Last Sunday night we made a general survey of most of this chapter. It needs to be understood as a complete thought. But I left the door open to return to examine some of its details, and we do some of that today. Paul basically says that Israel has been placed on the Lord’s back-burner and turned down to simmer. And while Israel has been laid aside, the gospel is being published among Israel’s enemies, the hated Greeks, Romans and other Gentiles. But both the Jews and the Gentiles need to remember that God’s promises to Israel are literal and permanent. God is not through with Israel, and they will one day once again be the primary focus of His attention. In the mean time the heathen are being saved by the sovereign grace of God. And yet, they have no reason to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. “Boast not against the branches (Israel). But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”
In the midst of this discussion of Israel and the Gentiles, Paul repeats an earlier quotation from Moses. The salvation of the heathen was designed “for to provoke (Israel) to jealousy.” And Paul magnified his office, “if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are of my flesh.” Earlier he had said, Moses quoted the Lord as saying, “I will provoke you (Israel) to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation will I anger you.”
For a few minutes let’s consider the Biblical subject – the sometimes confusing Biblical subject – of jealousy.
In chapter 6 Solomon mentions the dangers of the immoral woman, particularly the harlot or whore, but it could also include the promiscuous neighbor or daughter. Not only does she carry the threat of very serious disease, and blackmail, and bankruptcy, but she also may have other suitors, or an husband, which could intensify all her other problems. So, “lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For JEALOUSY is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of VENGEANCE. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.” One of the many problems with licentious, promiscuous, immoral living is the rage of jealous lovers. And remember that the person who has no moral qualms against fornication, will likely not have qualms against physical assault or even murder. That is what the Bible says, and it is also to what the newspapers attest.
This is one of the terrible results of jealousy. Once someone jealously vows to protect what he believes is his, other people may suffer. When jealousy resides in one person’s heart, others who brush up against that person may loose their lives. But there is yet another victim to evil jealousy – that is the person who harbors that jealousy – himself.
Then there is the Song of Solomon – one of the unique books of the Bible. It portrays the love that exists between Christ and His bride. It explores the many ways that love can be expressed, exalted and even abused. And in Song of Solomon 8:6 we read, “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.” I realize that this could be interpreted either positively or negatively, but the fact remains that jealousy is as cruel as death itself. Jealousy might be likened to hot coals set on top of a warm heart. That heart could explode in a burst of flames or perhaps harden and calcify into stone under the heat. As I tried to illustrate earlier, jealousy can be a cancer which eats away the soul and everything around it.
In many ways, jealousy is a sin, and like all sins it needs to be feared, avoided, expunged and forgiven. If you are of a jealous temperament, then you need to make this a matter of prayer for the Lord’s blessing every day of your life. Either you need to get rid of that jealousy by the power of God, get control of that jealousy, or channel that jealousy in the right direction. And generally speaking only the Lord can give us victory over it.
This brings us to the subject of definition, both in English and in the Biblical languages. In my computer’s dictionary there are five definitions and they are all quite distinct. The second and third definitions speak clearly of sinful jealousy: “Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious: jealous of the success of others.” “Having to do with or arising from feelings of envy, apprehension, or bitterness, jealous thoughts.” But then the fourth definition isn’t sinful at all: “Vigilant in guarding something: We are jealous of our good name.” The first definition may or may not be sinful depending on the situation or condition of the heart: “Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position.” Then the fifth definition is clearly special: “Intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity: a jealous God.”
Most of the Biblical references to jealousy are in the Old Testament, and they all come from one root word. There are “qana'” (kaw-naw’) “qanna'” (kan-naw’) and “qin’ah” (kin-aw’). Sometimes these are translated “jealous” or “jealousy,” “envy,” “ardour” and some other related terms. One of these words, however, “qanna'” (kan-naw’), is never used in regard to the heart of man. It is a divine word, always used of God and always translated “jealous.” “For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.”
Moving into the New Testament and the Koine – the common – Greek language, we begin to see the origin of our English word. The translations of Paul are the only New Testament scriptures to use either form of the English word. In I Corinthians 10 he argues against idolatry and says, “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy (with idols)?” Then in II Corinthians dealing much the same subject he says, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” The only other New Testament references to jealousy are here in Romans 10 and 11. Would it surprise you to learn that the Greek word for “jealousy” is another form of “zelos” – zeal? Jealousy is a type of zeal, and zeal can be either good or bad.
Romans 10 begins with a condemnation of the misplaced zeal of Israel. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” And then that same chapter ends with a commendation of a different kind of zeal. Verse 17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.” The word “jealousy” in verse 19 is literally “para-zeal” in the Greek. And if God is inducing this zeal it must be righteous in some sort of way.
In my study I ran across another definition – perhaps a more precise definition – of jealousy. A man unknown to me said, “Jealousy is sensitive aliveness to any abatement or transference of affection.” Jealousy is an awareness and a natural reaction to the slackening of someone’s love towards us. Even though he wasn’t talking about Romans 11, isn’t this exactly what the Bible is saying here? There is nothing wrong with sensing the loss of someone’s affection or love. What we might do after experiencing that loss is another matter, which may be good or evil. But God wanted Israel, as a nation, to know, to understand, to feel the loss of His divine love. He wanted their hearts to ache, to hurt, yea, even to burn under the coals of jealousy. But the point wasn’t to make them hate the Gentile or the Christian, whom God also chose to love. The point was to make them long for the reestablishment of that love for themselves, and to repent of their sin and unbelief – to return to Jehovah. When jealousy comes from the right kind of heart and flows out in the right kind of result, it can be a very, very good thing. It can mean sincere repentance. Unfortunately that is rarely the case.
There is a sense in which Hell is filled with many of the sins which filled the hearts of its residents on earth. Hell and the Lake of Fire will be reservoirs of unbelief, hatred against God, wrath and so on. The physical sins will be impossible to commit, but the sins of the heart will only intensify for eternity. And among them will be the more destructive aspects of jealousy.
Luke 16 describes two men who had died. Christ Jesus, who knows all things, and Who actually foreknew and loved one of those deceased, explained what immediately followed their deaths. Because this was prior to the Lord’s own death and resurrection, Hades contained compartments for both the righteous and the lost. The unbeliever lifted up his eyes in torment, but he could see Lazarus enjoying the blessings of Paradise. I realize that the conversation didn’t go in that direction, but can you imagine the jealousy which must have filled that man’s heart as he looked across that great gulf? Sir, your jealousy has just begun, and it will intensify for eternity. Furthermore, there will not be anything that you can do to relieve that eternal ache in your heart.
If we are taught anything from the rich man and Lazarus…. If we are taught anything from Paul’s words here in Romans 10 and 11.…. it is this: “Now, is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.” If you don’t feel a godly jealousy over the Lord’s blessings on the righteous today, some day you shall, and the pain will be intense. So today, harden not your hearts. Repent of your sin, of your unbelief and of your lack of love for the Lord. Repent of your sin and put your love and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Essentially, that was the purpose of this jealousy to which Paul referred.