Command 2: The Jealousy of Jehovah

[0:00] As far as I know, we've been in every single verse of the book of Exodus, 19 chapters down, and now came upon the Ten Commandments, such a popular portion of this Bible.

[0:20] And last Sunday, we stepped into the first one. And it's not by accident that God says, first and foremost, thou shalt have no other gods before me.

[0:35] And so last Sunday, we preached a message titled, Giving God First Place. Because God demands first place, like he said. And because God deserves first place.

[0:47] And then we looked thirdly at God defining what first place is, and how that practically looks in your life under the authorities and leaderships that are designed by God.

[1:00] But thou shalt have no other god before him. So that was first place. Now today, today's the second commandment. And so we're going to read verses 4 through 6.

[1:13] Today is not as practical or as practically applied as the first. But it's definitely beneficial. Because this morning, you're going to learn something about God being here in church this morning.

[1:26] And as far as I'm concerned, if you can show up to church on Sunday morning or Wednesday night, and you can leave having learned something about God, I think that's well worth your time.

[1:37] It's not every service that you are here for learning and for education, but sometimes for encouragement, sometimes for rebuke or reproof or just for strength to continue on.

[1:48] But this morning, more than really getting some practical thought, I think you're going to get something about the Lord. Could we close those back doors there, please, somebody? So Exodus chapter 20, and let's read together verses 4 through 6.

[2:04] The Bible says, So the second commandment forbids the manufacturing of any image, any graven image.

[2:43] This is done throughout the scriptures primarily by stone or by wood, by the stock of a tree. And it's commonplace for people, for the human race or for peoples all over the place to fashion some item, some image, and to fall down and worship it.

[3:05] And the Bible describes this, I think it's in Isaiah 44, that a deceived heart hath turned them aside, that they would cut down a tree and then give it to the craftsman, have him molded God, and then get it back from him and set it up in their home, and then pray to that piece of wood that they cut down out of the forest, pray to it and say, deliver me, save me, feed me, protect me, help me.

[3:37] And so this is common. God says, I forbid you to manufacture any graven images. Also in this, he forbids them worshipping any images that exist.

[3:51] And I say that because if they don't make any, then where are they going to fall down to worship? And well, there's gods or idols all around them. They were in Egypt, they're in the lands that they're passing through, and they're going to be in the land that they come to, in the land of Canaan.

[4:07] And so they're everywhere. They're all around them. So he forbids them from making them, he forbids them from bowing down to the ones that other nations have and bow down to.

[4:18] And from good measure, he adds a threat. A stern, a serious, a very authentic threat on top of it all, if they do. And I want you to realize before we really get into this, that this is a big deal to God.

[4:34] Now the first command is first. And it belongs first. The second one also is not there by accident. This one's far above thou shalt not kill.

[4:46] But I bet you don't think that way, do you? I bet you think that one should be more. This one's way up there. And I want us to, we can't be on top of number one. That one's already established.

[4:58] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. He's first place. That is number one. But this is something very serious to God. This graven image thing. And so I want to expound on that.

[5:09] Now before we do, flip over to Deuteronomy chapter 27. Just a few books to the right. Deuteronomy 27. This is such a big deal.

[5:22] He calls this an abomination. If you study your Bible, that word does not get thrown around very loosely.

[5:33] It's something that God extremely hates. And He's very passionate about this. Deuteronomy 27. And I want to read verse number 15.

[5:48] Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsmen, and put it in a secret place.

[6:01] That man's cursed. A curse upon a man that would do this. This is not just God saying, I don't like you. This is the punishment that comes out of this thing that we mentioned already.

[6:15] Look at chapter 29. It's called an abomination. And you're cursed if you partake. Alright, look at Deuteronomy 29, verse 16 and 17.

[6:27] These verses are in parentheses. And that's all we want to read. He says, For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the nations which ye passed by.

[6:39] And ye have seen their abominations and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them. I'm showing you this is something God calls these images.

[6:53] A curse upon a man that makes them, and they're called abominations. Now come back to Exodus 20. This is where we'll be for a minute here. This is a serious thing to the Lord.

