HE SAYS: Brides of a Jealous God

I would like to apologize for not posting anything for so long.  I had to undertake a hardware overhaul, and it took me this long to get my machine reconfigured to start posting again.

My brother told me about a relationship which was broken up because of jealousy when a third person came into the relationship.  This extra person was only an acquaintance and had no intentions of causing a division.  However, a spirit of jealousy was created which could not be removed.  The member of the original relationship who included the third person never even thought about the potential outcome.

This caused me to think about God being jealous.

God says about himself:  

“You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, “(Exodus 20: 3-5a,  NIV)

 What does it mean for us, to be the bride of a jealous God?  In the relationship I mentioned at the start of this post, the jealousy was the unbearable element of the relationship which drove the other person away.  The jealous person was too possessive, and the other person wanted more privacy and freedom.  I think this selfish perspective is the relationship breaker between many people and their Heavenly Father.  God has made it clear that He wants to possess us completely, and many people cannot or will not submit.

Jesus told his disciples:

"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14: 2-3, NIV)

Our Heavenly Father is the King of the Universe.  He created us and everything else in this world, and, inexplicably, He loves us.  His desire for us is that we will spend eternity with Him in His house.  His plan is so simple and so beautiful, and yet we provoke His jealousy by insisting on our privacy and freedom or by inviting in third parties.

I sincerely love my wife, my children, my parents, and the list continues.  However, any of these people could become a third person in my relationship with God.  The good news is: God knows our heart and understands our true priorities.  He is not jealous of any and all of our loves, but we must keep our loyalties aligned properly.  Otherwise, God’s jealous response should be a fearful contemplation.

Deuteronomy 4:23-24 (NIV)

"Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

Father, please help me to understand your pure and perfect love for me, so that I would never allow anyone or anything to come between us.