Upon humanity turning their backs on God, death and separation were counted unto them—that is, spiritual and physical death as well as separation from the full presence of God as their judgment for sin.
But God graciously chose a people, Israel, to initiate a great redemption that would extend to the four corners of the earth to all peoples, tribes, languages, and tongues.
The covenant (i.e., purposeful relationship) that God made with Israel at the start had the ideal purpose to cause them to shine the light of God’s glory to the world. In obeying God’s Word in everything and being faithful only to him, they would be a light to the surrounding nations of how great God is.
But the problem was that their stubborn hearts prevented them from being obedient and faithful to God. One of many evidences of this is found in Zechariah 7:11, where we hear that Israel “refused to pay attention [to God] and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.” We then read the strong statement that they “made their hearts diamond-hard” toward God’s Word (v. 12).
This disobedience and unfaithfulness of Israel obviously injured their God-given purpose—to be a light of God’s glory to the world. And so due to their sin and God’s consequent judgment, they were “scattered…among all the nations” and their “land they left was desolate” (v. 14).
On the surface, this early history of God’s people and redemptive purposes seems dismal and ineffective…
…until we remember that God is gracious and sovereign. For God, it simply will not do for his chosen people to ignore him, thus robbing his glory and stunting his redemptive plan.
But it wasn’t as if he didn’t know about their unfaithfulness until it happened—in fact, his global redemptive plan recognized and worked through the issue of sin from the start.
And so God promised a gracious redemption and restoration—gracious because it would be entirely undeserved. And it wouldn’t just be for unfaithful Israel, but for the unfaithful world. God promised to bring the light of his glory to shine upon the world in such a powerful way that transformation of the heart would have to happen.
This is where Jesus Christ enters the picture. He is God’s Redemption, providing the way, truth, and life in himself for all people to be saved and reconciled to God. Their part would be to live lives in keeping with their repentance and faith in him.
All of this brings us to the verse I initially wanted to share. In Zechariah 8:2, in the context of God promising to graciously bless unfaithful Israel in the future, God says,
“I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.”
In other words, God is fierce in his desire for his people, because he alone deserves their love and devotion. And what Israel failed to see—and what so many Christians today often fail to remember—was that it’s only in true and obedient relationship with God that his steadfast love and faithfulness are personally experienced!
God desires you! Both for his sake and your’s!
And it’s true that the verse above speaks only of Israel, but what we come to find in the new covenant is that all peoples are invited into relationship with God. By his grace, non-Israelites (like myself, for example) can share in Israel’s promises by faith.
And so, God is jealous for you.
He is like a lovestruck husband who will do anything for his beloved bride. And his jealousy for you and I is “with great wrath.” If anything or anyone gets in the way of his Bride, there will be violent consequences.
I’ll end with both a warning and encouragement:
The warning is this: don’t get in the way of God’s jealous desire for you! He alone deserves the glory of your love and devotion. So give him your everything! Don’t selfishly depend on his “kindness and forbearance and patience,” thinking that he’ll just love and accept you whatever you do. Rather, his “kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Live as a pure and undefiled fiancé toward him as you await your wedding day.
And the encouragement is this: God wants you! And despite your diamond-hard heart of sin against him, he sacrificed his beloved Son to make a way for you to be his own. His love and faithfulness have truly been steadfast and patient, as your testimony has proven! And remember, it’s only in committing yourself to him in faithfulness and righteousness that the glory of his love and joy is personally felt in you.