God is indeed a jealous God—
He cannot bear to see
That we had rather not with Him
But with each other play.
Emily Dickinson (1719)
I don't know about you, but when I am asked to consider the characteristics of God, I tend to think of his steadfast love, his faithfulness, and his justice, rather than his less “attractive” attributes, like his jealousy. Jealousy is a destructive emotion. Jealousy can tear our relationships apart. Jealousy leads us to covet what is not ours and distorts our view of ourselves and the world. It makes me think of the story of Othello where jealousy plays a significant role in breeding mistrust and destroying relationships, eventually leading the protagonist to commit murder. It also reminds me of the story of David and Bathsheba in which David's desire for Bathsheba leads him to bring about the death of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11-12).
The Bible teaches us that jealousy is a work of the flesh—of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:20). And yet the Bible is also full of indicators that our God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24, 6:15, 32:21; Joshua 24:19; Ezekiel 16:38, 16:42, 23:25, 36:6; Joel 2:18; Nahum 1:2; Zephaniah 3:8). The Bible teaches us that God's name is, in fact, “Jealous” (Exodus 34:14). This leaves us with the question: How can a holy God, who is without sin and blemish, be jealous?
The writers of the Bible often talk of God having the attributes of a man, eg. “God brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and a strong arm.”
(Exodus 32:11). This anthropomorphic language is not intended to portray God as being a tall and well-built man. Instead, the Bible outlines the character of God in metaphors that are familiar to the its readers so that we can understand what he is like. Therefore, when we read of God's jealousy, we need understand that the author is not conveying that God is simply “jealous,” as we understand the destructive human emotion.
Not all jealousy is bad. There is another type of jealousy: the jealousy of a husband for the love of his wife. Consider a young couple who have just gotten married. Wouldn't it be strange if the husband was not concerned for the love of his wife? Wouldn't it seem odd if he was not protective of his relationship with her? In the relationship of matrimony we see glimpses of God's jealousy. Ezekiel 16 speaks about it in this way: Israel, orphaned and discarded, is chosen by God to be his bride. He provides for her and makes her beautiful (16:1-14) but she ends up prostituting herself to other gods (16:15-34), thus provoking the Lord's jealousy (16:38).
The relationship between God and his people is often described as being like a marriage (eg. the book of Hosea). The Lord and Israel had a covenantal relationship, forged when God led his people from Egypt to Mount Sinai and gave Moses the Ten Commandments and the law, the declaration of how the Israelites should live as God's chosen people, his bride. The commandments read,
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
(Exodus 20:3-6; emphasis mine)
God's covenant with Israel demanded total devotion, a turning neither to the right nor the left. They were to avoid the idols of the nations around them. Any deviation from this covenant was seen as an act of spiritual adultery. Yet the Israelites found they were unable to serve the Lord because he is a holy and jealous God: "[He] will not forgive your transgressions or your sins." (Joshua 24:19). They continually strayed into Baal or Asherah worship, inciting the Lord's anger.
We too have strayed away from the Lord God—perhaps not to follow Baal, Allah, or Buddha—but to turn to other idols. We chase after the gods of this age: a better job, a better house, a better holiday. Anything we put above God—our parents, our wife, our husband, our children—is an idol. We must heed the Bible's warning and worship the Lord God alone above all things, for the Lord is a jealous God, and his jealousy will provoke him to act:
You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you, for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God, lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
(Deuteronomy 6:14-15; emphasis mine)The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath from his enemies.
(Nahum 1:2; emphasis mine)
God will act for he is jealous for his name (Ezekiel 39:25). God is jealous for his reputation and his character. He desires that his name would be glorified. His jealousy for his name not only arouses his wrath toward those who worship other gods and the unrighteous (see Deuteronmy 6:15; Ezekiel 16:38, 23:25, 36:6; Nahum 1:2; Zephaniah 3:8) but also causes Him to restore the fortunes of his people and have pity on the land (Ezekiel 39:25; Joel 2:18). God's jealously leads to judgement and restoration. God's jealousy is aimed at maintaining the glory of his name and honouring His character—both of which meet wondrously in the salvation of sinners through the cross,
Can Christians be jealous? Is there a Christian jealousy? The Bible often talks about Godly jealousy. In the book of Numbers, after two men are found prophesying in the Israelites camp, we find Moses asking if the people were jealous for his sake for he wished that God would put his spirit in all of the people (Numbers 11:29). Later in Numbers God relents from judging the people of Israel because Aaron is jealous with a Godly jealousy (Numbers 25:11-13) for his sake. We also read of Elijah, who said:
I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.
(1 Kings 19:10)
And we also read of Paul, who writes:
I feel a divine jealousy for you [the church at Corinth], for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 11:2)
What is this “divine jealousy”? How does it show in our lives? The word that is used can also be translated as “zealous; vigilant; or anxiously watchful”. Elijah was vigilant and watchful; nothing would distract him from his God, the God who had chosen and loved him. Paul, likewise, was vigilant and watchful—watchful that nothing would hinder the Corinthian church from the gospel so that they would continue to walk as God's people, and vigilant in his example, desiring not to be a stumbling block to anyone (1 Corinthians 9:19-11:1; Romans 14:13).
How then can we be jealous for our follow believers? How can we exhibit Christian jealousy? We can make sure that nothing in our lives will cause our brothers and sisters to stumble, to worship idols and to serve other gods. We should also be zealous for the Lord God—zealous for doing good (Titus 2:15); zealous for carrying out the good works God has prepared for us to do; and zealous to live a holy life pleasing to God. (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 12:1-2).
Our zeal for the Lord will affect our lives, causing us to be jealous for our time with the Lord. It will spur us on to be more committed to his kingdom—encouraging each other, reading his Word and spending time sharing the gospel. Our zeal will lead us to be ruthless in removing whatever tempts us to chase after and focus on gods other than the True and Living God who has chosen to set his love on us.
A stark warning for people who are not zealous for God appears in the letter to the church at Laodicea (Revelation 3:13-16). It is with this warning that I wish to end this article. The letter tells us that the church was lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, and, as a result, God promises to spit them out of his mouth. They needed to be zealous and repent, because the Lord reproves and disciplines those he loves (Revelation 3:19).
Is your church known for its zeal for God? What would it look like if it was? Is your church jealous for the place of God's word in our society? Is your church zealous for God's glory?
More importantly, are you and I “jealous” Christians? Are we zealous that God will be glorified in our lives? Are we vigilant in removing all that distracts us from God, tearing down false idols?
Although God's jealousy for the glory of his name means that he will restore those who live their lives for him alone, he will be provoked to wrath by those who do not follow him with their whole hearts.
Our God is a jealous God.
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