God’s jealousy is protective and purifying not meant to harm but to draw people back to Him.
While human jealousy is often driven by selfish desire and insecurity, God’s jealousy is rooted in His love for His creation. He is jealous for what is good for us and is disappointed when we turn to other “lovers.”
The Lord promises to visit the iniquity of those who hate Him, while faithfully loving those who love Him. God desires covenantal relationships between lovers to be unbroken. [1]
“I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness, says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 15:8
Why did God desolate Israel’s land in the days of Ezekiel? Because they were unfaithful to Him.
In Ezekiel chapter 16, the Lord claims Jerusalem and Samaria as His daughters. Jerusalem symbolizes the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. Jerusalem was their capital city. Samaria symbolizes the tribes of Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun. Samaria was their capital city. Israel divided into two nations during the reign of King Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and grandson of David.
“Again the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.’” Ezekiel 16:1-2
God needed someone to convict the people of Jerusalem of their unfaithfulness to Him. God’s Word to Ezekiel, the son of man, was to cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.
In the Gospels, Jesus often referred to Himself as the Son of man. He was clearly associating Himself with the prophet Ezekiel. The phrase “son of man” emphasizes the humanness of Ezekiel and of Jesus. Both were made of flesh and blood just like anyone of us. It was God’s Spirit in them that set them apart.
In John 16:8-10, Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit is the One who convicts the world of its sin, of its need for faith in God and of the final end of evil.
The Lord tasked Ezekiel to help Jerusalem know her abominations. The original Bible’s Hebrew and Greek words translated as “abomination” denote something “disgusting” or “loathsome.” What did God find disgusting about Jerusalem? The answer is her unfaithfulness to Him.
An “abomination that makes desolate” is referred to in Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11. Jesus refers to it in Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14 and Luke 21:20. Revelation 13:11-17 speaks of a beast that deceives people into worshipping an image of a false god. He forces people to receive a mark on their right hand and forehead. His mark becomes the only acceptable form of currency for buying and selling. He kills those who will not worship the image he sets up. The abandonment of faithfulness to God is the abomination that makes desolate. Very desolate! People lose their entire eternity in paradise with God because of it.
God gave the Apostle John a vision in Revelation 14:9-11. He wrote, “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’”
So, should prophets like Ezekiel be considered spiritual dinosaurs that no longer need to exist? “No!” Both in the Gospels and in the Book of Revelation, the Lord is saying the prophetic calling to make people know abomination still exists. People need to know that unfaithfulness to God is still an abomination to Him, and it results in eternal desolation.
In Ezekiel 16, the Lord compares Jerusalem to a discarded baby left naked in a field. The blood from her time of birthing had not been washed away. God finds her, washes her, and clothes her. In Ezekiel 16:5, He says, “No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.”
In Ezekiel 16:6, the Lord to her, “Live!” And in Ezekiel 16:7, God says to Jerusalem, “I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful...”
In Ezekiel 16:8, the Lord said to Jerusalem, “I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, says the Lord God.”
In Ezekiel 16:9-14, God robed in her royal apparel and bedecked her with a nose jewel, earrings, bracelets and a beautiful crown. He provided healthy foods for her. She became exceedingly beautiful and succeeded to royalty. Her fame went out among the nations because her beauty was perfect through God’s splendor which He bestowed on her.
“But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.” “Moreover, you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire? And in all your abominations and acts of harlotry you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, struggling in your blood.” Ezekiel 16:15, 20-22
When Jerusalem began to think of herself more highly than she thought of God, she became exceedingly evil. She had the Word of God but turned from it. She did more evil than those who never knew God. She even sacrificed her children in fiery deaths to images that she created. She wanted to hurt God in every way. Her rebellion was destroying both her and her children.
“Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.” “How degenerate is your heart! says the Lord God, seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot. You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.” Ezekiel 16:27, 30, 34
As Creator of the universe and Chief Law enforcer, God had to judge His beloved daughter...
“I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare.” Ezekiel 16:38-39
He brought against Jerusalem an enemy army that was happy to execute judgments against her. According to Ezekiel 16:41, these tribulations helped her to ceased playing the harlot.
The Lord spoke to Jerusalem about her sister Samaria. He said...
“Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore, I took them away as I saw fit.” Ezekiel 16:48-50
In Ezekiel 16:53, the Lord speaks of bringing Jerusalem and Samaria back from their time of captivity. This is an allusion to humanity being brought back by Christ into paradise. In Ezekiel 16:60, the Lord says, “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.” In Ezekiel 16:63, the Lord promised to “provide an atonement for all she has done.” That atonement was in His Son, Jesus Christ.
In Christ, God can be Just. He still judges sin as evil, but He also provides His own dear Son, who never sinned, to pay the penalty for Jerusalem’s sin, Samaria’s sin and for our sin.
1 John 2:2 says of Jesus Christ, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Thus, faith in God’s Son Jesus Christ is the only way to victory over the world. 1 John 5:5 says, “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
[1] Derived from various resources referenced by Google under the question: “Is God a jealous God?”
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