Jealous Love

God is a jealous lover. He gets angry when we give our hearts over to things that don't involve Him. He is a selfless God, but He is selfish about us. He wants us all to Himself and no one else.

Leviticus 20:26 - "And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine."

Jeremiah 18:1-11 - The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the Lord. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it. "Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good." ' 

Both times God is talking to Israel, His chosen people. He wants them to love Him and give themselves over completely to Him so badly. It amazes me the amount of love God has for that nation. Over and over again Israel denies and rejects God. Yet He still loves them with unabashed and deep passion. In verse 12 of Jeremiah 18, the Israelites say this, "And they said, "That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart." If God still loves Israel so much after a statement like that, which He clearly does if you look at scripture, how can we entertain the thought that God can't love us after we mess up two or three times? Israel has messed up sooooo many times, more than can be counted, and she has given her heart away to many adulterers throughout the centuries. There is nothing we could possibly do that is worse than what Israel has already done. (No offense to Israel or anything) It took a lot for God to become angry with Israel. He's not going to ditch you simply because you messed up...again. God is a jealous God and His loves is more abundant and forgiving than we could ever imagine; slow to anger and quick to love, His anger lasts but a moment and His love a lifetime.