[7:07] And the commandment itself is pretty straightforward. Don't make any graven images, and don't bow down to them or serve them. So that's pretty straightforward. But it's the reason for God commanding this to His people that I want to spend our time on this morning.

[7:23] The second commandment reveals something about the character of the Lord that has not been revealed yet. It's currently to date in Exodus.

[7:33] It's unknown. And it reveals a very strong attitude that can be easily misunderstood, and it can be mistakenly viewed as a bad thing, as a negative thing.

[7:46] But it's not negative. It's an attribute of an holy God. And I think this study this morning can clear up some of the confusion about a particular word. In verse number 5, we're going to study this morning the jealousy of Jehovah.

[8:02] The jealousy of Jehovah. I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God. They've never heard that before. God's never said that to anybody until right here.

[8:16] And now we're going to learn something about the Lord, and it's part of His holiness. It's a divine and holy attribute of God. It's a, I know it's a familiar term to you to think of the word jealous or jealousy, but I wonder this morning if you have a correct view or understanding of what jealousy is.

[8:39] Because it's very common, and I bet you've all done this because you hear it all the time, it's very common to associate the word jealous with the word envy, and to imagine that they're the same.

[8:51] And you see somebody that's rich or doing well, and you say, I'm so jealous. No, you're not. That's not the right word. You're envious is what you are. And in the Bible, you're not to envy the wicked when you see their prosperity, and when you see their health and everything going well.

[9:07] You're not to envy them because their day is coming. But it's inaccurate of you to think that jealousy and envy are the same, and because you say it the wrong way and hear it the wrong way and kind of presume that's what it means, then you read, God say, I'm a jealous God, and you might think, oh, is that good?

[9:27] It just doesn't maybe sit well with you, and it's not because the Bible's wrong or because what God's saying is wrong. It's because your understanding of the word might be skewed. For example, if somebody has a beautiful, expensive car, and it is like if you could have one car in the world, that's my car.

[9:46] Sometimes you drive by dealerships and you'd be like, that's my car. I used to say that when I was a kid. That's my house. That's my, like I called it. Like that means something. And it's just this lust for things, that, you know, 10th commandment of covet maybe.

[10:00] But let's just imagine somebody you know has an extremely expensive, very rare, very valuable, just something that you just, you wish it was yours. You're not jealous of the car.

[10:14] You're not jealous of the person. You're envious. And to help you understand it, the person that owns the car, they might be jealous over their car, which means they don't want you coming near it.

[10:27] Stay away from the car. I don't want you to scratch the paint. They're going to park it in the garage. Going to get it oil changed and tuned and just keep it as, because they love that car. And they are jealous over their car.

[10:39] They park it, they're the ones that park it in the, you know, right on the line in the two spaces and take up two spaces because they don't want anybody getting close to their car. That's the difference between envy and jealousy.

[10:50] Envy is an evil emotion towards someone because of their position or because of their possessions, for instance. Joseph, his brothers envied him when he had these dreams of them bowing down to him, when their father gave him a coat of many colors, signifying him to be some prince, when they were out there tending the sheep and he didn't have any of those responsibilities.

[11:13] And their father loved him more than anybody. And so Joseph was envied. They weren't jealous. They weren't, it's not even possible. They envied him though. Jealousy, on the other hand, is a natural passion towards someone or something that you love and that you intend to keep and that you intend to protect because it's yours.

[11:38] And it's a natural thing to want. Now it can be overboard and there can be a negative side of it. We'll see that in a minute. But I'll need you to understand jealousy and envy are two different things and that should help to clear up the confusion that might come off the page when you read that I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God.

[11:56] I don't know if I can help you about what. I want you to repeat the definition with the definition of a natural passion. Oh, okay. A natural passion toward someone or something that you love and intend to keep or protect.

[12:14] So that'll come up as we go on. Let's look at four things here. From this passage about the jealousy of Jehovah. And the first thing is we're going to look at the exclamation of his jealousy.

[12:26] He lets us know this, reveals this, where we had never known this. The second is the existence of his jealousy, seeing where and what parameters it exists.

