The Divine Presence: Intensity! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 8:1,

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.'"

The Lord was jealous for Zion as the Jews had spurned him in favor of serving and worshiping others: lifeless idols! From this passage, there can be no question of the Lord's desire for Zion to be built up to serve his purposes. The Lord had already made some major moves to get their attention and he will not be dissuaded in the least in his intentions for Jerusalem. He is going to prepare the nation of Israel for the coming of her Savior, Jesus Christ.

What grabs my attention is not simply the point the Lord makes, that he his "very jealous for Zion". To communicate clearly, he repeats himself, but this time with words that put an emphasis on his feelings for Zion. His expression becomes a Bang!, a point of exclamation! "I am burning with jealousy for her."

Did you know the Lord can "burn" with emotions? Here his jealousy burns for Zion. If anything, this communicates to me that not only does our Lord emote... he emotes with a visceral energy with an aggressive virility we might find quite consuming.

The Scriptures paint for me a picture of our Lord who does not carry himself in pastels and quietness. His incomprehensible love, his terrifying wrath, his unwavering consistency within himself all point to our God as one who has a presence we simply cannot approach in this life.

Intensity, a presence of overwhelming force and strength, an ardency of passion, all mark the God we read of in the pages of Scripture!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com