…for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God…. [Exodus 34:14 (ESV)]
Along with sins of the heart like greed, pride, coveting, anger, and envy, we have jealousy. It’s hard to make a clear distinction between jealousy and envy and, in most cases, the words can be used interchangeably. The difference seems to be that the discontent and resentment of envy is focused outward toward something we desire and the person who has it while the discontent and resentment of jealousy is focused inward toward something we have and want to keep for ourselves. For example, Rachel was envious of Leah because she had given birth to Jacob’s children but both sisters were jealous of one another whenever Jacob slept with the other one. Most often used in the context of romantic relationships and often coming from insecurity, jealousy is a mix of overwhelming possessiveness with a little paranoia on the side.
We think of the excessive vigilance and suspicion of jealousy as bad and, in Scripture, jealousy has a negative connotation. James tells us that ”where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice,” [3:16] Paul chastised the Corinthians for their jealousy and strife and told the Romans not to walk in “quarreling and jealousy.” In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle listed jealousy (along with things like idolatry, enmity, immorality, envy, and rivalries) as “works of the flesh.”
When jealousy is attributed to God, however, it is being used in a positive sense. In the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures), we find Yahweh described as a “jealous” God. Qanna, the Hebrew word translated as jealous in these five books, is used only when describing God’s passion and zealousness for both His covenant people and His honor and always is found in the context of His prohibition of idolatry. Qanna describes the power and intensity with which God preserves and protects man’s exclusive relationship with Him. It denotes both His love for us and His intolerance of other gods in our lives; he will accept no rivals in His relationship with us!
At the time of the Exodus, the Israelites had been surrounded by polytheistic paganism and idolatry for centuries. The Egyptians had a least nine deities ranging from the sun god Re to Osiris, the ruler of the dead. Once in Canaan, the Israelites would encounter other polytheistic religions. The Canaanites had several gods including El, Asherah, Ba’al, and Moloch. The Babylonians had a host of gods with Marduk reigning over 300 in the heavens and another 300 on earth! It’s easy to see why Israel had difficulty understanding this jealous Yahweh—a God who demanded their full attention and would tolerate no rivals. He was not one god among many nor was the supreme god in charge of other gods; Yahweh was the one and only God—and a jealous, possessive, protective, loving, almighty God at that!
The first commandment recorded in Exodus made it clear: “You shall have no other gods before me.” [20:1] Even though Israel promised “We will do everything the Lord has commanded,” [24:3 ] they quickly grew dissatisfied with a God they couldn’t see and fashioned a golden calf; things went downhill from there! Before Moses died, God told him that Israel would break their covenant and worship other gods, which they repeatedly did!
While we’re not likely to fashion golden calves, erect Asherah poles, sacrifice to Molech, or build shrines for pagan deities, let’s not pat ourselves on the back just yet. John Piper defines an idol as “anything that we come to rely on for some blessing, or help, or guidance in the place of a wholehearted reliance on the true and living God.” We may not bow down to Ba’al, but do we bow down to the gods of self: things like materialism, power, wealth, politics, fame, sex, fitness, fashion, or youth? If anything becomes more fundamental to our happiness that our relation with God, we are worshipping an idol! Let us remember, God is jealous for our affection. Which do we love more? The Creator or the things in the world He created?
Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional savior. [Martin Luther]
While the Hebrew word translated as covet, chamad, can mean “take pleasure in,” it also means “ungoverned selfish desire.” Chamad ranges from wholesome delight to illicit craving. It’s not a stretch to see how taking pleasure in something that isn’t yours can lead to desiring it and wanting to acquire it. When David saw Bathsheba on the rooftop, he delighted in her beauty but that delight grew into such desire that he took what belonged to his neighbor. When Achan saw the riches that were to be set aside for God, he coveted the wealth for himself and stole it. When Elisha’s servant Gehazi saw the wealth Namaan brought to his master, he was filled with desire for what wasn’t his to take. Coveting the wealth that Elisha refused to accept, Gehazi chased after Namaan, concocted a lie, and took some of that wealth for himself.
Just as we must not become stumbling blocks to others on their faith journey, we must be cautious of the stumbling blocks we encounter on ours. The Greek word usually translated as “stumbling block” was skandalon. It originally referred to the stick that served as the trigger for a snare trap but, eventually, scandalon developed two meanings. It was both a snare or trap that catches unsuspecting prey as well as something that trips a person and causes them to stumble and fall—in other words, a stumbling block. In both cases, the purpose of the scandalon is to catch its victim unaware!
Aside from Adam and Eve’s fig leaves, Scripture doesn’t tell us much about people’s attire. Both Matthew and Mark, however, specifically mention the unconventional attire of John the Baptizer—a camel’s hair garment and a leather belt around his waist. Rather than the luxurious fabric of woven camel’s hair we know today, it probably was a dressed camel’s hide. Moreover, since Scripture rarely refers to people’s diets, the mention of John eating locusts and honey is equally unusual. When the Bible’s writers veer from the norm, we should take notice and ask ourselves, “Why?”
In 1 Kings 21, we learn of Naboth, the owner of a vineyard adjacent to King Ahab’s palace in Jezreel. A choice piece of real estate, Ahab wanted it for himself and offered to purchase or exchange it for other land. Property, however, wasn’t to be treated as a real estate investment—it was to remain in the family to which it had been allotted. Because Jewish law prohibited Naboth from selling his ancestral land, he rejected the king’s offer. Angry at his neighbor’s refusal’s, Ahab acted like a spoiled child, took to his bed, and refused to eat. Upon learning the reason for her husband’s sulking, Jezebel hatched a devious plan. She arranged for false accusations to be made against Naboth that would result in his immediate death. Jezebel’s evil plot went as planned and, upon news of their neighbor’s death, she told Ahab the land was his and he took it for himself!
Devotions of the Heart 