Most Christians have an opinion on one of the greatest debates in history: whether “sloppy wet” or “unforeseen” is the better lyric in the song “How He Loves.” I myself have sided with Flyleaf and vote for the alternate lyric choice of “passionate,” because it conveys the kiss between Heaven and Earth in a way that doesn’t make me giggle during worship. Of course, you are still entitled to your own opinion. 

Regardless of which lyric you prefer, you’re probably familiar with this song. It has been played in worship events I’ve attended for several years now, and it never gets old. Here lately God has been opening my mind to His Word in unbelievable ways, and in one of those instances He elaborated on the first line of that song:

“He is jealous for me.”

Up until this past week, I thought that lyric/scripture (Exodus 34:14) simply meant that God longs for our affection. After all, when I have feelings of jealousy, it’s usually because the guy I like is not giving me attention or because I fear that he is giving his attention to another girl because he is interested in her. This type of jealousy is very superficial and basically says, “Pay attention to me.” While God does want us to pay attention to Him, His jealousy towards us runs quite a bit deeper than that shallow focus issue. 

In Numbers 5, we get a taste of how serious God is about jealousy – and an understanding of what that word truly means. The book of Numbers is a continued explanation of God giving Moses instructions to the Israelites about how they should lead their lives since He has delivered them from Egypt. His people are in a season of preparation, and God is leading them to the land they were promised. I only finished Chapter 13 this morning, so I’m not sure if they actually get to the Promise Land in this book but I think they do. Anyway, back to Chapter 5.

In verse 11, God begins addressing jealousy. He says if a man’s wife commits adultery and the “spirit of jealousy” (vs. 14) comes upon the husband, he must bring his wife to the priest with an offering. The priest then takes holy water and mixes it with dust from the tabernacle floor. The woman must drink this bitter water (which is cursed), and if she is innocent, nothing will happen. If, however, she is guilty, her insides will become swollen and she will miscarry if pregnant and overall lose the ability to have children. (Side note: fruitfulness often follows God’s blessing and barrenness often symbolizes a lack of God’s blessing in scripture.)

What do we learn from this passage (besides the fact that adultery is a huge deal to God)? We learn that jealousy in this context means a husband is suspicious that his wife is committing adultery with another man. Let’s now apply that knowledge to the phrase “God is jealous for us.” He is jealous because He is suspicious (rightly so) that we (the Bride of Christ) have commit adultery against Him. Is God correct in this suspicion? Absolutely yes. 

How is the Bride of Christ unfaithful? Well, God is holy, which means He and sin cannot coexist. That’s why when Jesus was on the cross and was physically bearing all the sin of the world, God had to turn away (Matthew 27:46). Accordingly, when we choose sin, we are essentially committing adultery. We are entertaining another man (the devil) by walking in the lusts of our flesh. Every detail of our association with the enemy screams “affair.”

Look at it this way: 

1. God made us. 
2. God bought us with Jesus’s blood. 
3. God’s goal is to have our hearts. 

While waiting for our hearts, God has been, is, and always will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. (Galatians 5:22-23) When we choose sin, we seek a fulfilling and unconditional love from fallen people; we place our joy in tumultuous circumstances; we look for peace in temporary comforts; we disregard patience; we dole out kindness to only people we deem worthy; we replace goodness with mediocrity; we return God’s faithfulness with our faithlessness; we overpower gentleness with selfish and harsh abruptness; and we relinquish self control by feeding our insatiable lustful appetites. No wonder God suspects adultery! We shun every aspect of who He is. 
Fortunately, God doesn’t leave us in our adulterous state, which sounds preposterous. What would you do if your spouse completely rejected everything that you are and ran into the arms of another in order to fulfill his/her selfish desires – and did so repeatedly?! Worldly advice in this case would be to abandon your spouse. What would biblical advice recommend? Watch this video of Judah Smith preaching about the story of Hosea and Gomer to get the answer to that question. (Please do watch it. It’s worth the 7 minutes.)

In light of all this, I stand in awe of God’s goodness because of who He is as a jealous God. Despite my adulterous heart, He has relentlessly pursued my heart and will continue pursuing me until my sanctification is complete in Heaven. Praise God!

Thank You, Father, for being jealous for me. Thank You for not abandoning me after my heart has turned away from You. Thank You for loving me enough to give me Jesus. Though all You ask is for my heart, You deserve so much more. Here is my heart; You can have it all. I love You. In Jesus’s name.