[12:38] And you'll find out it exists in a certain space. And then thirdly, the excellency or the excellence of his jealousy, showing you that it's right.

[12:48] What God has, what he exhibits in this, is absolutely right. And then fourthly and finally, the execution of his jealousy, where he acts out upon somebody that is cursed for disobeying him or violating this relationship.

[13:05] So number one is the exclamation of his jealousy. In verse five, he said, I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God.

[13:17] God has never exclaimed this to Adam. He never told this to Eve or to Noah. He didn't tell Abraham. When he met Moses by the burning bush, he never said, Moses, go back to Egypt.

[13:31] I, the Lord thy God. He didn't say that. He's never exclaimed it until Exodus chapter 20. And I have to note that he exclaims his jealousy alongside the forbiddance of worshiping graven images.

[13:47] Verse four and five. Don't make graven images. Don't bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, here comes the revelation, am a jealous God.

[14:01] Images have a purpose. And that is worship. God exclaims his jealousy. And when it is expressed for the first time, it is connected to worship.

[14:14] You can't overlook that. He does not mention it later with any of these other commands. He never says, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous...

[14:28] He doesn't... Those two don't equate. They don't go together. This is going to help you understand this jealousy of Jehovah. He doesn't say, Thou shalt not steal, for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous...

[14:42] That's not the way it works. The jealousy shows up in the second commandment. It's exclaimed in regard to worship and to graven images.

[14:56] And when it comes to worship, for the Lord speaking to this people, He says, It's me. It is me only that you will worship because I'm a jealous God.

[15:09] And this is very important to God. There's no room in this relationship for another. So you don't bow down to them and you don't serve them.

[15:20] You don't give your attention to them. You don't give your allegiance to them. You don't give your offerings to them. You don't sacrifice and bring gifts to their altars. I, the Lord thy God, I am your God.

[15:33] You worship me only. And this is not God being obsessive. This is not Him being over-possessive. This is God being jealous. That's what it is. And it's exclaimed in connection with a ban on image worship.

[15:49] So Moses, I don't know, it's not too far. It's just a few days pass. And Moses goes up on the mount for 40 days and 40 nights. And look at chapter number 32 of Exodus.

[16:03] It's really not much time at all that passes. And Moses is gone. And what is the first thing that these people do?

[16:16] Amazing. Verse 32, verse 1, chapter 32, verse 1, When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, Up, make us gods.

[16:31] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Make us gods which shall go before us. Moses, we don't know where he's at.

[16:45] And so a little bit later, look down, let's see, verse number 8, God says to Moses, Get out of here, get back down there. Verse 8, They have turned aside quickly out of the way, which I commanded them.

[16:58] They have made them a molten calf and worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord's so hot about this, He's about ready to wipe them all off the face of the earth, and start over with Moses, and keep His covenant with Abraham through Moses.

[17:19] Moses falls on his face, and I'll skip ahead. There's some, if you know, he comes down the mountain. He's angry when he perceives this. He breaks the tables of stone that he has, and there's some fallout dealing with, and some disciplinary action that takes place.

[17:37] And then the Lord calls Moses to come back up on the mount. And look to chapter 34 now. And he rehearses this to Moses. This very point that he's very intentional upon them getting.

[17:53] In verse 10, we'll read down from 10 to 17. And he said, Behold, I make a covenant. Before all thy people, I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation, and all the people among which thou shalt see the work of the Lord, for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

[18:14] Observe thou that which I command thee this day. Behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

[18:25] Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves, for thou shalt worship no other God, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

[18:52] Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a-whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice. And thou taketh the daughters of thy sons, and their daughters go a-whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a-whoring after their gods.

[19:08] Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. You see, he didn't go through the list of the Ten Commandments again, did he? But he had to clarify, he had to reaffirm, and stress this number two.

[19:23] You guys already broke it. And I'm going to give you a reset. But listen to me, and listen closely to me, and he spells it out, in a lot more detail than he did back in chapter 20.

[19:39] His name is Jealous. That's interesting. But again, this jealousy is connected to worship, and to the worship of an other god. So right now, we're understanding the jealousy of Jehovah.

