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A vindictive, jealous, angry God. These are harsh words that are hard to digest about our God. But Clay Scroggins of http://www.northpoint.org/messages, opens his series, "Why Is God So Mad?" with the point that many people have been repulsed by the church because of their negative impression of God that had to do with God's anger. Oprah talks about why she walked away from the church. She heard her preacher talk about a jealous God. She asked, "Why in the world would God be jealous at me?" A.W. Tozer once stated "What comes to our minds when we think about God is the MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT US." Isn't it, then, important to explore this side of God? There is a story about Hosea, a prophet of God, who is addressing the people of Israel. God had established a covenant with Israel through Abraham and gave Abraham a child at a very old age. God then extended his covenant by leading His people from Egypt, freeing them from slavery and feeding them manna from heaven. He gave Moses the commands by which His people would live. Hosea's story begins during a time when the Israelites were prosperous. God instructs Hosea to marry an adulterous woman. Hosea obeys and marries Gomer, who is sure to betray him. God seems to want to show Hosea how it feels to be betrayed by a nation. He had given the people so much and claimed them as their own, but they still turn away from him. Hosea and Gomer have 3 children, but 2 are not even his. God shows Hosea how His heart breaks through the heartbreak by Hosea's wife. God gives Hosea an intense but forgiving love for Gomer which causes Hosea to forgive Gomer time and again. God's people betray him, but He still shows mercy on the people of Israel. He says that they will still be blessed and He will still call them the sons of the Living God. We all have things we love more than God and this is a story that should speak to us in a way that shows us God's true heart. It is understandable that he would be a jealous God. He created us to love him. Everything else only hurts us.