Why God Is A Jealous God

By
The Man Who Saw God Face To Face
Raphael Okechukwu Nweze


God Is Not A Jealous God!
         God is not a jealous God, because there is nothing for Him to be jealous about. In the entire universe and in the surrounding outer and boundless darkness, there is no other God that is Almighty.
         Himself made manifest the Trinity. Himself created man in His own image, and He made man a God - He made man like Himself and from Himself. Even the Angels are manifestations of God. So, how can He be jealous about Himselves!
         The statement, “I am a jealous God,” is only relevant at elementary level of religion. It simply means
  1. “Seek no other God, because there is none”.

    2. The First And The Last
    12 I am He, I am the First,
    I am also the Last.
    13 Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
    And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
    When I call to them,
    They stand up together.
    14 "All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
    Who among them has declared these things?
     Isaiah 48:12-14

    There Is No Other God
    6 There Is No Other God
    "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,
    And his Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts:
    'I am the First and I am the Last;
    Besides Me there is no God.
    7 And who can proclaim as I do?
    Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
    Since I appointed the ancient people.
    And the things that are coming and shall come,
    Let them show these to them.
    8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
    Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
    You are My witnesses.
    Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock;
    I know not one.'"
    Isaiah 44:6-8

    For I am God
    8 "Remember this, and show yourselves men;
    Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
    9 Remember the former things of old,
    For I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like Me,
    10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
    And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
    Saying,’ My counsel shall stand,
    And I will do all My pleasure,'
     Isaiah 46:8-10

    I, even I, am the LORD
    10 "You are My witnesses," says the LORD,
    "And My servant whom I have chosen,
    That you may know and believe Me,
    And understand that I am He.
    Before Me there was no God formed,
    Nor shall there be after Me.
    11 I, even I, am the LORD,
    And besides Me there is no savior.
    12 I have declared and saved,
    I have proclaimed,
    And there was no foreign god among you;
    Therefore you are My witnesses,"
    Says the LORD, "that I am God.
    13 Indeed before the day was, I am He;
    And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
    I work, and who will reverse it?"
    Isaiah 43:10-13

    I am the LORD, that is My name
    5 Thus says God the LORD,
    Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
    Who gives breath to the people on it,
    And spirit to those who walk on it:
    6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness,
    And will hold Your hand;
    I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
    As a light to the Gentiles,
    7 To open blind eyes,
    To bring out prisoners from the prison,
    Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
    8 I am the LORD, that is My name;
    And My glory I will not give to another,
    Nor My praise to carved images.
    9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
    And new things I declare;
    Before they spring forth I tell you of them."
    Isaiah 42:5-9

  2. “Commit no sin, because I tolerate none, not even an iota of sin.”

    3. For I, the LORD thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Exodus 20:5

    For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matthew 5:18

  3. Place God first in every situation or consideration. Not only that, it means 'God Only' as our everyday priority and guide.

  4. Serve God with all our heart, all our mind, and all our souls (with full attention and devotion).

  5. Do everything as service offering to the Almighty.

Meaning Of Jealousy
         God told Moses that He is a jealous God. The word 'jealous' means:
  1. Feeling resentment against someone because of that person’s success, advantage or rivalry.

  2. Characterized by or proceeding from suspicious, fears or envious resentment.

  3. Unjust rage.

  4. Inclined to or troubled by suspicions or fears of rivalry.

  5. Guarding one’s positions or belongings, without allowing others to use it.

  6. Suspicious or fearful of being displaced (replaced).

  7. Other words that have the same meaning of jealous are: apprehensive, (uneasy), begrudging, doubting, envious, envying, grudging, intolerant, distrustful, monopolizing, resentful, complaining, disgruntled, faultfinding, grumbling, offended etc.
         I bear witness that I have not found any of the above bad qualities in God, whom I have met in His different manifestations several times. If God were all these bad, then He cannot be full of loving-kindness, mercy and generosity. He would hate everybody, fight against everybody, and He wound be very stingy.

The True Meaning Of A ‘Jealous God’.
         God uses parables and proverbs in explaining the truth about Himself. You find this parables and proverbs in many portions of the sacred texts. The main reason why they are used is because they make clear the true knowledge and understanding of God. They serve as illustrations. Therefore, ‘a jealous God’ means that God demands and deserves exclusive royalty, total obedience and unalloyed love and devotion. He who loves or obeys God has taken care of all things. This is true because God is All-in-All. Beside, He cares for all, provides for all and ensures good things for all
         When your eye needs an internal medicine, you do not give the drugs to the eye. Instead, you give the drugs to the stomach. You do likewise, when any part of your body needs drug. The stomach knows how to send the drugs to the very part of the body that needs the drugs. The stomach does so, without fail, without jealousy and without complaining. So is the relationship between God and creation. Whatever that goes to God, benefits all, but whatever that goes to a particular thing becomes lost. God wants exclusive loyalty from us, and He deserves it.
         Often, we say “God first”, meaning that we should first attend to God before others. It also means that we should first do what God wants, then we can do what any other person wants. The belief and approach is wrong. When you do what any other person wants, after doing what God wants, you may have to undo what God wants. For example, on the day of worship, we first go to worship God. Afterwards, we can go to party and do whatever we like. It is wrong. Therefore, true catch word is “God only”. This is because God is the First, the Only and the Last. In whatever we think, say or do, we must make sure it is what God approved. This is the meaning of being a jealous God. And God deserves it.
         He deserves it because God is omnipotent, omniscience and omnipresent. Besides, He cares for All. Therefore, we should give Him maximum attention and devotion. Because He knows all things and cares for all things, we should obey Him first and abide in His ways. He is in the position to control all.
         Imagine a nation under invasion. Of all the citizens of the country, it is only the president that is in the position to give commands. This is because he receives information from the Army, Police, Navy, Air force, State Security Service, Customs, International Police, organizations and individuals. He knows all and He knows best.
         During the period and process of preventing the invasion, all the citizens should give him maximum support and unreserved devotion. His success becomes the success of all and his failure becomes the failure of all.
         Now, consider a situation where the president is telling a police officer what to do, and the police officer ignores him in order to please his girl friend. Or another situation in which he directs a family to leave their house for the army, but the family refuses. Then the enemies take possession of the house.

Interruptions During Worship
         People should not be interrupting worship. “But I did not say a word,” someone would complain. Interruption is not only when people speak, but also when they think differently, straying away by thoughts. If you are in the presence of God, and thinking of other things, then you are not only absent-minded, but also interrupting worship. God wants your undivided attention. And He is worthy of it. That is why God is a jealous God – He merits our undivided attention and worship. I am the first to say, “Amen,” seven times. Also, avoid answering phone calls during worship. It is a very bad habit.