An intense vehement emotion or feeling for the glory of God and the spiritual and physical good of others accompanied with an intense feeling against all that opposes God and the good of others. A holy jealousy or zeal on the one hand that is for someone/Someone and a righteous anger or hatred toward real enemies like the Devil and sin.
The Devil in his passionate hatred for God and His Glory seeks to separate and divide couples by getting them to believe lies. The Devil and the enemy within are what destroys the sweet union, fruitful communication and holy happiness of a Christian marriage and believers’ relationship with Jesus.
God’s jealousy for His own Glory burns hottest.
God’s Jealousy comes out of the Love God has towards Himself, His idea of Himself or His Son.
Love is the feeling. Zeal or jealousy refers to the intensity of that feeling, mainly it being in a high degree. We may be for God’s glory but when being for God’s glory and the good of others reaches a point of feeling or sensing it in the heart then it is a holy zeal or jealousy that due to it being felt and in a high degree is compared to a flame from God.
A holy jealousy refers to the nature of the feeling being holy or pleasing to God. The primary object being God and the motives, intents and desires of the heart to please God. An example would be when someone prays with a heartfelt intense hatred or anger against sin because it dishonors God. The feeling would be love to God manifested in the form of prayer and hatred against sin.
Other examples of zeal or good jealousy is the intense feeling that enables a person to overcome great mountains of difficulty so that those in that relationship will be happier and closer.
Imagine being consumed with this holy emotion! “
The zeal God has for His Glory is infinite in degree.
The zeal a Christian has for the glory of God varies in degree but is progressive in nature.
Deuteronomy 32:22 “For a fire is kindled in My anger, and burns to the lowest part of Sheol, and consumes the earth with its yield, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.”
The question is.
Is the Jealousy, which is a feeling, in Song 8:6 talking about the Jealousy of God or man?
a holy jealousy comes from God.
If you have a holy love, then out of that flame of love that comes from God, is something of God and has God for its object will flow a holy jealousy for the glory of God and holy fiery hatred of the devil and sin.
As love burn hot for the good of one own soul and closeness of the beloved. So also, God’s jealousy burns hot to the lowest part of Sheol. We can see an active display of a heightened emotion from God to the lowest part of Sheol like a fire kindled in God’s righteous anger toward the greatest sinner in the lowest part of Sheol or hell.
I’m trying to figure out what Solomon and his bride knew of the high degree of emotion that is either observed or felt in the lowest part of hell. We go to texts in the OT that tell us about Sheol. Sheol is the OT word for hell.
I suppose in the lowest part of hell is the Devil. Then a little above him are demons and other fallen angels. Then you have Judas who went to his own place reserved for him. Then those who had much knowledge and rejected it. From most wicked to least wicked though all are wicked and evil.
No peace.
No peace is felt for the wicked in hell.
No love is felt. Therefore, the other emotions that come with it aren’t either, like joy and peace. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…
This is NT.
There is no coming out of Sheol.
Job 7:9“When a cloud vanishes, it is gone, So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.”
Never ending.
Its depths are unlimited. This is very frightening!!
Job 11:7-9
7 “Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
8 “They are high as [a]the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than [b]Sheol, what can you know?
9 “Its measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.“
Being rescued from these depths of Sheol reminds the Psalmist of the lovingkindness of God.
Psalm 86:13 “For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” He feels loved knowing he was redeemed from unimaginable depths!
Only God knows the depth of Sheol or the height of heaven. 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; [j]make it deep as Sheol or high as [k]heaven.” Is 7:10 Intimating that if God gave them a sign like only God could do then it would prove that God was with them. God would give them a sign of such magnitude. A virgin would give birth and call him God with us, Emmanuel.
Thoughts of going there were terrifying for the psalmist before he cried out for God to save his life. Psalm 116.
Proverbs 27:20 “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.” and Prov. 30:15-17
The desire for your own happiness in hell is intense and as vehement as the flames. But what can you do? Nothing. The fervor of spirit only increases and the unsatisfied desire for even the smallest drop of relief will be denied forever.
So, he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.” Luke 16:24
Imagine a husband or wife having the same intensity of desire for the good of their spouse as the rich man in hell has for his tongue to be cooled while in agony in hells fire. Now imagine that vehement desire or fervency of spirit increasing in degrees forever at a given velocity.
