Yahweh, Jealous, Avenging and Wrathful - November 9th, 2025

If you guys can rise back to your feet, I want to read Nahum chapter 1 in the first three verses. The oracle of Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkishite, a jealous and avenging God is Yahweh. Yahweh is avenging and wrathful. Yahweh is avenging against his adversaries.

Yahweh is slow to anger, great in power, and Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for just gathering us together just to celebrate Christ to learn about our beloved God and Father who fashioned and made us into his own likeness. And God, I pray that as we learn about you, our adoration and our affection and our reverence would all increase. And that we would leave here with awe. Just amazed that a wonderful, lofty God would know us, know how many hairs are on our head, a God who has numbered our days, and a God who uses us despite all of our sin and flaw. And you delight in us because you see the blood that covers all our sin. And so we thank you, and we gather to celebrate and learn, and we pray that you would really minister to your people this morning in the power of your Holy Spirit.

Grant to us great conviction, boldness, and zeal for your name. Amen. Go ahead and take a seat.

And imagode means the image of God in Latin. It comes from Genesis chapter 1, verse 26-27, where God created mankind according to his image. Now, an image by definition is not a real thing, right? It is simply a depiction or a copy of the real thing. And no matter how accurate the resemblance, an image is far from the real thing. Let me explain. Early on, we used to play a game with our kids. We would show them a photo or a picture of something or someone, and we would ask them, What is this? Or who is this? And they would respond with, that's a tomato. Or that's grandma, or that's Bailey. And we would respond with, oh, good job, when they got it right. Now, even as toddlers, they knew that the things we were pointing to were just an image of a tomato or an image of grandma or an image of our dog.

The composition and the makeup of their images were far from the real thing. So an image is an identifiable and discernible representation of a thing or a person, but it is not that thing or a person. It is simply an imprint, an image, and imag, right? And you and I are image bearers of who? Of God, right? We have been created imago day, and that's very important. And that's what distinguishes us from the rest of creation. We are not mere creatures of instinct like other animals. Animals were not created in the image of God. And God had a different and more glorious purpose for man, and our worth, our value, and our dignity is rooted in this. Because we've been created in his image, we manifest the likeness of God in various ways.

So we have reason and intellect because we are image bearers, and because we are image bearers, we value good, we value truth, we value morality, we are creative, we are social, we give love, we receive love, and we feel and understand joy. We have emotion, and we can articulate and think up even abstract thoughts. And also because we are image bearers of God, we are jealous. When an evil is done to us or an evil is done around or among us, we feel anger towards that evil. And that's a righteous anger, because our jealousies are aroused, because we are image bearers of God. So the image of God that we see in our jealousy, of course, it's been severely broken and distorted by our depravity and sin, but we understand jealousy, because the one in whom whose image we've been created is jealous.

So our jealousy would be akin to a photograph that has been scribbled all over with a black marker. Right? So the image is still there, but it's been covered, marred, and damaged. The image is still there, but obviously it is now not as accurate and is now distorted. But nonetheless, you and I have been created in Mago Dei, and you and I have been created in the image of a jealous God. And we are meant to be jealous. We are supposed to grow in jealousy. Let that sit a little bit. We are supposed to grow in Godly jealousy. So as you mature, you should become more and more jealous. And I'm not referring to the fruit of the flesh, Galatians chapter 5, verse 20, jealousy. That jealousy is covetous and vain and rooted in sin.

But I'm referring to a godly jealousy for God and for his people. So we are meant to become more and more jealous as we grow in the greater resemblance of our jealous God, because we've been created in Mago Dei. Okay? So jealousy is a prominent attribute of God. It is a supremely important attribute of God. It's very often the very first, it's of the first mention. It's one of the uh first mentioned attributes of God. And God often introduces himself to his people as a jealous God. And the jealousy of God is going to be on full display in the book of Nahum. So here's the outline for today's passage, and it's the opening verses of Nahum's prophecy. We're first going to be learning together about our jealous God, and then we're going to be looking at the jealousy of God or how his jealousy is manifested.

And we're going to see in the scriptures what our God is jealous about. And then we're going to see the jealousy of God visualized and expressed through vengeance and wrath upon the Assyrians. So the outline is as follows: the jealous God, the jealousy of God, and then the jealousy poured out in wrath and in vengeance. So Nahum 1 2, it reads, a jealous and avenging God is Yahweh. And that's how the oracle of Nahum starts. So the jealousy of God is mentioned at the very start. So if you have a Bible open, you may have noticed that the first chapter of Nahum, you see a bunch of Hebrew characters. Do you guys have a Bible open? There's a bunch of Hebrew characters at the heading of every verse.

