WHEN JEALOUSY IS OK…

Why one minute God is laughing at the kings of the earth in Psalm 2:4 – the next minute God is angry at Solomon in I Kings 11:9 – the next minute God is weeping over the results of Noah and The Flood in Genesis 6:5-6.

You better “break down [your] altars [to other gods]. [You better] smash [your] sacred stones [to other deities]…For… [God]…is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:13-14)

“You shall not make…an idol in the form of anything in heaven…or on the earth…on in the water below” God declares in the Decalogue in Exodus 20 “…You should not bow down to them or worship them -- for I the Lord…am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:4-5).

Favor Only ‘The One True God’

Avoiding Any Form Of Idolatry.

The Hebrew people are literally worshipping idols “…on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and under every leafy oak…” (Ezekiel 6:13).

• Baal – the god of the climate and weather, with apparent power over wind and rain (1 Kings 12:26-33).

• Ashtoreth – the god of fertility and war, with apparent power over reproduction and enemies (1 Kings 11:5, 11:33).

• Molech – the god of protection and purification, with apparent power over calamity and sin (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5).

We’re all capable of idolatry. Oh maybe not idols called Baal, Ashtoreth or Molech – but we’re all capable of finding identity and meaning in something or someone other than Yahweh.

Know: What ‘Consumes You’ Is Ultimately

What You Become.

And so Yahweh is very jealous, very zealous “… [demolishing]… altars… [devastating] idols…” (Ezekiel 6:6) – ‘cleaning house,’ all in an attempt to ultimately save His people.

• “… [depend on], center…life…on… work and career [and] you’ll be a driven workaholic and a boring shallow person…”

• “…[depend on], center…life…on money and possessions [and] you’ll be eaten up by worry…about money…”

• “...[depend on], center life…on relationships and [the] approval [of others, and] you’ll be…overly hurt by criticism and…always losing friends…” - Tim Keller

Envision The Zeal Of The Lord Rebuilding,

Restoring Life, Over Time

In all candor Ezekiel 6 is a tough scripture to stomach. For in addition to demolishing altars and devastating altars, Ezekiel 6 speaks of God smashing altars (Ezekiel 6:4), scattering bones (Ezekiel 6:5) laying temples bear (Ezekiel 6:6) and wiping out dwellings

(Ezekiel 6:6).

“…the mountains of Israel will [once again] produce branches and fruit…[For] I am concerned for you [my people] and will look on you with favor -- [and so] you will be [tilled] and [supplied]…I will multiply [your] number….[your] ruins will be rebuilt…and [I] will make you prosper more than [ever] before…” (Ezekiel 36:8-11).

• “…Blessed is the man…God corrects… [For God] bruises, but God binds up; God wounds, but God’s hands make whole." (Job 5:17).

• And so yes, “…at the moment all discipline seems painful…but later [it yields] the peaceful fruit of righteousness…” Hebrews 12:11).

• [For there’s a time to tear down -- but also a time to build up -- a time to weep -- but also a time to laugh. For God makes] everything beautiful [again] -- in [God’s] time…” (Ecclesiastes

3:3+4; 11).

"...the real legacy of my life [is] my biggest failure…my greatest humiliation…was the beginning of God's greatest use of my life ... Only when I lost everything…[did I find]…[my] true self, [the self] God intended [for me, all along]…

You see, [its] not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign God chooses to do through us…[Thus, God] doesn’t [want] our achievements; [God wants] our obedience...[For] victory comes through defeat – and healing [comes] through brokenness…” - Chuck Colson

Smash every other dependency, every other idol! Depend only on God. For God is a jealous, zealous God, not open to competitors or other sources of allegiance.

“[you]…will…produce [again] branches and fruit… [For God is]…concerned for you… [looking on you]…with favor -- [Promising]…I will [till] and [supply you]…I will multiply [your] number…. [I will rebuild your] ruins… [I] will make you prosper -- more than [ever] before…” (Ezekiel 36:8-11).