A Good Jealousy
“Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape
of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.” Exodus 20:4–6
Jealousy is a burning fire. I’ve seen it consume the peace and contentment of many. It’s burned down the beautiful memorials built for the brilliant moments in brilliant lives, comparison turning joy to bitterness. Jealousy is an ugly evil in the hands of humanity, but it is a beautiful gift in the hands of a holy God.
Our God is not jealous like you or I are jealous—a burning glare toward the one who holds what we cannot, wishing our lives were different in a number of ways so that we might finally be fulfilled or happy or successful, or whatever marker of the good life we’ve chosen as our idol.
This jealousy is laced with sin, lusting after the lives of our neighbor, often wishing ill upon them so that we might claw our way to the top, our ladder the backs of people we are called to love. This is a jealousy worthy of repentance, not a jealousy worthy of praise. God’s jealousy also burns like a consuming fire, but this is a purified, hot fire. This jealousy does not wish his life different but wishes our lives different for our own good and His own glory. His jeal- ousy is not a self-seeking jealousy that comes at the expense of others, but a glory-seeking jealousy that benefits all who get to participate in it.
This jealousy topples idols and removes the traps we set for ourselves that deceive our hearts but delight our flesh. God will not be second in our lives. His jealousy simply will not allow it. He will not stop until He has uprooted whatever is prized above Him, crushing our idols beneath His feet. And this is for our good. Our commitment to our idols is synonymous with choosing to live in a tent in the rain rather than the glorious palace of a King, convinced that it is truly better for us that way. We live intent upon convincing ourselves that the tent is actually the glorious and the palace is the imitation. How silly our idols look to the only living God! It is for our good that He commands us “do not make an idol for yourself.” John Calvin called our hearts idol factories,48 and the factory powers up every time we take our eyes off of Jesus as King. This is the pattern of the Israelites: the moment they stopped pursuing the ways of God, they found themselves worshipping something that could not hear or help them. But God will not be found as one among many gods; He is the only God, jealous for His people.
One of my favorite shows of God’s jealousy in the Scriptures is found in 1 Samuel 5. God’s people had done just what Exodus 20:4–6 warned them not to do. They were living lives of idolatry, content to be separated from God’s presence as long as they could continue in their wicked ways. The ark of the covenant—the place of God’s presence—is taken by the Philistines and placed in the temple of their god, Dagon.
Across two consecutive mornings, God prostrated Dagon before Him, testifying to the God of Israel as the One true God. The second morning, Dagon’s head and hands were broken off beside him on the ground. Dagon could not put himself together, hear their prayers, or meet their needs. And the God of Israel revealed His sovereignty over the god of the Philistines. He cannot be in the presence of these false gods that we serve without crushing them, because they are just pieces of stone or metal or wood. They have no power and are nothing more than a fancy tchotchke found in your grandmother’s collection of yard sale treasures.
The powerful presence of God crushes the idols in His presence, and this is good, because if they were not crushed, we would be. For His good and glory, and because of His jealousy, it is better that we be crushed so that we may turn away from our idols than for us to continue in rebellion.
Our God is a jealous God—jealous for glory, praise, and for His people to serve Him, because it is in serving Him that they flourish.
What idol of your heart must you crush today? Knock it off the high places of your heart. Your God will not share a platform. He is not one among many; He is the only One, sovereign over all, incomparable in all His ways. May His jealousy consume anything you are trusting that is not Him today.
ADDITIONAL READING: Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:23–24; Psalm 78:58; 2 Corinthians 11:2
