God is Jealous

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Graeme Wilson in Victory Call

“God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; The LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies” Nahum 1:2

I once heard a popular talk show host say that she could not believe in God. She went on to explain that if God was jealous of her then God must not be “all that”. What she got wrong is that God is not jealous of us but He is jealous for us.

Warren Wiersbe gives this explanation of jealousy in his Old Testament Commentary on Nahum.

“Jealousy is a sin if it means being envious of what others have and wanting to possess it, but it is a virtue if it means cherishing what we have and wanting to protect it. ‘Jealous’ and ‘zealous’ come from the same root, for when you’re jealous over someone, you’re zealous to protect the relationship.”

The positive side of God’s jealousy for us is that He treasures you; He cherishes you and doesn’t want to share you with any other god. He has made covenant with us as believers and He takes His relationship with you very seriously. However, His love will not tolerate the idols we set up, our pride or anything that is in His rightful place.

God’s jealous FOR you! To know the depth of His jealous love for us is comforting. To know that His jealous love also burned against those who broke His law is convicting.

I pray that a proper understanding of God’s jealous love for you will encourage you today!

Blessings,
Kathy

Kathy Withers is on staff at America’s Keswick and serves as Acting Director of Partner Care. Kathy has been married to her husband Dave for 30 years. They have two adult children. Kathy is active in her local Church and teaches a Bible Study for women. Her passion is to encourage women to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ by finding and living out the truths of God’s Word.