[19:54] It is not a sin. It is not a flaw in God. It is a legitimate passion that exists within a specific spectrum.

[20:07] And that leads us to the second thing that I mentioned, that is the existence of his jealousy. Meaning, where it exists, or the space in which his jealousy operates.

[20:22] It's not all over the place. It's not, he hasn't even brought it up yet. So it's very confined. It's restricted to something specific. And that thing is this.

[20:33] In verse 5, he says, For I, the Lord, thy God. It's a relationship. I'm your God.

[20:44] Now, how did that take place, that he's the Lord, their God? Well, let's remember this. Look quickly back to chapter number 6. When they were in Egypt, God had something to say to them in chapter 6.

[21:03] He made a promise, I'm going to bring you out. I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to redeem you. And in verse number 7, And I will take you to me, for a people.

[21:18] And I will be to you, a God. That's a relationship, that he's going to enter into, with this people. I will take you to me, for a people.

[21:32] Hasn't happened yet. And I will be to you, a God. We're going to have a special, special relationship, when I get you out of here. Now look at chapter 19, and verse number 8, he announces this covenant with them.

[21:49] He says, I brought you out of there, and this is what I intend to do, if you'll obey, if you'll hearken to my voice. And the people in verse number 8, and all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do.

[22:07] And so they agree, to his terms, for this relationship, and this covenant they make. And now God is their God, and they are his people.

[22:20] And he says, I the Lord thy God, am a jealous. He didn't say, I am the God, almighty God. He never revealed himself, to anyone ever, by this attribute, or by this name, whose name is jealous.

[22:36] So the existence of his jealousy, it operates, within this relationship. If there's no relationship, there's no jealousy.

[22:47] You can't find it, outside of this special relationship. And that's the reason, why it's first mentioned, in Exodus 20. After these other things, have been set up, and he is their God, and they are his people, and then he lets them know, by the way, this is exclusive.

[23:03] Me and you. There's no room, for anybody else, in this relationship. And so he shows, I'm a jealous God. I won't let you go off, and have another, and worship another, and bow down, before another.

[23:20] There's been 2,500 years, of human existence. 2,500 years, to this day. Never once, has God, entered into a relationship, like this with someone.

[23:35] Never has he revealed himself, to be jealous. This thing is special, and it exists, or operates within, that relationship. They are now his people, going forward, and now he reveals, a jealous attitude, toward them, toward what belongs, to him.

[23:54] Later on, he's going to show, that he's jealous, for the land. And that's later on, when it becomes the land, and it's his land. And then later on, he says that he's jealous, for the holy city, for the city of Zion.

[24:07] But that's, in the future, when that is, you know, he puts his name there, and his presence, dwells there. So in the moment, the only thing that exists, is this relationship, with this people.

[24:19] And so he exhibits, his jealousy. It's an important aspect, to understand, about the jealousy, of Jehovah, when he says, I'm a jealous God, because on the surface, it feels wrong for us, for someone to be jealous.

[24:32] But we're not viewing it, correctly. Jealousy, is a natural passion, that exists, within a meaningful, relationship. So, so far, there's two things down.

[24:45] The exclamation, of his jealousy, it's connected, to worship. The existence, of his jealousy, within this special, relationship. And now thirdly, let's study, the excellence, of his jealousy.

[24:58] And that is, this jealousy, operates, within the parameters, of his holiness. It's limited, in a sense, limited, to righteousness, only.

[25:10] God is, his makeup, his nature, is holy. He does not act, outside of, what's right. And so, his jealousy, is going to operate, within those parameters, of his holiness.

[25:22] That's not the case, with you and me. We have a sinful side, that God doesn't. And so, we can take something, that could be right, and could be done, and we can mess it up.

[25:33] And so, you can see, how jealousy, can go wrong, and be derailed, but not his. The excellency, of Jehovah, is, or the jealousy, of Jehovah, is excellent.

[25:44] It's always right. God is always balanced. All of his attributes, reflect his righteousness. And so, although jealousy, can be wrong, and for example, here's an example.

