Nahum 1:2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God
Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
Your Lord is deeply protective of your love, believer. Did he choose you? Then he cannot bear to see you choose another above him. Did he purchase you with his own blood? Then he cannot endure the thought that you belong to yourself or to this world. He loved you so much that he would not remain in heaven without you. He would rather die than let you perish, and he will not tolerate anything standing between your heart and him. He is also deeply concerned about your trust. He does not want you leaning on human strength when his overflowing fountain is always open to you. When we depend on him, he is pleased. But when we shift our confidence to our own wisdom, to another person’s advice, or worse, to our own good works, he lovingly disciplines us to bring us back to himself. He is also concerned about our fellowship. No one should receive more of our attention and conversation than Jesus.
To remain in him is true love. But when we seek our deepest comfort in the world, settle for earthly pleasures, or even prefer the company of other believers over quiet fellowship with Christ, we grieve our loving Lord. He wants us to remain close to him and enjoy steady communion with him. Many of the trials he allows are meant to loosen our hearts from created things and fasten them more securely to himself. Even his holy jealousy should comfort us. If he loves us enough to care so deeply about our hearts, then we can be sure he will not allow anything to truly harm us, and he will guard us from every enemy. May God give us grace today to keep our hearts faithfully devoted to Christ alone, turning our eyes away from the attractions of the world and fixing them on our beloved Savior. (Spurgeon)
