In establishing His covenant with Israel, God promised them He would have respect unto them, make them fruitful, and multiply them.
Historically, the word jealous is connected to the word zeal rather than to envy. Unfortunately, the world has perverted man’s understanding of jealousy by likening it to a detestable sin. The Bible student recognizes that jealousy cannot always be sinful because God says that He is a jealous God (Nahum 1:2) and God does not sin. A scriptural study proves that jealousy can be righteous, or it can be wicked depending upon the intent of the one in whom this jealousy originates. In a very basic sense, jealousy is the unwillingness to share or allow anything to rival the object of one’s desire. Since man has sinful desires, jealously is often viewed as sinful and can lead to other sinful practices. In the Lord’s case, His righteous desire to be man’s only true and living God drives Him to just judgment and godly jealousy.
Learning that God is the creator in the person of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16) should serve as one of the earliest of life’s lessons. Some people have used this truth of God as creator to suggest that He is accountable for their lustful desires, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Believers should continue to believe and proclaim that God created each person on purpose and for a purpose. Unfortunately, many people try to point to God as a prime excuse for the sin within their own hearts and lives. They point to some failure, sin, or lifestyle and say, “God made me this way.” God does make some people short and others tall. He makes some with blue eyes and some with green. He makes some male and some female. God made each individual with certain traits, yet the truth of who and what we are flows from the choices we have made, good and bad. One commonality amongst all of God’s creation concerns the need for the soul’s salvation. Instead of trying so hard to question God’s wisdom, believers should rather choose to serve Him to the best of their God-given abilities.
The believer’s life is loaded with benefits (Psalm 68:19), but one of the greatest of these benefits concerns the area of vengeance. According to scripture, vengeance is reserved for the Lord’s enemies (Deuteronomy 32:41; Judges 11:36), or adversaries (Deuteronomy 32:43; Jeremiah 46:10; Nahum 1:2), or the heathen (Psalm 149:7; Micah 5:15) but specifically upon “them that know not God” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). God does not deal with His people in vengeance, it is reserved for those who reject the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:8). When the children of God are disobedient, the Lord chastens, but He never takes vengeance upon His own.
God made you! He either made you a male or a female (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4). As such, He expects each of us to act, look, and live like what He made us in every way. Ever more frequently, the world and the Devil have blurred the lines of distinction between male and female. One of the most grievous outcomes of the blurring of distinctions between male and female has resulted in the public’s acceptance of the sin which led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God condemned it then and condemns it no less today. The Lord wants men and women to be distinct and look differently in every possible way. As such, He created the genders with obvious physical differences. He even admonished each gender to bear clear and distinct differences in length of hair (1 Corinthians 11:14-15) and commanded them to maintain obvious distinctions in apparel (Deuteronomy 22:5). In other words, focus upon looking like what God created you to be.
Believers understand why the world seems completely oblivious to its true need. Yes, the world needs peace but not the peace they suspect – absence of war! Bible students recognize that trusting Jesus Christ is the means whereby individuals can quench their thirst for peace. This knowledge of the truth carries with it a grave responsibility along with a marvellous privilege. The scripture points to the beauty of the feet of those that “bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” Why are the feet mentioned as being so beautiful? The feet of the man carry him to publish peace. Similar phraseology appears in Nahum 1:15. Those who know God's peace are blessed with the responsibility and granted the opportunity to take that message of peace to others.
Honest scientists are increasingly learning truths once deemed unimaginable by those who did not know the scriptures. Some of these truths concern the inner workings of man's mind and body. These relatively recent discoveries reveal that the body emits signals exposing truths intended by men to remain concealed. Sometimes the individual even lies attempting to conceal the facts further. For this reason, people began studying body language in hopes of determining if an individual's movements reveal otherwise hidden truths. Yet, the Bible has included these secrets long before man's scientific discoveries. In fact, the main character found in the oldest book of the Bible understood these principles. Job claimed that the truthfulness of his statements could be seen by simply looking at him. People have long assumed that the conscience is responsible for body language and the scriptures support this claim. Romans 9:1 confirms this truth as Paul stated, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.” The Bible repeatedly shows that the conscience reveals the truth even when man intentionally tries to hide it, lie, or deceive.
