Behold His Jealousy

Behold His Jealousy

Psalm 79

Main Idea: God is jealous for his own glory and for the good of his people, which means we should live zealously toward those same ends.

We are constantly tempted to have a low view of God. We ignore or minimize characteristics about him that make us uncomfortable. Psalm 79 highlights the jealousy of God—one of those characteristics. When most of us think of jealousy, we think of the sin of selfish envy, even anger, that breeds resentment within us and destroys relationships around us. So, how is it possible for jealousy to be good?

Jealousy can be a good thing when we think about the love of a husband for his wife. For example, Heather Platt is my bride, and I am jealous for her. By that I mean that I am jealous for her good, jealous to see that she is cared for well. I’m jealous to provide for her. I am jealous to protect her from anything that would harm her. I’m jealous to promote the purity of my love for her and her love for me. In a similar way the jealousy of God is good for you and good for God. Now, don’t carry the marriage analogy too far because as much as I love my wife, I am an imperfect husband. There are, then, some significant differences between God’s jealousy and my jealousy.

Psalm 79 was written in light of the destruction of Jerusalem. Previously, God had protected Jerusalem from Assyria. But years later, because God’s people persisted in sin, Babylon came and attacked the city, destroying it completely. This psalm is written from the perspective of the few Israelites who were still alive and left behind, now surrounded by ruins. Massive devastation makes this a hard, emotionally raw psalm to read.

Notice the psalmist’s question in verse 5: “How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy keep burning like fire?” (emphasis added). What does it mean for God to be jealous, and why does this matter for our lives? We’ll attempt to answer those two questions as simply as possible. And when I say “simply,” I mean “straightforwardly,” not “modestly.” These are not modest truths; these are massive truths.

What Does It Mean for God to Be Jealous?

God Is Zealous for His Glory

I use the word zealous here because both the Old Testament and the New Testament words for “jealousy” are sometimes translated using the word zeal. Jealousy is zeal for something. So, what is God zealous for?

God is zealous for his own glory. It’s all over this psalm and all over Scripture. Even here in the beginning of Psalm 79, amid the disaster that has come on the people of Jerusalem, God is the focus. The word your, referring to God, is used four times in verses 1-2. The psalmist is talking about this destruction from a divine perspective. In verses 9-10 the psalmist cries out for help, and he appeals to God with emphasis on God’s glory, name, and vengeance in the eyes of the surrounding nations.

The psalmist knows that God is zealous for his glory. The first time we clearly see this attribute in God is when God gives Israel the Ten Commandments:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ iniquity, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands. (Exod 20:2-6)

These foundational truths for God’s covenant people remind us that God desires and deserves all glory. There is only one true God, and because he alone is God, he is jealous for all worship as God. Many people recoil at that idea because they think it is inherently wrong for anyone to be jealous for their own worship. In fact, we’re repulsed by anyone who would dare to think that they deserve worship. They don’t deserve glory, and they are totally deceived if they think they do.

But not God. No, he’s not deceived. God knows he deserves all glory and that there is no other god. He is the God who is worthy of all worship in all the world, which means it’s not wrong for him to desire worship. It’s altogether right for him to desire his own glory, his own exaltation. The moment that God were to exalt anyone or anything else, he would no longer be the God who is worthy of all worship.

All the references to God’s jealousy in Scripture are grounded in God’s zeal for his glory. Exodus 34 provides another example of this truth, as God gives his people instructions about what to do and how to live when they enter the promised land, a land where all kinds of false gods were being worshiped: “You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)” (Exod 34:13-14 ESV).

It makes sense that God’s name is Jealous, because there’s no one greater than God. While it is wrong for us to want worship, since we don’t deserve it, it’s right for God to want worship because he does deserve it. Realizing this is the secret to true worship.

Our jealousy is different from God’s jealousy in other ways too. When we are jealous, it is oftentimes due to our insecurity or envy. We see something someone else has, and we become jealous because we want it. For example, when I was in high school, the girl who is now my wife was dating another guy for months, and I was jealous of him. In fact, jealousy was eating me alive because I was insecure.

This kind of insecurity plays out in so many different ways throughout our lives. Most of us could think of something—even a good thing—we want that someone else has because there’s insecurity in us. But not in God. God is completely secure. There is no envy in him because he desires nothing that is bad, and everything that is good belongs to him. He is supremely good and supremely glorious. He’s not jealous of anything we have, because every good thing we have comes from him in the first place.