[25:57] If a husband, has a wife, and he's jealous, over his wife, as he should be, but if he's a little, too much, he'll start coming up, with things, of saying, I don't want you, to leave the house.

[26:13] I want you, to stay home. Why is that? Why is that? Is it because he's, afraid of their safety, driving on the highways? I'm so afraid of you, I'm jealous over you, I want to keep you safe.

[26:26] Well, it could be. But when he starts, saying things like, I don't want you, to wear makeup. I don't want you, to dress nice. Why? Well, that's something, messed up in his head. He's becoming, this possessive, manipulative, and that happens, and it's all over, in society, where men are jealous, but it's not excellent, and it's not righteous.

[26:47] And there are husbands, that keep their wives, locked up in the house, so to speak, because they're so worried, that they could be attracted, to someone else, or that some other man, is going to look on his wife.

[26:59] And that's true. Men look, at women, all day long. And if, the beautiful wife, goes out in public, people are going to see her.

[27:10] And a jealous husband, doesn't want that to happen, can't fathom that happening, so he overreacts, in a wrong way. That's overbearing, and that's evidence, of a sinful man.

[27:25] But, in the contrast here, God's jealousy, is righteous. You know how I know that? Because in verses 5 and 6, he allows them, to hate him, or he allows them, to love him.

[27:40] He says, at the end of verse number 5, the third and fourth generation, of them that hate me, but in verse 6, showing mercy, on a thousand of them, that love me. And the point here, we can see is that, is that God's jealousy, does not infringe upon, the free will, of his people.

[27:59] He allows them to choose, whether they'll, he's not the one, that's locking them up, saying, I can't bear the thought of this, I'm so jealous over you. No, he's the God that says, I'm a jealous God.

[28:11] But you're free, to do whatever you want to do. And so, God allows them, to love him, or hate him. He allows them, to go on, and violate this commandment.

[28:24] And it shows, that his jealousy, then is controlled, and it is not, dominating, their free will. But rather, this is perfect jealousy, as all God's attributes are.

[28:36] That's not the same, with men. Because, some men lack jealousy, in their relationships, and they show, that they don't care, because their love is weak.

[28:47] And they're very selfish, and just focused on themselves, that they don't, show that love, and exhibit, the right amount of jealousy, over their spouse, or their, whatever it is.

[28:58] And some men, don't have enough, and some have too much, and it's probably, indicative, of their own insecurities, or their own fears, on the inside. And it's, it's wrong, when it's too much.

[29:09] If a man, loves his wife, and he loves, Jesus Christ, and he follows, Jesus Christ, then that's the, best shot, that he has, of exhibiting, righteous jealousy.

[29:23] Natural passion, over what he loves, and desires, to protect. I want to give you, an example of, of excellent jealousy, or what Paul calls, godly jealousy.

[29:35] And so keep your place, in Exodus, but let's flip, let's flip over, to 2nd Corinthians 11. We're learning something, about God this morning.

[29:48] He's a jealous God. But this jealousy, is always in righteousness. 2nd Corinthians 11, and I'm going to read, the first three verses, and understand, that Paul, is concerned, about this church.

[30:16] He cares about them. And that's why, he's going to say, I'm jealous over you. In verse number one, would to God, you would bear with me, a little in my folly, and indeed, bear with me, for I am jealous over you, with godly jealousy.

[30:34] For I have espoused you, to one husband, that I may present you, as a chaste virgin, to Christ. But, but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled, Eve through his subtlety, so your minds, should be corrupted, from the simplicity, that is in Christ.

[30:54] For if he that cometh, preacheth another Jesus, and he's going to go on about this, what he's worried about. And he says, I'm jealous over you people, church, with the right, a godly jealousy, because I'm afraid, that you're going to get deceived, by somebody else.

[31:11] Somebody's going to come in, and beguile you, the way Satan beguiled, that Eve in the garden, and deceived her, and caused her to fall. I'm afraid, Satan's going to do the same thing, with some false teachers, some false doctrine.

[31:25] Now let me show you, why he's jealous. Look back at 1 Corinthians, just to your left, a little bit, chapter, let's try, 4? Yeah, 4.

