Knowing God by J. I. Packer - "The Jealous God" (Chapter 17)

Knowing God by J. I. Packer
“The Jealous God” (Chapter 17)

How Can God Be Jealous?

• Nothing is in the creature as it is in the Creator.
• We must let the Bible speak for itself regarding God’s character.

Exodus 20:4–5 NIV
⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

Exodus 34:14 NIV
¹⁴ Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

“Clearly, this unexpected word stood for a quality in God which, far from being inconsistent with the exposition of his name that had gone before, was in some sense an epitome of it. And since this quality was in a true sense his “name,” it was clearly important that his people should understand it.” - J. I. Packer

The Nature of God’s Jealousy

How can jealousy be a virtue in God when it is a vice in humans?

1. Biblical statements about God’s jealousy are anthropomorphisms.

“The reason why God uses these terms to speak to us about himself is that language drawn from our own personal life is the most accurate medium we have for communicating thoughts about him. He is personal, and so are we, in a way that nothing else in the physical creation is.” - J. I. Packer

The Caution of Anthropomorphisms:

• Man is not the measure of his Maker, so none of the limitations of human creaturehood are implied of God.
• Those elements in human qualities which show the corrupting effect of sin have no counterpart in God.

“God’s jealousy is not a compound of frustration, envy and spite, as human jealousy so often is, but appears instead as a (literally) praiseworthy zeal to preserve something supremely precious.” - J. I. Packer

2. There are two sorts of jealousy among humans, and only one of them is a vice.

Vicious Jealousy:

• “I want what you’ve got, and I hate you because I haven’t got it.”

Zealous Jealousy:

• Zeal to protect a love relationship or to avenge it when broken.

Married persons “who felt no jealousy at the intrusion of a lover or an adulterer into their home would surely be lacking in moral perception; for the exclusiveness of marriage is the essence of marriage” - R. V. G. Tasker

• God’s jealousy is of this latter kind - an aspect of his covenant love for his own people.
• Idolatry was viewed as an act of spiritual adultery against God, thus provoking his righteous jealousy for his covenant bride.

1 Kings 14:22 NIV
²² Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done.

Psalm 78:58 NIV
⁵⁸ They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

“From these passages we see plainly what God meant by telling Moses that his name was 'Jealous.' He meant that he demands from those whom he has loved and redeemed utter and absolute loyalty, and he will vindicate his claim by stern action against them if they betray his love by unfaithfulness.” - J. I. 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 a sovereign purpose. The goal of the covenant love of God is that he should have a people on earth as long as history lasts, and after that should have all his faithful ones of every age with him in glory. Covenant love is the heart of God’s plan for his world.” - J. I. Packer

God’s Ultimate Objective:

• To vindicate his rule and righteousness by showing his sovereignty in judgment upon sin
• To ransom and redeem his chosen people
• To be loved and praised by them for his glorious acts of love and self-vindication

The Christian Response

1. The jealousy of God requires us to be zealous for God.

Titus 2:14 NKJV
¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

1 Kings 19:10 NIV
¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

2. The jealousy of God threatens churches which are not zealous for God.

Revelation 3:15–16 NIV
¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:19 NIV
¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.