You must not make for
yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the
earth or in the sea. You
must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God,
am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay
the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even
children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing
love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my
commands. Exodus 20:4-6
Funny story about my wife and me. Early in the spring, we went to a new
breakfast place. As we sat down, I saw a
young lady from work that I said hello to.
The lady responded saying, “Hi, Kent.”
Without hardly missing a beat, the young lady looks at my wife, and
says, “Oh! Hello! We just worked together.” My wife has this astounding look on her face
as if to say, “What did I do?” However,
I know my wife. It seems like there is
some unwritten girl code about not to be too friendly to another woman’s
husband, and my wife must have given a certain look to remind her of it. I laughed as she continued to deny the
charges that I in no way had levied against her. However, I understood her. There is no doubt how much she loves me. The way she puts it is that she’s not jealous
of anyone, but she may at times be a bit territorial. I smile with adoration knowing this.
God’s jealousy is out of love. Not fear.
We often see jealousy as a self-centered ‘I am insecure and you do not
want to see me angry’ type of jealousy.
That is simply not true. I was
listening to my pastor’s sermon this weekend, and he brought up a great point
about God’s jealous streak. He loves us,
but not like the ‘I’m leaving for work.
I love you, honey’ kind of way.
It’s better described as the ‘You are the air that I breathe and when we
are apart I am dying inside’ kind of love.
Yes, this does seem extreme, but here’s the thing. In talking about the love of Jesus Christ,
Paul wrote, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people
should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though
it is too great to understand fully.” (Ephesians 3:18-19a) God’s jealousy takes on a different light
here. This Commandment that God gave to Moses
was not a ‘bow down and worship’ Commandment.
It was a ‘my love for you and my people is so great, it should be cherished’
Commandment. God could at any time send
us into an uncontrollable tailspin for our sinful ways, but instead, He chooses
to love us incredibly, mercifully, and unconditionally. This is why our love for Him should be greatest
because there is no doubt we are unworthy of it but yet, He gives it to us
anyway.
Our relationship with God is a love story. I was once told by a great pastor that the
Bible is about how God lost a people, and through Jesus Christ, He wants us
back. It should be truly humbling to
think that the God who created the earth, the God of awesome wonders, and the
true Holy and Living God thinks so highly of you and me. He loves us so that He gave His Son’s life
for us. So, let us embrace this love He
has and all that comes with it. How can
you see God’s love even in His correction of your wrongful ways? How can we appreciate His jealousy for what
it is? My prayer is that whether we are
right or wrong, we lovingly appreciate that our God at times will be
‘territorial.’ Amen!
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