When i think of the fact that Father God is a jealous Father, i
try to understand it in terms of my personal relationship with Him. In exodus 20 verse 5, He says “ you shall not
bow down to them (graven images/idols),
for i the Lord your God am a jealous God...” wow. The God of the universe, the One who holds
all power and infinite wisdom, who created the sun, starfish, dolphins, the
galaxy, angels, and horses is jealous for me! Me, a mere shaped clay, kept
alive by His breath in me. That’s seriously mind blowing! I’m sure He could
busy Himself seeing to more complex things than sparing time to let me know how
He feels towards me, but no, He created me to have a relationship with Him, for
me to make Him my ultimate priority, and for Him to take care of the details.
I kind of understand how some people get this jealous part
of God a little wrong though. They perceive that a kind, loving, powerful God
shouldn’t by any means have this emotion, which is seen to be more of a human kind
than a supernatural kind.
Our Father is jealous for us for very good reasons. Now, let’s
say you have a child you dearly love. you made sure this child was growing
healthy right from day one in the womb, you pray over this child, you spend
money for clothes, food, shelter for this child, you spend precious time at the
hospital with your child when sickness strikes, you watch this child grow and
bloom, you feel the love and bond the two of you share, then gradually, you
begin to feel distance coming in between you two. You discover your now adult
child likes the company of another family, some strangers who’re known to be
notorious in your community. after school and during weekends your child
becomes rebellious and doesn’t spend time with you, but drifts off to hang out
with this other family and honors the notorious parents...how would you begin
to feel? I believe you’ll be unhappy, sad, angry and jealous to have your
child’s heart back with you, because you know the dangers of being in the
company of very bad people. see? maybe this isn’t a perfect example but it’s
pretty much the same way God feels towards us when we abandon and neglect Him,
thinking we know better than Him.
He made us, He yearns for us to get to know Him. He already
knew us, way before He even formed us in the womb. He wants our loyalty to lie
with Him.
He bends low and near to hear me. He’s interested in seeing
me read and obey the love letters He wrote for me long before i came to be.
He doesn’t want to be competing for my attention, my
affection, my time, not with any other thing, not even an earthly romantic
relationship with a special someone.
Father God pursues our hearts, and heartbreakingly, He
becomes jealous, and rightfully so, when we make other things our god/s...
“shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? or
shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could
wield itself against those who lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up, as
if it were not wood!” isaiah 10:15
“woe to him who strives
with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who
fashions it, ‘what are you making’? or ‘Your work has no handles’?” isaiah 45:9
He formed us with a wonderful purpose, to worship Him alone and
reflect His glory. We mustn’t fight it, it’s our call, our destiny.
He is jealous for me, because He created me to love Him, not
foolishly give my attention to the wrong things. And like He was telling the
Israelites, anything i put before Him is an idol...job, school, hobbies, a
person, busyness, even the idol of self...anything i think of more than my
Father and His interests is an idol and needs to be shown the exit.
Let’s admit it, we’re the clay, He is the potter, we can’t
go about rebelling against Him and intentionally making Him jealous to test
Him. We’re human, with yucky, messy hearts (bcos of the sin of adam and eve)
that needs the light of our dear maker and the salvation of Jesus. So, i see it
this way, the more i make something else my idol, the yuckier/sick my heart
will be, + the more jealous He will be, but the more i cling to Him and chase
after Him, the more my heart will be filled with unbridled joy! The amazing
thing is, the times he gets jealous for me, His love still remains faithful!
It’s the kind of jealous that is heartbroken and dying and longing for me to
come back to Him, my first, true love.
He is jealous for me, to give Him my heart, and for me to
receive His love, and i must be crazy to let go of this love i share with Him.
He is jealous for you, too. Have a heart-check and be
sincere if there’s anything at all coming in between your love for Him.
His love and grace is steadfast, constant, but must never be
taken for granted.
He is jealous for us.
Enjoy this song from jimmy needham
xoxo,
Delali
