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God is Jealous

by Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum  
10/08/2014 / Christian Living

Three verses in the Bible seem to be conflicting. In 1 John 4:8, we are made to understand that "God is love", "love is not jealous" (1 Corinthians 13:4) and God is "a jealous God" (Exodus 20:5). Theses verses do not seem to be coherent and can be quite confusing. If love is not jealous and God is love, then logically God cannot be jealous. In another way, if love is not jealous and God is jealous then it means God is not righteous. A question still baffles my mind as to why God who is omniscience, omnipresent and omnipotent will choose to be jealous of mere mortals. God does not lack anything, so why would he be jealous of us? What do we have in our possession that God will be jealous over? Couldn't God just turn the heart of everyone towards Himself if He really is in need of our complete attention? Many people are confused over the understanding that God could be loving and at the same time be jealous. What a Wow! It sounds interesting how there are no contradictions in this matter.

The term "jealousy" most often carries a negative connotation. People can get jealous of the success of their coworkers. A jealous husband who distrusts the wife can be disturbing. Families that react negatively to their neighbour's fortune have been overcome by jealously. With man, it describes the feeling we get when another person has something that we want. We also use it in the sense of being envious of someone who has something we do not have. These issues abound especially in the Church and the society in which we live. When a person becomes envious of another person because he or she has numerous possessions, it is called 'human' jealousy. In Galatians 5:20, it is described as a sin. When the word 'jealous' was used in Exodus 20:4-6, the understanding was not the realms of man's jealousy which portrays wickedness and envy.

In scripture, the word "jealous" is translated from the Hebrew word qin'ah, and from the Greek word zelos. It shows warmth, redness of the face that accompanies strong emotions and it could be used to represent both a good and an evil passion. In a good sense, Paul portrayed this in 1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1, 39. I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. The desire being expressed here is for the Body of Christ to abide in the love of God. God cannot be jealous or envious of someone or something that we have. He is jealous when we give what rightly belongs to Him to someone else. He will not tolerate watching us bow to another person or being other than Himself.

When God said Judah was guilty of playing the harlot in Jeremiah 3:6-10, it was the case of showing His zeal to protect the love relationship that exist between us and Him. In this sense, being a jealous husband or wife is a good thing. Any married person who does not feel jealous at the intrusion of another lover is surely not ripe enough to believe in the exclusivity and essence of marriage. What God is jealous of belongs to Him. It is His worship and it belongs to Him alone. He is God Alone! His jealousy will bring a pillar of cloud and fire on our side and bring darkness on the side of the 'Egyptians' in our lives. Whiles others are complaining, His jealousy will make sure that there are smiles on our faces.

God is very jealous of our trust. He will not permit us to trust in the arm of flesh. Hezekiah made this clear in 2 Chronicles 32:8 that with man is an arm of flesh but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles. These are the words upon which we should rest our trust. There are streams of living water with the God we serve yet we want to go after broken cisterns. God is jealous of our trust because He knows that He gives us a better offer. He sees that the things we rather choose are waste and have nothing good to offer us. When we lean upon Him, He is glad but when our dependence is transferred to another, it hurts Him. When we trust our riches, wisdom or other things, God is displeased. He is also very jealous of our company. No one should occupy our time more than Christ. We prays us to abide in His love, His affection, His company and fellowship. When this company is taken over by the world, it grieves His heart. He wants to enjoy a constant fellowship with Him. He will do anything to win back our hearts. There could be trials on our way just to refocus us onto Himself. Let this jealousy of our God keep us near Him, to receive His comfort, affection and care. This will keep us from the wiles of the enemy. God is jealous!

This scenario of a bird that watches over her eggs and young ones with jealousy, preventing other birds from entering her nest is a typology of God's jealousy for His children. He will watch over us with a 'righteous' jealousy that is unwilling to tolerate the presence of lesser gods in our lives. This kind of jealousy is not what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that love is not jealous. God has to be jealous to protect and make you His own.

A lover of Christ, His message, His works, His character, His conviction, His holiness, His glory, His love, His grace, His righteousness. HE is ALL

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