There’s another way God’s jealousy is different from ours. Once I finally started dating the girl who is now my wife, I would become jealous if other guys were flirting with her. Why? Because I would worry that she would like one of them more than me, that she would find more joy and fulfillment and satisfaction in being with them (particularly if the guy was more attractive and enjoyable to be around than me). But again, this is where God is so different from us.

God is supremely satisfying. He knows there’s no one better than him. He is not worried that if you worship another god you’re going to find more joy or fulfillment or satisfaction. No, God knows there is no one who can even come close to comparing to the joy and fulfillment and satisfaction that is found in him. God is zealous for his glory because God alone is glorious.

God Is Zealous for the Good of His People

Throughout Scripture God glorifies himself by showering his goodness on his people. From the start God creates man and woman in his image so that they will enjoy him as they glorify him with the life he gives to them (Gen 1–2). And they do for a time.

Adam and Eve soon turn aside from the security and satisfaction they have in God, and they instead worship other gods, namely, themselves. They turn aside from the God who is zealous for their good. At that point sin enters the world, and it affects every person in all of history. Now every person is born in sin, and they turn aside from the one true God and follow false gods (see Rom 1:18–3:20). This sinful nature is evident in the lives of each of us.

But God in his mercy set in motion a plan to make it possible for sinners to be reconciled to him, to be restored to satisfaction in him (Eph 2:4-7). In the Old Testament he called a particular people to himself. According to Genesis 12, Abraham and his descendants became known as the people of Israel, and, through Moses, God entered into a covenant with them (Exod 19–40). This covenant was akin to a marriage relationship in which God said, “I am going to pour out my love on you in a special way, and you’re going to demonstrate my love to all the peoples of the earth.”

Israel said yes and entered into that covenant relationship with God, committing their lives to him. But before the seal of that marriage-like covenant had time to set up, Israel was already turning aside to fashion a false god (Exod 32). In this way physical idolatry became a picture of spiritual adultery.

Like a husband who loves a wayward wife, over and over again God would pour out his love on his people, forgiving them of their sins, drawing them back to him, only to have them turn away repeatedly to idols. Oh, the hurt and horrors involved in adultery against the Almighty!

This is exactly what happened in Psalm 79. The people of God in Jerusalem had all the security and satisfaction they could ever want in God, and yet they turned aside and crafted idols with their own hands, bowing down to worship them. Those gods were not able to provide for them, care for them, lead them, or guide them. This idolatry led to all kinds of gross immorality, eventually bringing destruction on them.

Israel’s spiritual adultery was like an addiction. An alcoholic knows that drinking will lead to disastrous consequences, yet he or she drinks anyway. So also we are prone to turn away from God, away from his glory and his goodness, despite what it will do to us. We choose to trust in ourselves and the things of this world when they will ultimately and inevitably lead to our downfall. Therefore, when you picture the jealousy of God, picture God as a husband who loves his wife deeply. Picture this husband as one who possesses all his wife could ever need or want, yet she turns aside from him and runs after other men instead (Ezek 16; Hosea). This husband is perfect, good, and faithful, but his wife continually sleeps around on him with all kinds of other men. This is the sense in which God is a jealous husband.

Again, God is not insecure. He is completely secure and supremely satisfying. And he loves his bride so much that he is jealous for her good. He will not give up on her, which means he is zealous to bring her back to himself. The psalmist knows this when he cries out, “How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy keep burning like fire?” (Ps 79:5). He knows the people of God were experiencing the consequences of idolatry, of spiritual adultery. The worship of other gods had led to their destruction and to death. They got what they asked for, what they deserved. So the psalmist turns back to God in sin and cries out for his mercy.

As the psalmist cries out, he shows us that he knows in love God cares for his people with compassion. From the beginning of this psalm, the psalmist pleads with God about the shame and destruction God’s people had experienced. In verse 8 he begs for “compassion . . . quickly.” In other words, “Hurry, O God, to help us.”

The psalmist knows that Israel is in despair because they’ve sinned against a holy God, and they need him to cover over their sins. So he cries out, “God of our salvation, help us—for the glory of your name. Rescue us and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake” (v. 9). The psalmist knows that in love God saves his people from their sin. He is the God of our “salvation.” God’s people were caught in the clutches of sin, and they needed to be saved.

