SERMON BY: OKPAN CLEOPAS (MIN.)
TOPIC: A JEALOUS GOD
TEXT: Exodus 20:5
INTRODUCTION:
To be jealous is to be suspicious or fearful of being displaced by a rival in affection. Jealousy is a feeling of envy, especially of a rival. Knowing who our God is, it is very normal to think or say that He cannot be jealous for any reason. But He said it Himself, that He is a jealous God. In this message, we shall explain the text and endeavour to understand the perspective of God’s jealousy in order to appreciate why God called Himself a jealous God.
TEXT EXPLAINED:
God, by reason of the demonstration of His supremacy, had delivered the Israelites form Egypt, a land of many idols and gods. The idolatrous Israelites were accustomed to worshipping these many Egyptian gods, each representing a particular aspect of life. They erroneously thought they could add God to the number of gods that they worshipped. But God would have none of these gods worshipped along with Him by His people. So, when God said: “You must not have any other god but me (Exodus 20: 3),” it was difficult for the people to accept because they failed to understand that the God who led them out of Egypt was the only true God. It therefore became necessary for God to make this His first commandment, pointing out to His people how He felt when they worshipped Him along with other gods. He said: “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”
There are many things today which people can allow to become idols to them, such as: money, clothing, pleasure, business, etc. All these can become idols when one pays too much attention to them, either for protection or identity. They can overwhelm one’s life to the extent of controlling thoughts and actions when we allow them to take the place of God in our lives. When God takes the first place in our lives, it is only then can we keep these mundane things from turning into idols. This is because, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mat”. 6: 24).
UNDERSTANDING THE JEALOUSY OF GOD:
It may still sound strange to someone how God, who has control over everything, including humans, can be jealous. It becomes worrisome when we find in the scripture that one of the works of the flesh is jealousy (Gal. 5: 20). The jealousy of God, though, is to help God’s people understand how He feels when we transfer the glory due Him to another. He said to Israel “I will not give my glory to another” (Isa. 48:11).
There are two perspectives to the understanding of God’s jealousy. These perspectives will help to explain the position of God in our lives, as well as the right He has to be jealous when we fail to accord Him the honour He deserves.
- i) The Perspective of a Parent: There is no parent that will be happy with their children who have daily refused to help with household chores, for example, but would always go to their neighbour’s house to help out, only to come home to ask for food to eat. No parent will be happy with a child who disrespects, disobeys and disregards their parent’s instructions. That is how it is with our relationship with God. God feels hurt when His children refuse to honour Him the way He deserves. He said to Israel, “A son honours his father and a servant his master. If, then, I am the Father where is my honour? If I am a Master, where is my reverence?” (Mal. 1:6). God’s law required that only perfect animals should be offered to God (Lev. 1:3). But the Priests allowed the people to offer blind, crippled, and diseased animals to God (Mal. 1:6-8). So, God accused them of dishonouring Him by offering imperfect sacrifices. This made Him so unhappy with the people.
The lives of Christians must be living sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1). Everything we give to God must be valuable, be it money, energy, time, etc. What we give to God and how we give to Him reflect our actual attitude toward God. We must not behave like the Israelites who dishonoured God in their sacrifices by going against the will of God. Rather, our sacrifice to God must be holy, reasonable, and acceptable to Him. So, as a Father, God has the right to be jealous or envious of the respect and honour we give to those things that do not deserve the honour we should naturally give to God alone.
- ii) The Perspective of a Manufacturer: A manufacturer is a maker and a producer of products. He brings a product, which is entirely his idea, into existence. To gain relevance, recognition, and benefit from the product, the manufacturer stamps his imprint on the product. That is how we get to know if a product is that of LG, Samsung, Sony, Thermocool, Tecno, Nokia, etc. The manufacturer, therefore, will not take it kindly if there is any infringement on its patent, which is their right to an invention.
God made and created every human (Gen. 1:25:27; 5:2; 6:7; Psalm 139:14; Isaiah 43:7). This fact makes it imperative for God to receive the benefit of worship and honour from man. The worship must be in spirit and in truth (John 4: 23, 24), and the honour due to God must be with everything that we possess (Prov. 3:9). No one has the right to question our Maker and Creator (Rom. 9:21). We are only to accomplish the reason He created us, and that is to glorify Him in all we do (1 Cor. 10:31).
It is important for Christians to understand that we have been bought at a price, and must therefore glorify God in our bodies and spirit (1 Cor. 6:18-20). Every Christian is expected to carry the imprint of God, which sets us apart as peculiar people (Acts 2: 38; 1 Pet. 2: 5, 9; 1 John 4: 4). God becomes jealous and unhappy with us when we seek to glorify the devil rather than God. He becomes angry when we seek help from other gods rather than from Him (See the example of Ahaziah in 2 Kings 1:1-5).
SOME THINGS THAT PROVOKE GOD’S JEALOUSY
- Manner of worship. God expects His creatures to worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4: 23, 24). In doing this, we must continue faithfully in the Apostles doctrines (Acts 2: 47), and we are not expected to forsake the assembly of the saints (Heb. 10: 25). God is jealous when we do not worship Him the right way.
- Personal commitment and services to God. Paul said to the Corinthian brethren, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15: 58). God wants all of our love, affection, and services. He is jealous when we offer hypocritical services to Him, while seeking to please and honour the devil.
- The use of God’s blessings. The scripture makes it clear that when God blesses, He adds no sorrow with it (Prov. 10: 22). Understanding that every good thing comes from the Lord of our lives, it is necessary to “Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3: 9, 10). In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus said that what happened to the rich fool is the same thing that will happen to anyone who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (Luke 12: 20, 21). We provoke the Lord to jealousy when we use the blessing we received from Him against Him.
- What we do with our lives. God created us perfect and good for His glory. It was not His intention at creation to share us with other gods. That is why the scripture warns us to flee from idolatry (1 Cor. 10: 14). Indeed, God wants us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12: 1), obey Him only (Eccl. 15: 13, 14), and be faithful to Him till death (Rev. 2: 10). We provoke the Lord to jealousy when our lives are characterized by backsliding, disobedience, and faithlessness.
CONCLUSION
The jealousy of God is a righteous one which is borne out of His love for us and His interest in us. It is dangerous to provoke the Lord to jealousy, especially when we already know what He wants from us, which is to do His will in all aspects of life (Eccl. 12: 13). Apostle Paul’s question is very instructive: “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? (1 Cor. 10: 22).
Remain blessed.