Is A Jealous God A Good God?

Deuteronomy 6:14-15 – Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; (15) for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.

Jealous is many times presented as a bad feeling. Being jealous is considered negative. Jealous suggests you can’t get what you want therefore you act in anger against those who have what you want.

God has been presented in scripture as a good exemplary God. He is full of virtues. A God who is not associated with any vice. Yet somehow jealousy would fit best under vices than virtues. This perfect God has a vice? A jealous God?

While our focus is on Deuteronomy chapter six, there are other places which present God as a jealous God. An example is within the Ten Commandments. This is in the book of Exodus 20:5.

Jealous means He wants us for Himself. Jealous out of love. He loves us so much that He doesn’t want to lose us to another deity.

Jealous means He doesn’t want to share us with another deity. It is intense love that triggers intense jealousy. It’s because He loves us.

When He says I am a jealous God, He is expressing love. He is explaining intensity and quality of love. We should be glad that He loves us this much!

Jealous doesn’t mean envious. Envy is a feeling that hates the other person for having what I want but don’t have. Envy dislikes the other person person for being in a better situation than we are. Jealous is concerned about losing, but envy is concerned about lacking what another person rightfully has and the envious person rightfully lacks.

Jealous out of love is different from irrational insecurity. Jealous expresses love and is based on real cases of someone else seeking to take us away from Him. Irrational insecurity is baseless suspicion that ends up enslaving your loved to you and consequently strains the relationship.

Irrational insecurity will not allow a loved to enjoy life. Irrational insecurity will constantly accuse the loved one of infidelity, on suspicion without evidence. Irrational insecurity forces love and attention instead of courting it. In reality the irrationally insecure person thinks about himself or herself and doesn’t care about the loved one’s feelings, opinions or interests.

Our God is not irrationally insecure. Our God is a jealous God. He genuinely loves us. He doesn’t want to lose us. It’s true passionate love!

A jealous God is one who has given us freedom to love Him or reject Him. He is jealous when we choose someone else. He is jealous because He doesn’t want to force issues in the relationship, so to speak. In irrational insecurity, forcing a loved is the order of the day. Forcing through nagging, fights, spying, narcissistic tendencies, etc. In our relationship with God we are free. He is jealous because He has granted us freedom!

We should be glad that God is not irrationally insecure. We should be glad that He loves us so much to be jealous about us. We should be glad He is jealous because He has given us freedom.

Zechariah 2:8 – For this is what the LORD Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye —

Zechariah 2:9 – I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.

A jealous God will also aggressively protect us from harm and danger. A jealous God will provide for us out of love. A jealous God will answer our prayers. A jealous God will save us and eventually have us in His kingdom eternally.

Thank you God for loving me this much. Teach me to love You and others with jealousy but without irrational insecurities. In Jesus’s name, Amen!

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