Why does God sometimes seem to act like a jealous lover? (Hosea 2:13–14)
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot,”
declares the Lord.
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.
Hosea 2:13 - 14
ESV - 13 And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord. 14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
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Asked September 26 2019
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
I believe that previous discussions on this site have established that God's description of Himself as "jealous" is not associated with insecurity on His part (as it might be in the case of human jealousy), but pertains to His insistence on receiving the honor and glory that are rightfully due to Him based on His pre-eminence. God would have been totally justified in completely abandoning Judah based on its idolatry, but He did not. In fact, He even described Himself as still having an attitude of tenderness toward it, and of seeking to allure it, as noted in verse 14 above. To me, that is far from the way in which a lover who was jealous in the human sense would typically act or react toward a partner who was being unfaithful, and demonstrates the amazing nature and depth of God's love.
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