Faithful Love
By Jan Roberson
Yahweh the Creator, the Lord on the throne, the Lamb of God, the Coming One…this God is the God who is jealous for the love of His people. This faithful, covenantal God reaches out and pulls the very people He created to Himself. He births a relationship of faithful love and intimacy…the created with the Creator.
I am the Lord you God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind…for I the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. (Ex. 20:1-4) Ex. 34:6-7; Deut. 4:24; 7:5-13; 6:4-6; 32:16,21; Joshua 24:19
He calls a people to holy, set apart for himself, his own special treasure, because of he loves them. (Deut. 7:6-8). His commitment to faithful love is utter and complete. He initiated a Covenant* that he will never break, no matter how many times it is broken by the people he loves.
God’s jealous love is that of a faithful lover. “God will not put up with rivalry of unfaithfulness. Usually his ‘jealousy’ concerns Israel and assumes the covenant relationship (analogous to marriage) and the Lord’s exclusive right to possess Israel and to claim her love and allegiance.” (NIV Bible notes)
The Scriptures use the language of marriage to illustrate the love of God for his people. Marriage is the deepest, most intimate of human relationships and is a picture of our relationship with him. In marriage, there is a covenant of fidelity between the man and woman. Each pledges absolute faithfulness and exclusivity to the other.
When this covenant is broken through adultery or even disinterest, the result is devastating with long lasting repercussions. All around us, we know of the consequences of unfaithful marriages; the deep hurt and betrayal of trust that is inherent in those situations.
Old Testament Scriptures often speak of God’s people as ‘adulterous and sinful’, running after other gods and prostituting themselves with idols. This is meant to be a vivid warning to them as their behavior exposes them to God’s judgment and the consequences of their apostasy.
As Christians, we were called to Jesus and we responded in faith. He calls his church the Bride of Christ to indicate the intimacy that he wants with us. God pursues us, pursues the people that belong to Him and even those who do not yet belong to him.
In Revelation, we see the culmination of this theme. Continued fidelity is what he asks of his people. His faithfulness has given us everything. He has loved us, called us his friends and laid down his life for us. (John 15:9-17) He expects our total and complete devotion. He encourages those who are faithful to give up everything (even their own lives) in pursuit of him. He calls out those who compromise, who seek comfort and security in something other than himself. These are those who have a foot in both worlds and want to hold on to the power that is “Babylon”. **
We can readily see the warnings and consequences of unfaithfulness, of rejection of God’s great love in Revelation. How do we keep our love and passion for him and him alone as the time grows closer to when he will come for his bride? How can we really see his faithfulness, the love that is full of grace and justice? How do we focus on the light that he has made to “shine in our hearts so that we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”? (2 Cor. 4:6)
Let us allow the apostle Paul to be our example: “…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Phil. 3:13,14
Let us receive the love that has come down from his glorious throne to redeem our wandering hearts with the blood of the Lamb…this amazing, lavish love. ***
The faithful One who is in love with his Bride is coming to bring her into the fullness of his love.
“Never again will you be called ‘the Forsaken City’ or ‘the Desolate Land’. Your new name will be ‘the City of God’s Delight’ and ‘the Bride of God’, for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride.” Is. 62:4
Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” Rev. 19:6-8
*Yahweh is both the initiator and fulfiller of the Covenant that he makes. This Covenant was known as a suzerainty-a greater party making a covenant or treaty with a lesser party. “…the vassal (the lesser party) owed the suzerain (the greater party) financial tribute and ‘consummate loyalty.’ Consequently, vassals could have only one suzerain, for to take another ‘lord’ or ‘father’ would be tantamount to treason.
It is crucial to note that the covenant Yahweh made with Israel was of his own initiative. Their loyal obedience -the proper response to the covenant relationship-was required, but it was not the basis of the covenant. The basis of the covenant was Yahweh’s gracious acts toward Israel, not their obedience to him. In the same way, our response to God should be, must be, obedience; however, all the obedience in the world will not make us right with God -that comes only as free gift of God through faith in the life death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, who alone has fully obeyed the Father and made a way for us to be God’s children.” Online resource- Russ Meek, “Fathom”, 4/2022
**“We have surrendered some parts of life to Babylon and other parts to New Jerusalem. Here we follow Jesus, there we follow the US Constitution. Here we are generous, there we pay what’s due, here we live in love, there we live in vindictive judgment. Here we are at peace, there we wage war. Christian leaders have sometimes failed us, contending that there is both a kingdom of this world and a kingdom of God and we are to dwell in each. One is Babylon, and the other is the new Jerusalem. We can’t dwell in both. We call for a forthright dissident discipleship of allegiant witness.” Scot McKnight, Revelation for the Rest of Us, pg.238
***I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones-like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emeralds circled his throne like a rainbow. Rev. 4:2
You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased. Rev. 4:5
Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb! Rev. 7:10.
This is real love-not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10