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- Oct 26, 2007
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"For the LORD your God [is] a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24 NKJV
Jealousy is usually seen as a bad thing, but there are times when it is the essence of love. The word jealous has the same origin as the word zeal. The idea is one of exclusive commitment to and fervor for a person or thing. When God made a covenant with the Israelites, He was looking for an exclusive commitment in the same way married couples take vows to be exclusive to each other.
God doesn’t want to share your affections with lesser gods. You might be thinking, No problem. I don’t have any idols lying around. But idols are sneaky things. You may not have a statue of a cow you bow down to, but you might have a flat-screen tv that demands more attention than your Bible gets.
God isn’t jealous because He’s worried or has low self-esteem. He knows no idol man could worship is able to take care of his needs. He wants to be your exclusive God because He alone can take care of you. Why waste time on anything less?
Prayer: Lord God, forgive me for the times I turn to idols to get my needs met instead of coming to You. Make me exclusively Yours. Close my ears to the voices that offer to take care of me, when really I am Yours alone to take care of as You please.
Jealousy is usually seen as a bad thing, but there are times when it is the essence of love. The word jealous has the same origin as the word zeal. The idea is one of exclusive commitment to and fervor for a person or thing. When God made a covenant with the Israelites, He was looking for an exclusive commitment in the same way married couples take vows to be exclusive to each other.
God doesn’t want to share your affections with lesser gods. You might be thinking, No problem. I don’t have any idols lying around. But idols are sneaky things. You may not have a statue of a cow you bow down to, but you might have a flat-screen tv that demands more attention than your Bible gets.
God isn’t jealous because He’s worried or has low self-esteem. He knows no idol man could worship is able to take care of his needs. He wants to be your exclusive God because He alone can take care of you. Why waste time on anything less?
Prayer: Lord God, forgive me for the times I turn to idols to get my needs met instead of coming to You. Make me exclusively Yours. Close my ears to the voices that offer to take care of me, when really I am Yours alone to take care of as You please.