[31:36] 1 Corinthians 4. Paul has every right, to be jealous, over this church. They have a relationship, that is unique.

[31:51] Look at chapter 4, and verse 14, and 15. I write not these things, to shame you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you, for though ye have, 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you, through the gospel.

[32:18] Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. I'm the one, that brought the gospel, to your town. I'm the one, that preached to you. I'm the one, that showed you Jesus Christ, and the, and showed you, the way of salvation.

[32:31] Everything you have in Christ, came by my preaching. Look at chapter 9, and verse number 1. chapter 9, verse 1.

[32:43] Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ, our Lord?

[32:53] And watch this last phrase, are not ye my work, in the Lord? That's a church. I have begotten them, these people, through the gospel.

[33:04] They are my work, in the Lord, and I am jealous, over them, with godly jealousy. I don't want anybody, coming in and messing up, all the work, that I've done. Remember him saying, elsewhere of another church, that he's feared, that he would have to, that he wouldn't have to rejoice, or that it would be all in vain, in the day of Christ, if they just, get destroyed, by false doctrine.

[33:27] And so, Paul has godly jealousy, doesn't want anybody, corrupting their minds. That godly jealousy, is pure, with pure motives, and it is right.

[33:38] And so, back in Exodus 20, we see the excellency, of Jehovah's jealousy, and that is, he does not, force anything, he's not dominant, upon them.

[33:49] He gives them free will, to hate him, or to love him. And so, his excellency, or his jealousy, is not like some men, where it's not, not enough, or it's too much, and we get out of balance, because of our own, inadequacies, or sinful nature.

[34:06] And now finally, the execution, I almost wanted to term this, the explosion, of his jealousy, because Jehovah's jealousy, burns hot.

[34:19] Oh, it burns hot. In verse number five, he describes himself, being jealous, saying, visiting the iniquity, of the fathers, upon the children, unto the third, and fourth generation, of them, that hate me.

[34:33] Does that sound like, a little bit much to you? This judgment, is not merely, upon the transgressors, but it carries over, for future generations.

[34:45] And I want to look, at a few other scriptures here, that can help, shed light on why, or on other things, associated with jealousy, why we can say, that his jealousy, burns hot.

[34:57] It should. Look at Proverbs chapter six. Proverbs chapter six. And I'm just going to read, a short, well, I guess I'll read, the context as well.

[35:13] The context of this, is about a, it starts with a, adulterous, or strange woman, an adulterous woman, that is deceiving a man, and lusting after, or causing him, to lust after her, with her beauty, and things like that.

[35:29] But then it describes, a man, without the discretion, or understanding, to go after, another man's wife. And this man's, not just being lured away, but this man, is, he's creating something, that he can't get out of.

[35:48] Proverbs six, verse 27, can a man take fire, in his bosom, and his clothes, not be burned? That's obvious, you can't put a, hot coal under your shirt, and hide it, and carry it, from one room to the other, it's going to show up.

[36:02] It'll, it'll definitely leave a mark. And verse 28, can one go upon hot coals, and his feet, not be burned? So he that goeth, into his neighbor's wife, and whosoever toucheth her, shall not be innocent.

[36:16] And now he gives, a little side illustration. Men do not despise a thief, if he steals, to satisfy his soul, when he's hungry. Like that's understandable, and preserving your life, is understandable.

[36:28] If he be found, he shall restore sevenfold, and give all the substance, of his house. He'll have to pay up. But, this is something, completely different, than trying to survive, and stay alive.

[36:39] Verse 32, But whoso committeth adultery, with a woman, lacketh understanding. He that doeth it, destroyeth his own soul. A wound, and dishonor, shall he get, and his reproach, shall not be wiped away.

[36:54] Look at verse 34, for jealousy, jealousy, is the rage, of a man. That's not saying, the man's wrong. It's not saying, he's overreacting.

[37:04] If a man, commits adultery, with his wife, or sweet talks her, at work, and pulls her, slowly pulls her away, and when the man, finds out, what took place, yeah the woman, is to be blamed too, but the rage, that comes up, inside of a man, because of the jealousy, the right jealousy, for his wife.

