O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have left the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild. They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.
How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.
Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. - Psalm 79:1-9
"How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?"
It is interesting how the author characterizes God's motivation in allowing the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of their neighbors. He calls it "jealousy"--"how long will your jealousy" burn. Is God the spurned lover who retaliates in a rage? And, following this line of thinking, is God going to respond to my sinfulness in the same way, in being angry at me?
Jealousy is a term about relationships--the relationship between lover and the beloved. The author uses this term--jealousy--to describe how God feels. Not the emotion of a static deity, but the emotion of a God who loves his people with an incredible amount of emotion. God is angry when we follow other voices--voices "that do not acknoledge" God. Voices that we like better than the voice of God himself. On one hand, he is angry that we are so easily tempted by other voices or even the sound of our own voice. On the other hand, he has no sympathy to those who deluded us and lead us astray. Jealousy is not the word for enemies, it is the word for lovers who choose another.
God loves us with an intensity, so intense that the God of the universe is hurt by what we do. His love is too great to let us walk away. Love that desires nothing more than a restored relationship.
When I think of God as someone hurt by my sin rather than a list of rules that I have broken, I think I am coming closer to the truth which ought to govern my life.
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