The bible speaks of jealousy as being a sin. So if it is a sin, why does God say in Exodus 20:5 that he is a jealous God? Is he the only one that can ever be jealous?Well, for one thing, there is more to Exodus 20:5 than that. But not just that verse but also verse 4 gives the questions about God's jealousy in proper context. so far as he is concerned. So let's look at those verses to get to its meaning.
Exodus 20- 4-5You shall not make for yourselves a carved image or anything that is above heaven or that is beneath the earth or the water below. You shall not bow down to worship them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God."We are not to have carved images of 'anything' that we bow down to. And we need to knock those gods down because he is the only one to worship and when we do not worship him alone, he is jealous. Our worship belongs to him. and him alone.
The difference between his jealousy and our own is that when we are jealous, it can be wrong if it is for something that someone else has that we want. For example a new car. A new home. A raise at work that we wanted and did not get. And those kinds of things can become our gods so that if we do get them, we can worship them. We might continually keep showing our new car off to people without giving credit to the Lord and without acknowledging that it was due to an answered prayer request. that we received it etc. The same goes for anything that we do get can be worshipped by us like a god. Or even the tv can be a god if all we do is watch it. Anything in our lives that we see that has become our god really needs to be stopped. and we need to ask God for forgiveness for. Not that God doesn't want us to have them. He does want to bless us. It is just that as being a jealous God, he does not want us to worship them before him.
When we want something that someone else has and does not belong to us, is sinful jealousy. We are not to covet or be consumed with desire as google defines it, of anything that someone else has.
But does that mean that we can be jealous and not sin? And is it sinful if our spouse is flirting or is having an affair with someone else and we find it out? Yes, we can. And being jealous if we find out that our spouse is flirting or having an affair with someone else, is not sinful. It is a very natural emotion. It is the same kind of jealousy that God has when we worship other gods instead of him.
However, in that being said, God does not want us taking vengeance on anyone else for anything. Only he allows himself to do vengeance. In other words, he has destroyed people, and nations. when his people have sinned. And his vengeance is justified because he is a holy God and one of holy judgment.
But if we catch our spouses doing something that is compromising God's word, our natural jealousy can become one of unholy judgment on our part and therefore is a sin. And instead of that, we need to handle the situation in other ways.
Perhaps second to the bible, is someone like the author of this quote that I found this morning from someone who is one that can truly understand the jealousy and revenge of the human race and can speak about it but also knows forgiveness as well.
" Getting even has never healed a single person."
eva Mozes Kor, Holocaust Savior
You can see more of her story at: The Forgiveness Project | Eva Kor
Jealousy. It can be very destructive. It can ruin people. Marriages. Ourselves if we are not careful to go beyond the kind that God has. There are other ways to handle it. Even as painful as those things can be. But if we want to stay in God's will, we must never let it take us over.
Up tomorrow: Jealousy. How can I overcome it as a Christian? Part 2
January 23,2019 Promise: My God will supply all of your needs, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Thanks for your visit today Friends! I am so thankful to God that you came. I pray for you a blessed day and that all your needs will be met in Christ Jesus today and every day!
Thank you for this Becky ,)
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