And that's because the opening chapter of Nahum is written poetically. It's written in an acrostic form. An acrostic is a composition where the first letter of each line spells out a word or a message. So you may have heard the acrostic for the word joy, right? What is the secret to having joy? J-O-Y. Well, you put Jesus first, others second, you third, right? J-O-Y. Jesus, others, you. So that's an acrostic. So the first chapter of Nahum is written in the form of an acrostic. The first ten of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used. And each one is described, it's used to describe a different aspect of God's justice. Okay, so that's how the book of Nahum begins. It's going into aspects of God's justice.

And the word for God is the word El. And it begins with the Hebrew letter Aleph. Okay? And that's the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It's a little squished there. But it's Aleph. And it's not obvious in the English, but the first word in the verse is El, God. Okay? So in the Hebrew, the verse literally reads like this God is jealous and avenges, Yahweh avenges, and he's furious. That's how it actually reads. So the words, God is jealous, begin the oracle. So Yahweh our God is a jealous God. He is a perfectly jealous God like no other. His holiness makes him jealous. So we think of jealousy as a petty thing. We think of jealousy as a broken emotion springing forth from insecurity. But God's jealousy, his perfect jealousy has perfect security, love, and justice at its root.

Okay, so jealousy is an attribute of God in which he has a perfect hatred towards anything that tarnishes his glory or harms who he loves. So jealousy is not a petty thing. It's actually a righteous quality, and jealous is our God. Our God is jealous. And that's one of the names of God. Yahweh is El Kanah. Repeat after me, El Kanah. Jealous is his name. Exodus 34, 14. You shall not worship any other God, for Yahweh whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. Deuteronomy 424, for Yahweh your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. And you've seen this before.

And that he would harm and consume them in his jealousy. That was his threat. So Joshua 24, 19 to 21 reads, then Joshua said to the people, you will not be able to serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods. And then he will turn and do you harm and consume you after he has done good to you. And the people said to Joshua, no, no, no. We will serve Yahweh. So notice in verse 19 that God is jealous because he is a holy God. His holiness necessitates jealousy. And you'll notice that he is wrathful, harmful, and he's an all-consuming fire because he is jealous. So his holiness evokes jealousy.

His jealousy triggers his wrath. Okay, so God avenges because he is jealous. God cannot but be jealous because he is supremely holy. Okay? So God is deserving of all allegiance, loyalty, and worship.

We exist for him. He does not exist for us. And that should be an offense to our sin and our pride, right? God will not share our affections and our loyalties with anything or with anyone else. And this has always been the case. He will not forgive any form of spiritual adultery. Amen.

So that's why friendship and union with this fallen world is a blasphemous rejection of the Holy Spirit, which is the unforgivable sin. Okay? James 4, 4 to 5, you adulteress. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture speaks without purpose? He jealously desires the spirit which he has made to dwell in us. God was a jealous, consuming fire in the Old Testament. He continued to be a jealous God in the gospels and in the epistles. And he continues to be a fiery and fiercely jealous God today. Right?

The sacrifice of Christ on the cross did not do away with the jealousy of God. Does that make sense? We might mistake ourselves. We might think that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross did not do away with God's jealousy. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is immutable. So which means God is unchanging. So the sacrifice.

So God is wrathful and avenging because God is jealous. God is El Cana. And there's a terrifying price to pay for any act of adultery because God will avenge and God will fully avenge the insulting of the Spirit of Grace. And that's what we're going to see in the book of Hebrews. At the end of Hebrews, that's what's highlighted. How much worse punishment do you think he will deserve, who is trampled underfoot, the Son of God, and has regarded as defiled the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the spirit of grace. For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

So the living God is a terrifying God because he is a jealous God. That's clear. So what does the jealousy of God look like? What is he jealous for? And we're going to take a look at the jealousy of God. And I want to read verses two to three again for you. A jealous and avenging God is Yahweh. Yahweh is avenging and wrathful. Yahweh is avenging against his adversaries.