The Hebrew word for “atone” means “cover over” (BDB, 497), for we need God to cover our sins. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered to atone for sins. On the Day of Atonement, for example, the high priest would offer a sacrifice in the place of those who had sinned. This sacrifice showed that the penalty for sin, which is death, had been paid. The priests would offer this sacrifice over and over again, year after year. But these Old Testament sacrifices were only intended to set the stage for the New Testament, when Jesus would come and sacrifice himself, once and for all, on the cross, to make salvation possible for sinners before a holy God (Heb 10:1-14). This is the greatest news in the world to every sinner anywhere: God has made a way for your sins against him to be covered over.

God’s love not only results in the forgiveness of sins. We see in verse 11 that in love God sustains his people in their suffering. Notice God’s jealous love. He will not leave his people alone in their suffering. According to his great power, he will preserve them. The same holds true for God’s people today: God is a faithful husband who will never abandon his bride.

Finally, in love God leads his people to eternal life. Look at how the psalm ends: “Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever; we will declare your praise to generation after generation” (v. 13).

God is a jealous God, a zealous husband who loves his bride and will lead his people in such a way that they will never, ever, ever run out of reasons to give him thanksgiving and praise.

God is zealous for his glory, and, at the same time, God is zealous for the good of his people.

Why Does It Matter That God Is Jealous?

We Should Live with Zeal for His Glory

God alone deserves all glory. Therefore, God desires all glory. So we must turn aside daily from all false gods and idols in this world—whether it’s handcrafted, wooden figures or far more subtle (yet just as sinful) gods of money, sex, success, sports, entertainment, family, health, food, position, power, pleasure, comfort, acclaim, etc. We put our trust in things, even good things, instead of in our God. We pursue avenues that steal our affections from the God who is worthy of supreme affection and absolute devotion.

Scripture gives many examples of those who lived with zeal for God’s glory. Elijah the prophet describes himself as “very zealous for the Lord God of Armies” (1 Kgs 19:14). God said of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, that “he was zealous among [the Israelites] with my zeal” (Num 25:11). May this be the mark of our lives—that we were as zealous for the honor of God as God is.

This kind of zeal should also mark our corporate worship. We should refuse to walk away from a worship gathering and think, How did I feel about the service today? as if the service was about us. No, what should drive us in worship is the question, How does God feel about the service today? The service is about him.

This kind of zeal should mark our families, our singleness, our marriages, our parenting, our work, our schooling, and everything we do. We ought to be driven, not for the pursuits of this world but for the glory of our God. For those who aren’t sure if they’re willing to let go of certain things and pursuits, I want to remind you of the second implication.

We Should Live with Zeal for Our Good

You might be thinking, I thought I was supposed to live for God’s glory, not my good. However, this is where we need to realize that our greatest good is found in living for God’s glory. Do you honestly think the way you’re spending your money to indulge in more comforts and pleasures in this world is satisfying? You have no idea about the indescribable joy you’re missing out on that comes with sacrificial giving. You’re not living with zeal for your good but for your bad.

Do you think sexual immorality satisfies? You have no idea that in that moment of fading pleasure, you’re missing out on unfading treasure. C. S. Lewis said,

We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy has been offered us, like ignorant children who go on making mud pies in the slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

Then Lewis says these piercing words: “We are far too easily pleased” (The Weight of Glory, 26).

In other words, we think we give in to the temptations and things of this world because our desires are so strong, but that’s not true. Our desires are weak. It takes so little to satisfy us. We settle for the slums instead of holding out for the Riviera.

God is supremely satisfying, so live with zeal for your good as you live with zeal for God. He loves you with a jealous love—an altogether right and good kind of jealous love. He is jealous for your affections, and he’s worthy of them because he’s the only one whose love can satisfy you. So I implore you to run from sin and reorient everything you do around zeal for God’s glory. In the process you will be living with zeal for your good.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What do you normally associate jealousy with in your own life?
2. How is God’s jealousy different from human jealousy?
3. Why is it good that God is jealous for his own glory?
4. Explain a specific way God’s jealousy is good for his people.
5. How should God’s zeal for his own glory shape the church’s corporate worship?
6. How should God’s jealousy shape the way we treat sin?
7. How does Psalm 79 speak to a culture that views all religious views as equally valid?
8. What are some idols that you have to guard against in your own life?
9. What are some signs that a church is taking a man-centered approach (rather than a God-centered approach) to evangelism and corporate worship?
10. Explain the following statement: Seeking God’s glory is actually the best way to seek our own good.