[37:28] Jealousy is the rage, of a man, therefore he will not spare, in the day of vengeance. He's not going to show mercy. He'll not regard, any ransom. Neither will he rest content, though they'll give us, many gifts.

[37:39] I don't want your money. I don't want your, ten million dollars. I don't want nothing, to do with it. I don't want nothing, to do with you. I just want to see you, off the face of the earth. That's, you can't wipe that away.

[37:51] Money can't, satisfy what takes place, inside the heart of a man, if something like that, should happen, or violate his marriage. And now let's consider, the execution of Jehovah's jealousy.

[38:04] It burns hot. Several of the prophets, say that God's jealousy, is accompanied with fire, and fury, and vengeance. While you're here, look over at Song of Solomon.

[38:17] It's like, the next, book, or almost, Song of Solomon 8. It's just a few pages, to the right.

[38:29] Song of Solomon chapter 8, and look at, at verse number 6. In this context, of a man and woman relationships, in verse 6, set me, as a seal, upon thine heart, as a seal, upon thine arm, for love, as strong, as death, jealousy, as cruel, as the grave, the coals, thereof, are coals, of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

[39:05] I hope you understand, this is legitimate. This is not looking at it, as a sinful passion, but this is something, that is real. It's innate, within a man, toward a special relationship, that he would have, a close one, specifically with a wife.

[39:27] I think men, as the scripture, puts this on the man, I think you ought to be able, to relate to this, and therefore understand, as a result, better understand God, and this union, with Israel, and how he looks, toward that thing, how he feels about it.

[39:46] It's not to say, women, that you can't, understand it either. I don't mean that at all. I don't know, if it's quite as relatable, to you. I can only speak, from the mind of a man. The scriptures, doesn't put that, jealousy on the woman though.

[39:59] It puts it on the man. And, be careful how much I say here, could lead to some, uncomfortable conversations, but, if you understood, the mind of a man, all men, men know men.

[40:18] Men know how men think. Men know what goes through, the hearts and minds, of other men. men know, and therefore, the jealousy, is part of their makeup, in a relationship.

[40:33] Ladies, you just don't, you think you know your husband, because you know how he's gonna, what he does, or his habits. You think you know what he, because of what he says to you. I promise you, a thousand times over, you don't know, what's going on in his head.

[40:48] You don't know, what he's thinking. And I'm not trying to throw the men, under the bus here, but I'm trying to just say, you don't, because we're just different. And we don't understand you either, so you know, it's a two way street.

[41:02] So, okay. The point here though, let's stay on point. Jehovah's passionate, about his relationship, with Israel. It's important, to him.

[41:14] He's not just like, I'll take it or leave it, you know, there's many fish in the sea, that's not how he's operating here. This stems, this is why, it stems from, his covenant with Abraham.

[41:27] This is going back to Abraham, and he brought him out, and brought him into a land, and said, look, this is, this land is yours. I'm going to give it to you, I'm going to give it to your seed after you, and he's like, seed?

[41:37] I don't have a son. I'm going to give you a son. And, I'm going to multiply that seed, and they're going to go to Egypt, for a while, and then I'm going to visit them, and bring them out to this place, and they're going to worship me in this land.

[41:51] And so, what I'm showing you is that, what God is doing, is fulfilling his promise to Abraham. This is another covenant he made to that man. And so, his word is on this thing.

[42:04] He intends for this, to follow through, and to go, to come to pass. He put his word on it. So, he's invested in this relationship, and he intends to see it through.

[42:17] And that's evident, by the passion of his jealousy. It's not mediocre. It's not just, take it or leave it, or lame. This thing burns hot, when it's provoked. Because this is as real to God, and he wishes it was as real to them, as it is to him.

[42:34] Now, I'm going to close with one passage, back in Deuteronomy. Would you go back there, to Deuteronomy 7. And we're finished, after this, Deuteronomy 7.

[42:58] And, I'm not going to read all this. Let's see. Verse 1, he says that he, that this is Moses, telling the people, when he brings you into the land, you're going to go possess it.