Yahweh is slow to anger, great in power, and he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Now, in Nahum chapter one, two to three, the jealousy of God is described more indirectly. Okay? It's not defining jealousy, because that's not the purpose of Nahum. But it's described indirectly in three descriptions of those whom his jealousy has been aroused by. Okay? Yahweh's adversaries, Yahweh's enemies, and the guilty that are on the wrong end of the jealousy. So these three groups trigger and arouse his jealousy. So adversaries, by definition, are those who have sought to harm or injure him. Enemies are those who stand on the other side, defying him. And the guilty are those who have violated his holy decrees.

Make sense? They're three different characterizations of the same kind of people. So these people are broadly and generally one and the same. So God's jealousy is aroused by those who offend him, by those who oppose and defy him, who disobey and transgress. So those who offend, those who oppose, and those who disobey. So what are they offended? How are they offensive? What are they opposing? What are they disobedient to? These adversaries, enemies, guilty people. Like, how are they upsetting God? Through a thorough and comprehensive look into the scriptures, we can broadly categorize the biblical descriptions of God's jealousy into two spheres. Okay? The first is God's jealousy for his fame, for his renown.

Secondly, God's jealousy for his people. Okay, easy enough to remember. God's jealousy is for his renown and then for his people. So first, God has a righteous zeal for his glory and his fame. God is jealous for his reputation. He alone is worthy of glory.

Isaiah 42, 5 and 8, it reads, Thus says the God Yahweh, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it. So he's the sustainer of all things, okay? I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images. Okay, so what is the point? God is creator. He created the entire universe, the entire cosmos to display his glory and the creativity of his power. God hates anything or anyone that takes credit for the splendor of what he has created. He is more jealous for his renown than he is loving for you and me. That's something to actually really remember in our generation.

God is more jealous for his renown than he is loving for you and me. That should be jarring.

Okay? So that is why his anger burned against Moses. Did you know that God's anger burned against Moses three times in his life? The humblest man on the planet. God's anger burned against Moses in Exodus 4.14, because without even realizing it, Moses offended God by saying that God is not powerful enough to overcome his inability to speak. And it says the Lord's anger burned against Moses. God's jealous and righteous anger were aroused when Moses did not represent him as holy in Numbers 20. And you guys look at that scene in the scriptures. It looks strange. He strikes the rock, and God is like, because of that, you're not allowed to enter into Canaan. And you're like, what? Because he did not present God as holy.

God's anger burned against Job's three friends in Job 42. Well-meaning people who sat with him quietly for seven days because they misrepresented God's sovereignty to their afflicted friend. And Job 42 says, My anger burns against you.

Okay. So God is jealous for his namesake. His anger burns when he is misrepresented either in doctrine or in bad witness by those who claim to know him. Okay. Now we as his image bearers, we can kind of understand this. Even as corrupt and deeply flawed people, we understand this. We understand the anger that starts to grow in our hearts when we are misrepresented, or when our reputation is maligned by someone's lies or gossip. Right. Even as a group, if someone were to say something very inaccurate about us, you would be offended, and rightly so. Let's say if someone were to say, hey, don't go to the beacon church. Because I heard that that church is pretty legalistic. Would you be offended?

I don't think we're legalistic. We take the Bible seriously, we don't, we're not, but I would be offended if someone were to say that. We're not legalistic. Do you even know what legalistic means? Right? Or if someone were to say, hey, hey, I heard at the beacon, you guys just play in fellowship. You don't take your faith seriously. You would feel a degree of jealous and righteous anger. Because you're like, that is not an accurate description of our church. Our sister Tiffany authored and illustrated a children's book. If someone else took her book and her drawings, stamped their name on it, not only would Tiffany be upset, all of us would be upset. We would be jealous for her. And again, rightfully, even righteously jealous.

So what is our God jealous about? First, he is jealous for his reputation. He is jealous for his renown. Second, he is a God who is jealous for his people. In the Bible, God's jealousy for his people is described as both the jealousy of a husband for his wife and the jealousy of a parent for a child. Okay? That's all over the Bible. The jealousy that a husband has for his wife, and the jealousy that a father has for a son, for a child. So the jealousy of a husband, the jealousy of a father, nobody would say is a wrong or sinful. Jealousy actually would be righteous. A lack of jealousy would be strange and confusing.

Okay? So if you're like, I want to get to know more about the jealousy of God, go to Hosea. The book of Hosea is basically a book depicting Yahweh's jealousy as both a husband and as a parent. Okay? So Yahweh God and Israel, they made a covenant. They exchanged vows, they exchanged rings, okay. And they betrothed themselves to one another. But throughout her history, Israel had played the harlot time and time again. Nod your heads if you already, you're familiar with that, right? So she has played the harlot going after other gods for many years. So Israel, who had once covenanted herself with Yahweh, had become like a prostitute. And to illustrate this and to provide a visual for his people, God told the prophet Hosea to do a strange thing.

