

Knowing God:

Chapter 17: The Jealous God

PERSONAL EXAMPLES

• You, Me and Dupree
• "What About Brian" TV Show
  • Dave & Deena's relationship
• Matt always getting what he didn't deserve

• Jay always getting the girl (story of Carrie)

• ? What are your personal experiences with jealousy?
  • Love? Cars? House? Boyfriend? Looks?
  • ? Do you think that is the same kind of jealousy that God has?

GOD'S LAW

• His Name is Jealous
  • Exodus 34: 5-7

5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

• Exodus 34: 14-16
• Packer

"this unexpected word stood for a quality in God which, far from being inconsistent with exposition of his name that had gone before, was in some sense an epitome of it...It is constantly presented as a motive to action whether in wrath or mercy."

• Commandments
  • Exodus 20: 3-17
    • No other god's before God
    • No idols
    • Do not misuse God's name
    • Keep the Sabbath holy
    • Honor your father and mother
    • No murder
    • No adultery
    • No stealing
    • No coveting
  • Mark 12: 29 - 30
    • Love the Lord with everything
    • Love your neighbor as yourself
  • ? Find God's jealousy in His commandments?

• Types of Jealousy
• Sinful or Vicious (against God's law & name)
  • Packer, "a compound of frustration, envy, spite"
• Loving (in accordance with God's character)
• Packer, "praiseworthy zeal to preserve something supremely precious"
• Grudem, "God continually seeks to protect his own honor"

COVENANT LOVE

• Covenant
  • Reformation Theology Blog
    What Is Covenant Theology?

These covenants are like the framework of a house – without them, all the doctrines and stories in the Bible fall down into a hopelessly confused jumble of unrelated bits of information.

God decided to display his glorious nature by creating mankind, who would reign over the world in display of the divine image, and enjoy covenantal fellowship with God, in the manner of the inter-Triune fellowship of love.

• God's Covenant Jealousy
  • Packer, "zeal to protect a love relationship or to avenge it when broken."
  • Hosea 1: 2-3
  • ?Thoughts?

Calvin, "he had been sent like heralds or messengers to proclaim war...[on the] wanton; [those that] depart from the word of the Lord, [who] give ear to false doctrines, when [they] abandon [themselves] to superstitions...in short, [those that] wander after our own devices, and keep not our thoughts under the authority of the word of the Lord.

• Hosea 14:9
• ?Thoughts?

Calvin, "Whosoever then wishes to be truly wise, he must begin with the fear of God and with reverence to his word; for where there is no religion, men cannot certainly understand anything aright."

• Packer, "God's jealousy over his people, as we have seen, presupposes his covenant love; and this love is no transitory affection, accidental and aimless, but is the expression of sovereign purpose."

• ? What is the goal of God's covenant love?

OUR RESPONSE

• ? What are the consequences of God's jealousy for those who profess to be the Lord's people?

• The Parable of the Sower

3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 14The farmer sows the word. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

• Christian Zeal
  • Personal
    • Packer, "God's people should be positively and passionately devoted to his person, his cause and his honor."
    • Bishop Ryle, "He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God's glory."
  • Corporate
    • Packer, "he told the Laodicean congregation that their lack of zeal was a source of supreme offense to him...Anything would be better than self-satisfied apathy!"
• ? What can we do to deepen our jealousy for God?

OPEN DISCUSSION