“The Jealous Husband”
Text: Exodus 20:1-17
3-3-2024
In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ. I realize not all of you like the same music I do, but there’s a certain song by a southern rock band that I really enjoy. It tells the story of a guy dancing in a pub with a girl named Linda Lou. And who should walk in? The jealous husband, with a gun in his hand, lookin’ for you-know-who! Well, the husband gets distracted while yelling at Linda Lou and this guy high tails it out of there. Moral of the story? Don’t mess with the wife of a jealous husband.
You might think a husband like that is insane with jealousy. But you know what? That’s how it should be. Not the insane part. But, yes, the jealousy part. Even though many couples don’t always respect the vows they made on their wedding day they still usually feel a righteous jealousy for their spouse. They expect that the bond of marriage means that their spouse will not share their love with anyone else. In a good sense I can look at my wife and say “She’s mine!” And I expect her to say about me, “He’s mine!” Not that we possess each other like property. But rather, we have a relationship where our love and devotion belong solely to each other and no one else. Quite frankly, that’s how it should be. But if, like in that song, a wife steps out and starts flirting with other guys, a jealous husband may erupt in anger. Obviously, we can’t condone violence. And yet, we can understand and respect the righteous jealousy.
Now, I bet you’re wondering where all this is going. Well, be patient. Let’s turn our attention to verse 5 of the Old Testament reading. You’ll notice in there that God says, “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...” That’s tucked right in with the 10 Commandments. At first glance it doesn’t seem to fit. That’s because we tend to focus on the Commandments as a list of do’s and don’ts and we miss the whole point of why God gave them. If we recognize the Commandments as a Marriage Covenant with the Lord then it all begins to make sense. And we’ll also begin to see that our obedience to God’s Commandments is actually an expression of love.
Maybe it would help if we stopped referring to them as the “10 Commandments” and instead, simply called them “The Covenant.” That’s not too radical of an idea because covenant is the term that’s used interchangeably with the word Commandment in the Bible. Quiz time: What was the name of the special box where Moses put the stone tablets with the 10 Commandments on them? The Ark of the... Covenant. So why don’t we just call them The Covenant? Probably because we don’t really know what that word means. We’re familiar with the concept, but not the name, covenant. You see, most people think of it like a legal contract. It lists the details of an agreement between two parties. Party ‘A’ promises to do such-and-such, and Party ‘B’ promises to do so-and-so. If either Party fails to keep their end of the bargain, the contract is broken and the injured Party can walk away and/or sue for damages.
That’s not what the covenant between God and His people is. Yes, there are some similarities to a contract, but it’s significantly different in several ways. The most important being that this agreement involves love. This is why I keep referring to it as a Marriage Covenant. Think about it. When a couple exchanges wedding vows, do they make specific promises to one another? Sure they do. In most weddings the husband and wife promise to stay united with their spouse, regardless of the circumstances: “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.” You’ll notice that the word “if” is nowhere in there, because the marriage covenant is not meant to be conditional like a contract. We don’t say, “I’ll love you and stay committed to you in marriage if...” Rather, we pledge our love and faithfulness to one another unconditionally.
A Marriage Covenant is what God made with His people. God promised to love them and they promised to love Him in return. The Ten Commandments were the expression of their love and faithfulness to God. Trust me, this is not some new concept I’ve dreamed up. Frequently in the Old Testament, God refers to His relationship with His people as a Marriage Covenant. In Jeremiah 31:32 God describes Himself as a “husband” to Israel. And in the book of Hosea, God gives a graphic description of how His people had violated this Marriage Covenant. The Lord has the prophet Hosea marry a prostitute. She ends up running after her other lovers. By doing this, the Lord was trying to show Israel how they had treated Him. He was the faithful husband, but they had gone chasing after other lovers by worshiping false gods.
Do you see why God calls Himself a “jealous God”? He is the jealous husband who refuses to share the love of His Bride—His people—with anyone else. The Bible uses a unique word here for “jealous” in this verse. The only time this Hebrew word appears is when it speaks of God’s holy jealousy. It’s not the insane jealousy of a jilted, human husband. No, it’s a good and proper kind of jealousy. It’s a jealousy driven by extreme, unselfish love. Notice that God says this about Himself right in the immediate context of warning against worshiping false gods. He wants the hearts of His people to be totally devoted to Him and Him alone; because He is totally committed and devoted to them out of love.
Through your Baptism you became united with God. He made a Marriage Covenant with you there. He promised to love you unconditionally and care for you. And God is jealous for your love. The question is, have you been faithful to Him? God will never break His covenant promises to you. But have you honored this Marriage Covenant that He established between you and Him? Or have you broken this covenant of love? If you’re not so sure on how to answer that, take a look at the details of those covenant promises that we usually call the 10 Commandments, especially the first 3. You’ll notice that they deal with our relationship to God. Jesus summed up these 3 by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” He’s describing total devotion to God that we expect in a Marriage Covenant. But have we been totally devoted in our love to Him alone? When you get up in the morning, do you talk to Him in prayer? How about throughout the day? Do you spend time with Him in His holy Word, letting Him speak to you through it?
God specifically deals with our worship in the 3rd Commandment. God, the jealous husband, wants to spend time with you. Is spending time with God in worship a high priority to you? A young couple who is passionately in love can hardly be separated. They’re constantly spending every moment they can together. If we’re totally devoted to God out of love then there’s nothing, except illness, that could keep us away from God’s house on any given Sunday. Oh, I know, there are lots of excuses and rationalizing that goes on. All I can say is, if there’s something interfering with your worship then go and explain it to Him. He’s the One who says He’s jealous for your love and devotion. Explain to Him why that other activity is more important than spending time in His presence in worship. Hey, don’t shoot the messenger! This word is from our jealous God.
And don’t think that just being here is good enough. God wants and expects your full, undivided attention. How would it make you feel to sit down with your spouse to tell him or her how much you love them, and they yawn, pick at their fingernails, read the paper, or daydream. Suffice it to say, you would not be happy. God expects no less. If your mind is wandering and you’re distracted by other things and other thoughts, then you’re not totally focused on Him and Him alone.
What about the rest of the Commandments? Simply put, they are a further expression of our undivided love and devotion towards God. By showing love toward our fellow man, we’re showing love for God. But we’ve failed here too, haven’t we? You know as well as I do that we regularly break that covenant of love by ignoring or knowingly doing what God tells us not to do in those last 7 Commandments.
Thankfully, God established a new covenant with His people. Jeremiah 31 describes it as a covenant that brings forgiveness of sins. That new covenant came through Jesus. Do you remember what Christ said as He instituted the Lord’s Supper? In Luke’s Gospel, He said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” And Matthew tells us that Jesus added, “for the forgiveness of sins.” That is God’s new Marriage Covenant with us. It’s sealed with the blood of Jesus which was shed on the cross to remove the guilt or our sins.
God was so jealous for us that He would not allow sin, death, and the devil to separate us from Him eternally in hell. Instead, Jesus paid the ultimate price, as we just sang in the sermon hymn, “From heav’n He came and sought her, To be His holy bride; With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.” Think about that as you come forward to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ which is the New Covenant God has provided for believers. God, your jealous husband, invites you to receive His undying love and forgiveness through faith, with thankfulness in your heart. Praise God for His jealous love, which saves us. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!