1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

God’s love is pure and unchanging. God does not love as man loves.

Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.

There are seven words in the Greek that can be interpreted as love and none of them adequately expresses God’s pure love.

Love (Noun and Verb):

“Agapao and the corresponding noun agape present the characteristic word of Christianity, and since the Spirit of revelation has used it to express ideas previously unknown, inquiry into its use, whether in Greek literature or in the Septuagint, throws but little light upon its distinctive meaning in the NT.” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)

Even if we examine the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, all we can learn there about God’s love is contained with the encouragement and ability of Christ’s disciples to express in human form. Even within that we find difficulties.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not envious; does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love never fails.

These instructions are how love acts as a verb and still does not adequately cover He who is love as a noun. The indwelling God who lives in your heart is that love and words cannot adequately express all He is in you.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Is His name Jealous, or is He just a jealous God? The same word is used in both places in this verse, there is no difference in the name Jealous and the act of jealousy. Both words are ganna in the Hebrew. This is further confirmation that God is His character and actions.

In any personal relationship you want a certain amount of zeal or zest from your partner. It indicates they love you. The custom of a wife taking the husband’s last name indicates a separation from her parents and entering into a relationship with this new family.

Men should do everything within their power to see to it that another does not steal his wife’s affections. That isn’t done by being possessive, it is done by providing the wife with all the security and affection that is expected in marriage. A marriage becomes strained when the man does not keep up his end of the bargain.

We are talking about God in this relationship and as such, we should have an expectation of performance on His part. He is after all God and His character dictates is actions. We are betrothed to His Son Jesus Christ are to be treated as daughters, a cherished member of the family of God. It stands to reason then that we should understand His character so that we can see that we are being treated fairly.

Since we began here with jealousy let us examine it first. The source of jealousy is stated in the verse above. Worshipping other gods is seen as cheating on God, being unfaithful in your relationship. So what happens when you cheat on God?

Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Ouch.