Holy jealousy for ones own happiness is not selfishness so long as that happiness one desires is in the bounds of God’s law. Like finding our happiness in prayer, witnessing, loving others, helping the poor etc. This happiness or gladness is commanded. We are to “Serve the LORD with gladness.” Psalm 100:2
All want to be happy and feel good. To be jealous over ones own heart is good “Above all, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs
Desire is a feeling that has degrees in hell the desire to be happy increases, but the desire is never satisfied. Love sick, in perfect pain, intense longing for love and grace for selfish reasons and never satisfied to the least degree but rather getting more pain, weeping and gnashing of teeth for the offense against so great a God is infinite so as the pain increase so does the desire and fervency of spirit for mercy and a deliverance that will never come.
I suppose the point of the above paragraph is to think about what is intense about hell. Or what fervor is there on God’s part or mans and think of it as having the same intensity in the marriage of two believers. But is satisfied in their marriage from one level of glory to another.
This feeling of holy jealousy is something of the essence and nature of God who’s “Name is Jealous” Ex. 34:14
Contemplate the intenseness of desire or infinite fervor of God’s Spirit of Jealousy for His own Glory. God’s passion for His Glory is most vehement.
Now is the power and fervency of your Spirit greater than God’s? No, Then why provoke Him?
It is easier for God to destroy a million earths a million times over than it is for the whole of humanity to successfully lift a finger against God for his infinite zeal or fervor of spirit is infinitely greater than ours. (I just thought of this myself, so the wording my not be quite right. But I pray you get the right idea of love, primarily that loves jealousy or fervor of spirit is as vehement as the fire of hell.
I suppose you could argue the self-existence and self-sufficiency of God from the truth that loves jealousy is as vehement as the fire of hell and is a flame from God. Song 8:6
Intense vehement severe emotion. God hates sin. In Sheol or Hell God hates the Devil and sinner. We are to hate the Devil and any remaining sin in our hearts. We are to love sinners with a love of benevolence, yet we have no delight in their evil actions since we have a love of complacency in us. A love of complacency is the same as the feeling of delight in holiness which is the same feeling as hatred for sin.
Application
Do you have an emotion intense enough to resist the Devil and his repeated temptations?
Have you had them before and now have lost them?
Are you having them now and they are continuing?
What is our part in increasing our fervor to please God, to obey him, to glorify Him, to catch the foxes that are ruining our blossoming relationship with Him?
This zeal or jealousy God has for His own Glory and Honor when crossed either a fierce anger is then manifested toward the sinner or passionate patience.
So that when an extreme emotion is crossed like zeal for God’s house that is sometimes a good, joy unspeakable, peace beyond understanding can be a not so good feeling of fierce righteous anger but is holy none the less.
I mean how angry should you be at the Devil? or sin? Indifference. Just slightly above indifference. Dislike. Disapproval. Hatred. Anger. Fierce anger. Zeal. Jealousy. Absolute hatred and all-consuming fire! See the progression. You may not like someone or something but does that dislike rise to a feeling of anger or even greater fierce anger. Have you ever loved someone and then they cheated the painful feeling of righteous jealousy is severe, intense and quite unbearable. Like the fire of hell!
Save Song 5:2-4 where her love sleeps the whole Love Song illustrates the times of the relationship where the emotions were high, through the roof and sometime so great that she can’t even physically stand and swoons in his arms!!
How intense should your desire for God be? It should be like nothing else matters except you get Him. Similar to a deer in the desert panting for water. They risk their lives to get a drink for the lions prowl the scarce water holes. Yet the deer is all consumed with intense desire for water as the Psalmist longed for God (I think Psalm 63).
Paul had misguided zeal for God’s glory when he was Saul. When he persecuted the church. Paul
God’s intense desire for His Glory or Holy Jealousy compels him to give those in Hell no hope. Sheol is a place of no hope.
Isaiah 38:18 “For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.”
How do we measure the intenseness of desire or zeal? I suppose by the actions of God. So you have the emotion and the fervency of it. The emotion is love and jealousy the fervency, ardency, vehemency of it. The degree of heat in the flame of love.
There is a respect due to God. When that respect is not given then due punishment ensues for the sake of justice. God’s zeal for His glory must be proportionate to the respect due His Name.
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