In Exodus 34:9, Moses admits to the Israelites being “a stiff-necked people” deserving of punishment, but he pleads to Yahweh to “forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”
Yahweh’s response in verse 10 is amazingly forgiving, because he says to Moses, “I’m going to make a covenant with you, that in full sight of your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. And the people you’ll be living among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you.” Not a mention of punishment for sins past; instead, Yahweh is giving the Israelites a totally fresh start and a great future to look forward to.
And all would go well if the Israelites then “stuck to Yahweh’s instructions” (11), “rejected all other gods” (14), and “steered clear of making any sort of treaty with the locals in the land” (15). Not because this was some sort of condition to be met for the covenant to work, but because of what Yahweh said in verse 14, that his “name is Jealous and he’s a jealous God.” Which opened up a whole new view of Yahweh as an emotionally reactive being, because it could mean serious consequences if the Israelites’ loyalty and affections strayed elsewhere.
But look at it from Yahweh’s point of view. His loyalty to Israel and his affection for the Israelites were absolute. He loved them, which he’d clearly shown by his amazing miracles to rescue them, by putting up with their grumbling, and even relenting on wanting to wipe them out for their blatant rebellion. He was “jealous” all right, like a jealous lover who gives his all to make the relationship flourish and prove he’s totally committed. How shattering it becomes, then, when the one he loves seeks affection elsewhere and dismisses him entirely.
In Yahweh’s relationship with Israel, therefore, he’s reacting exactly like a jealous lover, so expect him to be shattered too when his love and commitment, his trust and loyalty, and his wanting the relationship to flourish, are all contemptuously dismissed. When that happens in marriage, and husband or wife seek affection elsewhere it carries a terrible risk of arousing deep rage – so deep that it drives out all thoughts of forgiveness, and instead in pours the desire to punish.
And that was the risk Israel took with Yahweh, because they just didn’t get it that he loved them that much. It didn’t take long for them, however, to discover “The consequences of contempt”….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 