Lately I have been studying the Lord's jealousy and what it looks like. Our whole lives we are told that jealousy is wrong and that it is a sin, so how can the Lord's jealousy be pure and beautiful? What is righteous jealousy and how should we respond to that jealousy? This series will be covered through several blog posts, so feel free to follow the blog so you can read all the parts. This was a study that was honestly pretty difficult. It was hard to put what I found into words and it was hard to truly understand His jealousy. If you have anything to add, please leave a comment. I would love to learn from you all!
Here's how Webster's Dictionary defines jealousy.
1. apprehensive of loss of exclusive devotion
2. intolerance of rivalry or unfaithfulness
3. hostile toward one believed to enjoy an advantage
4. vigilant to guard a possession
Interesting how some of the definitions describe sinful jealousy as well as Godly jealousy.
The difference between sinful jealousy and Godly jealousy is that sinful jealousy seeks after that which is not ours. It begins through selfishness and is out of pride, rather than love. It seeks what is best for us, rather than the other person.
SJ Hill describes righteous jealousy as this: "holy jealousy is at the very core of who God is. Within the depths of His being burns an inextinguishable fire of love called jealousy. It’s a blazing passion to protect a love relationship that is eternally precious to Him and to defend it when it’s broken. Divine jealousy is that unbridled energy in God which stirs Him to take aggressive action against whomever or whatever stands in the way of His enjoyment of those He loves and desires. This has always been the real motivation behind His judgments.”
Which word sticks out to you? When I read it, it was the word love. Love is the motivation behind the Lord's jealousy. Without love, there's no way it can be righteous. Think about it. When there's something you want that someone else has, that thought is prideful because you want it for yourself rather than for others. However, God created us and does not need anything we have. He is jealous for us because we are already His and He loves us so deeply and so passionately that He will take "aggressive action" to protect those He loves. He often allows closed doors and hard trials because He loves us. He loves us too much to let us fall away from Him without a fight. He loves us too much to not chase after us. He loves us too much to let us get too distracted with the things of this world. He loves us too much to not be jealous FOR us.
“Do not worship
any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”
(Exodus
34:14).
Next blog we will look more closely at some scripture and study the Lord's jealousy and what it looks like. Stay tuned! =)
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