To marry a woman, he knew would be unfaithful to him. So Hosea chapter 3, verse 1. Yahweh said to me, Go again. Love a woman who is loved by her companion and is an adulteress. Even as Yahweh loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and this always makes me chuckle, and their raisin cakes. I think raisins are gross. But somehow that's what they love. So she regularly would throw away everything of worth and beauty in their covenant marriage for cheap thrills and for a paltry sum. Israelites exchange their intimate relationship with the creator of the universe for what? Raisin cakes. So God is jealous. And in this prophecy, we get a glimpse of God's heart and his desires of those to whom he has betrothed himself.

So God in his jealousy is going to pursue his unfaithful bride. So this is a prophecy of God's jealousy for his bride. Hosea 2, 19 to 20, I will betroth you to me forever. Indeed, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. Then you will know Yahweh. So he's making a promise.

So he's a God who is jealous for his people.

So he is a jealous God for the purity of his bride, and he's going to remove every sin, every hint of sin for the sake of that bride. Revelation 21. For the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars. Their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is a second death. And then one of the seven angels who have the seventh bowls, full of the seven last plays, came and spoke with me, saying, Come now.

So God is jealous for his people as a husband is jealous for his bride. Make sense.

Jealousy toward an unfaithful spouse usually is anger. Jealousy for a wayward son is usually grief. Right. God's paternal jealousy caused him to grieve. So God's jealousy isn't one only of anger. It's of deep sorrow like that of a parent sobbing over the recklessness of a rebellious child. So God's jealous heart is a breakable heart. It can be deeply grieved. Can you imagine that? The God of the universe has a heart that can be broken. And he has a heart that is deeply saddened. Why? Because of jealousy. And that too you'll see in Hosea. Okay? So after pages and pages in Hosea of anger and of judgment that's going to come upon the nation of Israel, we will catch a vision and a glimpse of God's broken heart.

It reads When Israel was a youth, I loved him. And out of Egypt I called my son. And that's the prophecy of baby Jesus. Okay? But he goes on to say, the more they called them, the more they went from them. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to graven images.

So as a loving father, God will discipline his beloved son and the rod of discipline, the memestic, he's gonna use the Assyrian Empire, Isaiah 10.5. But we see the emotions of Yahweh, the jealous father that causes him to relent. So you'll see God almost breaking into tears here. How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I give you over to be like Adma? How can I make you like Zeboeim? My heart is turned over within me. All my compassions are stirred. I will not execute my burning anger. I will not make Ephraim a ruin again. For I am God and not a man, the holy one in your midst. I will not come in wrath. Chapter 10, God's sounds so angry. Chapter 11. You see his breaks.

So God in his sovereignty appointed Assyria to discipline Israel for a season because Israel needed a big meme. Israel had breached the covenant they had made with Yahweh. Israel had gone after other gods, and God's jealousy was aroused. But now God's jealousy as a father was triggered, and he could endure it no longer. Assyria had gone too far. Assyria had ruined Israel politically and economically. Assyria had harmed and exiled Israel. And in his fatherly jealousy, God would restore, and that's Nahum. Assyria had applied the rod long enough. Assyria had ruined Israel no more. Nahum 2 2. For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob, like the majesty of Israel, even those who empty them have emptied them to destruction and ruined their vine branches.

So the jealousy of Yahweh for his children for his people has been ignited. And understandably so. And that's where we are in Nahum. So my kids have been referring to the adults at our church as either uncle or auntie. Okay, so don't be alarmed when they call you auntie or uncle. And that actually makes me happy. They see the beacon as a family. I feel warm when they say things like, Uncle John did this. Or Auntie Kathy brought us that. There may be many uncles and aunties. There's only one daddy. There's only one mommy. Rightfully so. We are jealous parents. We are not just possessive. We are jealously protective. We are also jealously corrective. And in our jealousy, we may discipline our kids, even if it breaks our hearts.

