“You shall not bow down to [idols] or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:5)

Some people are surprised when they learn that God can be “jealous.” However, it makes perfect sense.

God chooses to use words that we can understand. “Jealous” is certainly one of those words. We can all think about a time when, for whatever reason, we’ve been jealous or have made someone else jealous. It is a strong word that we can easily understand.

Think of a marriage. If the man looks at another woman in a certain way, the wife is most likely going to be jealous, and vice versa. With this in mind, remember that we too are in a covenant relationship with God. He has agreed to be our God and we have agreed to be his people (Jeremiah 31:33). If we turn away from him and pursue other priorities, he is naturally going to be jealous for us. Why? Because we have taken vows to him, and because he loves us!

J.H. Hertz even compared God’s jealously for what a mother feels for her child: “even as a mother is jealous of all evil influences that rule her children, He is jealous when, instead of purity and righteousness, it is idolatry and unholiness that command their heart-allegiance.”

Today I encourage you to ponder the jealousy of God. Frame it as loyalty. Can you imagine being in a serious relationship and never talking to the other person? Can you imagine never spending time with them? Can you imagine shutting them out from the things that are most important to you? If you did, I’m guessing that the relationship wouldn’t last very long, and probably wouldn’t be very happy.

To love God is to be loyal to him. Let’s journey lock-step with God.

Notes:

-*J.H. Hertz, ed., The Pentateuch and Haftorahs (London: Soncino, 1956), 295-6.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.