From Praying the Names of God Week Ten, Day One
The Names
The Lord is a Consuming Fire who will ultimately destroy whatever is opposed to his holiness. He is also a Jealous God, who loves us completely and who, therefore, demands our wholehearted response. If we love him, we can be confident of his mercy, and our own zeal will make us jealous for God's honor and glory. When you pray these names of God, ask him to give you and the church a deeper understanding of his holiness and a greater desire to honor and exalt his name.
Key Scriptures
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14)
Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:23-24)
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Monday
GOD REVEALS HIS NAME
Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:10-14)
Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:23-24)
Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said. (Deuteronomy 6:13-19)
Lord, you are holy beyond my understanding, perfect in a way I cannot perceive. Help me to catch a glimpse of your glory and to grow more zealous for your name, that I might exalt it by the way I live and the way I love. Send your refining fire to heal and purge my heart and send your allconsuming love to lead me home.Amen.
Understanding the Name
God sometimes manifested himself through images of fire—as a blazing torch, in the burning bush, or as a pillar of fire. When Moses met with God on Mount Sinai, the Israelites thought the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Most often, when Scripture pictures God as a consuming fire [Esh Oklah; AISH o-KLAH], it is in connection with expressions of divine anger against the sins of men and nations. Even so, his jealousy is not the "green-eyed monster" so often associated with human jealousy. As biblical scholar Edward Mac pointed out: "This word . . . did not bear the evil meaning now associated with it in our usage, but rather signified ‘righteous zeal,' Jehovah's zeal for His own name or glory."1
Even so, Scripture compares God's jealousy to what a husband feels when his wife has been unfaithful. No wonder the first of the Ten Commandments prohibits the worship of other gods. The Lord is our Jealous God [El Kanna; EL kan-NAH], who cannot endure unfaithfulness. Jesus expressed this same kind of exclusiveness when he told his disciples: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him" (John 14:6-7).
Studying the Name
- What promises does God make in the Exodus passage? What commands does he give? What warnings does he issue?
- Why do you think the Lord says his name is "Jealous"?
- What is the significance of this particular title of God in relation to his covenant?
- How does this name of God relate to your own life? To the church today?
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Meet your spiritual ancestors as they really were: Less Than Perfect: Broken Men and Women of the Bible and What We Can Learn from Them.