[43:15] Then start in verse 5, But thus shall ye deal with them. Ye shall break down their altars, or destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

[43:30] For thou art an holy people, unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee, to be a special people unto himself, above all people, that are upon the face of the earth.

[43:44] The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people. For ye were fewer, of all people, fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath, which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

[44:09] Know therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God. You know what we call that when someone steps out on their spouse? They're unfaithful.

[44:20] But God is the faithful God, which keepeth covenant, and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments to a thousand generations, and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them.

[44:37] He will not be slack to him that hateth him. He will repay him to his face. The execution of God's jealousy, it burns hot, and he has every righteous reason for it too.

[44:53] When they agreed to enter into this covenant, they were agreeing to some things. And God takes it dead serious with this people. He's not playing games. He's given his word. He intends to fulfill his word.

[45:05] And so if they're going to step out on him, his jealousy is going to show up. He's not going to allow it. So we're learning something about God this morning. This is the first time he reveals this.

[45:17] And he revealed it about himself. You realize that there's things about you, that exist within you, that you don't really want to reveal to everybody. You don't want everybody to think that about you, or know these things about you.

[45:27] Some of them are not necessarily evil or terrible, but you still want them to look at you as something you not necessarily are. But this is a real thing with God, and he's not ashamed of it.

[45:38] And he declares it. And I think the people, if they'd receive it in the right way, should be thankful that their God is jealous over them. to realize that he wants us to himself, and he's going to prosper and bless us, and it's going to go all the way with him.

[45:55] He's not going to withhold anything good from them that walk uprightly. And they could look at that jealousy as a good thing, because it was, and it was righteous. This nation now needs to set their hearts upon him.

[46:10] So the relationship is exclusive. And we learn that in Exodus 20. I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God.

[46:21] I hope that you can better understand the Lord from this. I hope that you can better understand that word in its usage here in the commandment, and see why this command is so important to God, that it's number two.

[46:32] And if we could just close and consider that the Lord in your life has done something similar in redeeming you from Egypt, from the world, and paying for you with his precious blood, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[46:50] And I can't think, I know the parallel doesn't completely draw out all the way the same, because you're in Christ. And he loves his son. And the reason he loves you is because if you're saved, you're in his son.

[47:04] And you've been forgiven, you've been sanctified, but surely you can see how important it is for God to love someone and to offer his self to them and his blessings to them, and how it must turn him and pain him and hurt him for them to dishonor that relationship or to put something above him.

[47:30] Or to give your heart to something else. When he says, you're to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.

[47:42] And when your love doesn't go toward him, your love's going somewhere else. And you're, in a sense, violating the relationship that you have with the God that loved you and bought you.

[47:56] So let's consider the jealousy of Jehovah this morning. And I hope that helps you as you read through your Bible and as you seek to know the Lord a little bit better. This is all real. He hasn't changed a bit from this feeling toward that nation, by the way.

[48:10] That's all going to come back. That's why we can confidently say that the things that are written toward that nation are still yet to come to pass because he's a jealous God. And that relationship is still there.

[48:23] He's still on his part. He still intends to bring them back. And that's a whole other prophetic study that we won't get into right now. But he's going to betroth them. That's what he says.

[48:34] All right, let's pray. Lord, as we are dismissed this morning, I'm thankful that we could open up this holy book and learn something about you. Thank you for revealing this about yourself. The things that the men prior to Moses and here at Mount Sinai that they didn't know, they weren't aware of this side of you.

[48:52] It's good for us to learn this and to know this and to see you in this light. Lord, help us to be righteous in our relationships just like you are. Help us then to also recall our relationship with you and put it as first in our life.

[49:09] God, show us where things get ahead of you, where we have affections toward other things which could be considered idolatry. And God, help us to clean that up.

[49:21] Thank you for the lesson this morning from the book and thank you for the second commandment as we've studied it today. We pray you'll be with our brothers and sisters that are out, some not feeling well, some struggling with some things and just be close to them and bring them back soon.

[49:35] Give us a good week, we ask that you'll keep us safe and healthy and strong and bring us back Wednesday to worship you again in this place. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. You are dismissed.