Exodus 20:1-3. And God spoke all these words, saying, 2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before me. 4“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. 5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…
What is God like? What motivates him? Why does he do what he does?
To begin finding answers to these questions we can look to the Ten Commandments. Often we think of the Ten Commandments as simply a list of rules to follow. A moral code. But they are much more than that. They are God’s revelation of himself to his people. Each commandment draws out the content of his character. One of the most important aspects of God’s character is his jealousy.
Jealousy? Isn’t that bad?
For us as sinful humans it sure is. Jealousy rips at our hearts. It makes us angry and bitter. It spits gossip from our lips and prays for the failures of others. We turn to jealousy when our shortcomings are exposed for all to see. Jealousy prevents us from cheering on a competitor. It produces more and more “hate-likes” on Facebook. It often even turns us into full-fledged liars. Mostly to ourselves. Jealousy is a cruel slave-master. Maybe even worse than Pharaoh.
But God’s jealousy is the exact opposite. His jealousy is exhibited only in his selflessness. His jealousy always flows from and reveals his covenant love for us.
What’s the difference? Why can God be jealous and not be destroyed, but if we are jealous we literally start to die from the inside out?
The answer is this simple – he’s God. He IS love. He alone is pure goodness. Therefore, God is good for us. His love is good for us. It is what we all need in order to live and thrive. We need God and nothing else. Without him we perish. Therefore, it is God’s love within himself as a Trinity and his love for us that makes him jealous, whereas, our jealousy only flows from our love of self. When God is jealous for us, pursuing us, rescuing us, and even demanding our love in return, it is always for our good. It is always a selfless act, never a selfish one.
Remember, God is self-sufficient and therefore does not need our worship, love, or affection. The three-in-one is already perfectly self-satisfied. His jealousy therefore doesn’t gain him anything that he doesn’t already have. But God’s jealousy for us gains us everything. In fact, it will save our lives. The cure for our jealousy is God’s jealousy. And God’s jealousy is expressed fully in Christ, and in our union with him.
How much does God love us? How jealous is he for us? Look at the cross and see. Our union with Christ has swept us into the arms of our jealous lover. A lover who will never, ever, ever let us go. A lover that will forever fight for us.
To live is Christ is to not only be pursued by a jealous God but also loved, cared for, and forever held by that same jealous God. God’s jealousy is what motivated the coming of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the indwelling of Christ. God’s jealousy is for our good. Allowing yourself to be loved by this jealous God is the only thing that can cure you of all the personal jealousies that tear at your soul every day.
You: Where have you seen jealousy creeping into your heart lately?
You in Christ: How does knowing that God is jealous for you bring freedom to your heart?
Christ in you: How might you genuinely rejoice with someone that you have been jealous of?
To Live is Christ 