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 Our God is a burning, zealous God. The word in Hebrew for zeal
is the same word for jealousy. It is the burning passionate heart of a Lover who
wants the full object of His affection. He is radically committed to removing
everything within and without that hinders love in order to have the One He
loves. He has not given up on a dream to have a corporate bride who will be
ready to marry His Son on that day He returns.
The zeal of the Lord is a precious topic because so much of
our lives we imagine God as unemotional, stoic, abstract, and yet we find in the
portraits of Jesus that He is the exact representation of the Father, the very
radiance of His glory. We have no idea the yearnings and burning in His heart.
He is not looking for subjects, He is looking for a bride. Most of our lives are
spent living as if the end of our faith is God getting more subjects in His
Kingdom in order to tell us what to do. We imagine that the only zeal He has in
His heart is to look for opportunities to check us off of the list that
qualifies us to be loved and blessed by Him. So much of life we spend seeing
God’s discipline as His rejection of us, and if we just clean ourselves up
enough then He would receive us, when it’s actually the opposite. He disciplines
those He loves because He doesn’t want to give up on the highest dream He has
for our lives. That is why He constantly sets up scenarios to prune us from
within and without.
There is a long history of the emotions of God and His dealings
with people. When Jesus comes to the religious leaders of the day in John 2, His
first appearance in the temple is a highly emotional drama. It is His first
public appearing in the Gospel of John. The first thing He does after His
baptism is confront the enemies within. The very thing that is going to be said
about Jesus in chapter two is zeal for His house consumes Him. It eats Him
up. Hold that thought for a moment. What does it look like for the God who has
all power in the universe, all the mental capacity you could ever imagine, and
zeal eats Him up? Zeal consumes Him for the object of His affection.
In John 2, Jesus comes from the wedding in Canaan. He remembers
a covenant He made. He recalls His desire to have a holy people who are a
special treasure, a chosen people, a royal priesthood. His heart is yearning,
zeal is rising. The Father has promised Him a bride. He has been waiting
thirty years. It says in John 2:13, “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen
and sheep and doves and the money changers doing business.” What does he do? He
makes a whip of cords. What do you think Jesus was reflecting on while He was
making this whip? I think He was remembering His covenant long ago that He made
with Abraham. It’s not by accident that Jesus does this on Passover. He
remembers, “I have history with you and it goes all the way back to the Exodus.
I won’t share you with another. Do you remember Sinai?” He is stringing the
cords together, “I came on Passover because I have a Bride. I started this thing
in Sinai and I’m going to finish it.” This event has a history and Jesus is
recalling it in His mind. Zeal for His house consumes Him.
In Exodus 19, they have come out of Egypt. God’s zeal for His
people has crushed the most powerful empire on earth. He has come at the enemies
who have struck His people and He is setting them free. On Passover, He finishes
the job. In John 2, I believe Jesus is remembering that day when He romanced and
brought them out of captivity. In Exodus 19 He tells Moses, prepare the
people. I want them to be a special treasure above all the people on the earth.
It’s the language of courtship. It’s the language of love. It’s the language of
passion for an object of His affection. God wants Israel. He wants them to be a
sign and wonder to the rest of the earth.
The story continues as He tells them to consecrate themselves
because on the third day, He is going to show up, and He does. As He comes a
trumpet gets louder and louder, a fiery cloud comes down and settles on the
mountain. The mountain begins shaking. He is displaying His wonders. He is
romancing them. This is where He gives them the ten commandments and He
announces for the first time His name is jealous. It is the first time God ever
uses the word zeal or jealous in the bible. It is the context of giving them the
covenant of His jealous love. In Deuteronomy 4:24 God says, “For the Lord your
God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” His name is jealous!
Beloved, its not like the emotions of God are an option at the
end of the age. It is not realistic to imagine that you can have theological
paradigms and leave the emotions of God out. They are at the core of what is
moving God to a crescendo at the end of the age. In John 17:23 Jesus prays to
the Father, “Father, I desire that they also whom you gave Me may be with Me
where I am”, passion breaking out in a prayer that is going to be answered by
the Father. Planet earth is not coming to an end because of the sin of
humanity. There is only one thing bringing the end of the age to a close, that
is the burning heart of the jealous God to have us as His possession, His full
possession.
The zeal of God is a mysterious thing. In this age, He is
emphasizing His zeal because He wants us to enter into the most superior
pleasures we can imagine. So, even as we enter into lifestyles of prayer and
fasting He will begin to put His finger on our hearts because He is our jealous
Bridegroom. He loves you so much, but He will not share you with anyone.
Father, thank you for strengthening me so I can feel and
understand your emotions. Let me experience the most superior pleasures
available in this life, send grace, and remove all that hinders Your love for
me.
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