Last year, on the 4th of July, Maddie got into a little trouble, and he kept doing something that I warned him not to do. And it broke my heart. But I told Maddie, tonight you are not allowed to do the fireworks with your cousins. You're not allowed to watch outside. You're going to stay inside while we're all outside doing fireworks. And so he had to stay indoors while the entire street in where we used to live, everybody is allowed to do fireworks on the street. And we were outside. Their cousins are running around. Karis and her cousins were like with the sparklers. They're running around. And I saw Maddie looking through the window. Like from the window onto the street. And it was, it really bothered me.

I wasn't bothered because he was cheating. I bought it, it bothered me because it's like, oh, why? Why would you not listen? And it broke my heart to watch him watch us have fun. Now, imagine if you guys were with us, and one of you went up to the window and teased and taunted Maddie. Ha ha, you're stuck in there. Haha. To really upset him. To make him more happy. My sadness over my loss or my son's lost privilege will turn into anger towards you. Right? Because I am a jealous father. My jealousy springs forth from love. And as broken, sinful and corrupted, and as flawed as I am, there would flow within me a flurry of righteous jealously.

Jealousy. You dare not harm the one that I love. I had been created jealous in Imago Day. And there would be in me in that moment a desire for wrath and vengeance. I would feel upset if you made my child unhappy. I would feel enraged if you injured my child. And you delighted in injuring my child. That's the beginning of Nahum. In the opening, we see a description of God's jealousy expressed in vengeance and wrath. Okay, so God delivered into the hands of the Assyrians his people for discipline, but as the Assyrians began to oppress and torment him, his rage burned against the Assyrians. A jealous and avenging God is Yahweh. Yahweh is avenging and wrathful.

Yahweh is avenging against his enemy, adversaries.

Yahweh is slow to anger and great in power, and Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Notice that the participle of the word vengeance appears three times in verse 2 alone. And that's going to be the rest of Nahum. God will have vengeance on Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. God's going to pour out his wrath on them.

Wipe the people from the face of the earth.

It will be a holy vengeance. It will be a perfect wrath. It will be just, it will be righteous, it will be good. So we have jealous, see, because we've been created in the image of a jealous God. Amen. But this is where now sin has basically taken a spiritual sharpie marker and just scribbled all over the image. Our wrath, our sense of justice, our anger is supremely broken. Right. Our sense of wrath, vengeance, justice, and jealousy, it's corrupt. So as a result, human anger and wrath will never lead to the righteousness that God desires. James 1 20. It will always lead to ruin and disaster.

Human rage, human wrath, human vengeance, it always goes nuclear and leads to a flood of sin. Proverbs 29, 22. So we may feel rage, and sometimes justly so, but we are never called or commanded to personally seek vengeance. Amen. If wrath and vengeance are expressed through our sin, selfishness and corruption, 100% it leads to disaster. 100%. We have been created in the image of God, and we understand jealousy. We may desire to give vent to our rage and our wrath, but to that, what does the Bible say? Never taking your own revenge, beloved. Leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

Instead, we're actually supposed to bless those who persecute us. Love our enemies, never taking revenge, because vengeance belongs to who? God. Our vengeance is not holy. So what do we learn from Nahum 1, 2 to 3? First, we learn that God is jealous. He is jealous for his renown and for his people. His jealousy for his people is like that of a husband and a parent. And because El Cana jealous is his name, he cannot but take vengeance and pour out his wrath on those who offend his renown or harm his people. That's a recap. So what does that mean for you and me? As New Testament born-again believers, what does that mean for you and me? First, we need to be loyal to our God. Amen. Not only because he is worthy of our loyalty, but because we need to remember he's jealous.

He deserves our loyalty and allegiance. Second, we need to be humbled and thankful because the wrath and the vengeance that was due us was poured out on his beloved son. The beloved Lamb of God who alone could take away the sins of the world. That's a mystery in and of itself. We who once were objects of wrath have become co-heirs with Christ of the riches of heaven because he crushed his son. So we're supposed to grow in loyalty, grow in humble attitude, posture, and love. And for the rest of our lives, as part of the church, we build the church in order to communicate that loyalty and that display of love into a fallen world. The church is the bride of Christ. Right? Apostle Paul put it like this: the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

So some translations have this as pillar and foundation of the truth. The conduct of the church's members is what the world sees. The conduct of those who belong to the household of God is what the world sees as truth. So what we proclaim, what we display represents God to them. So we need to hold in high esteem the renown of God. And because the reputation of God is at stake in and through the church, and remember, God does not like to be misrepresented. The elect of God are to be very careful to teach accurately, to live appropriately, right? So this is what the apostle Paul continues to say.

