#DailyDevotion Our God's Name Is Jealous
#DailyDevotion Our God's Name Is Jealous 1The scroll of the vision revealed to Nahum of Elkosh containing a message about Nineveh. Nahum means comfort. Perhaps the LORD chose Nahum to be His prophet with this message because it was meant to comfort the people of God. He's likely an eighth century prophet because his prophecy is Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, which conquered the northern Israelite and invaded the southern Israelites, the kingdom of Judah. 2The LORD, a zealous God, avenges. The LORD avenges and is full of anger. The LORD takes vengeance on His enemies and stays angry with His foes. 3The LORD is patient and His strength is great, but He will not let the guilty go unpunished. The LORD’s way is in the whirlwind and storm; clouds are the dust of His feet. Nahum invokes the name of the LORD five times here in rapid fashion. He is in sense glorifying the name of the LORD by doing this. The people of Israel and Judah have been falling away from the LORD or highly likely, worshipping Him along with the false gods of their neighbors and the ones native to the land the LORD had given them. In Ex. 20:5 the LORD says, “I the LORD your God am a jealous God.” In another chapter He says, Exo 34:14 ESV “(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),...” You can't be more jealous than that being a name for yourself. In Deut. 4 He also says, 24“The LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.” I know we are told not to be jealous but there are instances in which it is acceptable. What you shouldn't be jealous of is what other people have, do and who they are. The one thing you should be jealous for is your spouse. This is the jealousness of the LORD for His people. Just as you don't want your spouse cavorting with other people, the LORD doesn't want you worshipping other gods. This jealousness of the LORD for Himself and His people is further exemplified by the Hebrew verb nâqam repeated three times with the word avenge and vengeance, which word is related to the Hebrew word for jealous. While the LORD used the Assyrians to punish His people after centuries of warning them by the prophets (this is the LORD's patience), they needed to be disciplined and He used the wickedness of the Assyrians to do it. That doesn't let the Assyrians off the hook for all their atrocities. They did not attack Israel and Judah because the LORD wanted them to but rather because of the wickedness of their hearts. The LORD is still jealous for His people in their discipline and He would avenge them. The name of the LORD revealed in Exodus 34:6 tells besides being long-suffering, kind, merciful, gracious, steadfast in love and forgiving iniquities, sin, guilt and shame He also disciplines people. He does not let the guilty go unpunished. Even we, who put our trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins will not go undisciplined when we sin. We will incur temporal punishments to teach us not to sin. David lost his first son by Bathsheba because of his adulterous affair. His life and family were full of troubles because of his murder of Bathsheba's husband. Yet, the LORD forgave David and gave him eternal life. The LORD Jesus Christ also will discipline us, our Father in heaven will discipline us because He loves us. He will also forgive us our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ’s perfect, innocent, suffering and death and give us eternal life as we put our trust in Him. Heavenly Father, help us to be grateful for Your discipline. Keep us from trusting anyone or anything for every good lest we provoke Your jealousy. By Your Holy Spirit keep us always faithful to and Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. Read the full article
