Tuesday, November 17th, 2020
“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3
We seem to do OK with the first commandment, but two verses down we encounter God’s statement that He’s a jealous God.
“For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” Exodus 20:5
What are we to make of this? Jealousy is not an admirable trait in a person, much less in God. It shows a lack of trust and insecurity. But that’s not what God means here. God wants what’s best for us, the very definition of love. He does not want us chasing after riches, fame, a person of the opposite sex, or any of the other gods we put before Him because those all lead to unhappiness and grief in the long run.
He is jealous when we don’t put Him first in our lives. He’s like a father who is jealous when his daughter doesn’t listen to him and chases after boys who just want to use her. He’s like a mother who is jealous of her son’s becoming friends with the kid across the street who is constantly in trouble with the law. He is our Father who is jealous when we stray from him and go our own way – because He knows we’re walking down a smooth, wide path in the woods that is a thoroughfare for speeding cars and predatory animals. He is happiest when we walk behind Him and say, “You are my God, and I want to follow You to the ends of the earth.”
Tags: Commandments, God, Jealousy