Watch close attention, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Other translations say, watch your life and doctrine. Persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. The people of God are to pay careful attention to doctrine and practice. The people of God are to scrutinize and passionately guard their doctrine and their conduct. Why? The God they believe, worship, and represent is a jealous God who is jealous for his renown. So every church that bears his name has to be careful to preserve the reputation and the renown of God. Amen. So we must be devoted to accurately presenting God as a God of unity and love. We must be devoted to accurately presenting God as a God of grace and patience and kindness.

We must be devoted to accurately presenting God as a God who hates sin and injustice. And pay attention here. We need to be more careful to see that God is represented accurately in the church than in making sure that our people feel loved. Does that make sense? We need to be more careful that God's truths are represented well than our people feeling comfortable and accepted. But in being zealous and jealous for the renown of God, we're also going to be jealous for the people of God. We need to jealously love, pray for, serve, and advocate for the people of God. We need to be good to the household of God.

Right? So here's an important question. Here's a very, very, very important question. Who are the people of God? I want you guys to think for a second. Who are the people of God? The people of God is Israel, both spiritual and physical. The people of God is Israel, both spiritual and national. The people of God is Israel, both spiritual and geopolitical. Right? So you have to have to pay attention.

So we were adopted siblings, grafted into Israel's branches, and we were legally added into the family. The church did not replace Israel as a people of God. Okay? So I want to show you one verse, Galatians 6, 15 to 16. Neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Amen. Those who will walk in step with this rule, peace, mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. God is not done with the nation of Israel. There's an and there in the Greek. It's clear in the syntax of the Greek in Apostle Paul's letters. God's commitment to his people Israel is also very clearly visible through history. How else would you explain how Israel is still around as a country? After almost 2,000 years without a national boundary marker, without a government, without an army, somehow they became a nation again in 1948.

What happened a few years before 1948? Six million of them were wiped out. God is not done with Israel. It's clearly visible through history. It's clear even today. Why is Israel this tiny country? How often is it in the news? Daily. Because they are his people. The enemy hates God's people. He has always hated God's people. Israel is the apple of God's eye. Not because they deserve it. In fact, in terms of biblical morality, Israel is one of the worst countries in the Middle East right now. It's super sad. Did you know that Israel is the only Middle Eastern country right now where same-sex marriage is legal.

Israel is the only country in the Middle East right now that the LGBTQ community should be endorsing. But the enemy has made it somehow where the LGBTQ community thinks that Palestine is where the hope lies. It is so strange.

Jeremiah, Lamentations chapter 4, verse 10. They cooked their own kids to eat them. That was Israel. They are simply God's people because God has chosen them as his people.

At present, they are still in rebellion against their God, as it says in Romans chapter 10 and 11. So the people of God, pay attention, are both the church and Israel. God's chosen and beloved people. Remember, God is jealous for his people. A hatred toward the church.

So pay attention here. It is impossible for someone who loves God to despise the church. It is impossible for someone who loves God to despise and hate the church, no matter how flawed, imperfect or even abusive a church is.

Amen.

They have no idea what Obadiah is even about. Israel is God's chosen nation. And when we look at Nahem, we're going to start, we're going to elaborate on this.

God is jealous for Israel as both a parent and as a husband. He is jealous for the church as both a parent and as a husband, and he is a jealous and avenging God. We have been created in his image. And may our jealousy continue to grow as we get to know God more and more. Amen. For his renown, for his people. As we grow to understand the heart of God, we will love the church.

As we get to know God more and more, we will hate all things that damage the church that defile the church. We will hate the fact that Israel is in rebellion against God. As we grow in the likeness of God. Amen? I want to close with this. Nahum one. A jealous and avenging God is Yahweh. Yahweh is avenging and wrathful. Yahweh is avenging against his adversaries.

He is slow to anger, great in power. Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Let's pray together. Father, I pray that whatever discomfort may be growing in our hearts, whatever sense of feeling overwhelmed or even discouraged, Father, would you minister in our hearts through your truth?

Lord, jealousy is a very painful emotion for us. Because usually it makes us feel very weak and sad, burdened. It makes us feel like we're suffering loss. But our prayer, Lord, for your people is that our jealousy would grow for your truth, for your renown, for the church, and for the lost in and around Israel. Help us, Lord God, to understand your heart. And as we understand your heart, help us to live out what delights your heart faithfully, because you are worthy of all of our affections and our praise. Pray this in Jesus' name.