God is a jealous God. The attribute of jealousy is very closely related to the attribute of love.
Illus: A lady went to her pastor for some counseling. She had some serious problems in her marriage. When the pastor asked her what was the problem, she said that her husband did not love her. The pastor asked her to explain?
She said I know he does not love me because a man can walk up to me embrace me and kiss me on the lips and my hushand would not react to that kind of a greeting whatsoever.
She was making a good point that he did not love her. And many who loves his wife would not allow a man to greet his wife in that way!
The attribute of jealousy is very closely related to the attribute of love.
Before we can fully understand and appreciate today's text, we need to consider its context. As you can see, it is part of the first of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:3-5, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."
In these verses we find the attribute - JEALOUSY. Look at these words, “...for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God...”
What we have in these three verses is God condemning POLYTHEISM, which is the belief in more than one god. God is saying, "I do not want you to put any of these false gods ahead of Me."
The age in which these commandments were given was much different than our age.
• In that age, people worshipped many gods that they literally BOWED DOWN TO.
• Today it is difficult to get people to worship one God.
The fact that people then worshipped many gods, probably accounts for the fact that nowhere in the Ten Commandments do we find a place where God forbids ATHEISM, while we do find a commandment where He forbids POLYTHEISM.
WHY DID THEY WORSHIP MANY GODS?
WHY WASN'T ATHEISM A PROBLEM THEN?
Because, it was too soon after the time of creation. Creation was so fresh on the minds of the people of that age when the ten commandments were given, that you would have been considered as a fool by the rest of mankind if you said there was no God. During that time, they not only believed there was ONE GOD, they believed in MANY GODS.
Illus: God's Word says in Psalm 55:1, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God..."
Why does God say that man is a "fool"?
For anyone to make such a statement, he would have to say, "I know everything; there is nothing that I do not know!" Unless a person can truthfully say that, how could he say there was no God. He cannot be an atheist, he is only a FOOL.
He is trying to FOOL HIMSELF and EVERYONE ELSE, and doing a very poor job of it.
The Bible reveals that God is a jealous God. God declared that He was a jealous God during a time of polytheism, where men believed in many gods. Sad to say, polytheism is still very much a problem. That is, people still worship (though they may not recognize it as worship,) a variety of false gods today.
Today’s gods may not be fashioned of wood, or stone, or be a star or a volcano, but our gods take on another fashion, such as sports, money, actors and actresses, power, popularity, sex, food, clothes, job, family and friends. The things we place ahead of God, that we worship and serve, are AS MUCH gods as the gods the people of Bible days served when God told them that He forbid such things. Also, God is AS DISPLEASED WITH OUR GODS as He was with their gods.
Illus: Someone pointed out that we have "In God we trust," printed on our coins, but that we should hold them up and say, "THIS GOD we trust."
What God told them, He tells us, in no uncertain terms - He forbids idol worship. He tells us why He forbids it - "...for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God." One of the attributes of God is that He is a jealous God. The reason we do not generally want to associate jealousy with God is because of...
I. THE DARK SIDE OF JEALOUSY
Just as there is a BRIGHT SIDE and a DARK SIDE to anger, there is also a BRIGHT SIDE and a DARK SIDE TO JEALOUSY. For example,
• The DARK SIDE to anger is that many have gotten angry and have done things they would not have done had they not been angry.
• The BRIGHT SIDE to anger is that anger, when channeled in the right direction, motivates people to do good. This is why God's Word says to His people, "Be ye angry and sin not!"
God does not want His people to BE CONTENT WITH SIN. He wants us to BE ANGRY WITH SIN! Why?
• Anger will cause us to go to the polls and vote godly politicians into office
• Anger will cause us to boycott businesses that are anti-Bible
• Anger will cause us to write to our politicians to protest that which is in conflict with God's commands
• Anger will cause us to join a Christ-like protest on the streets.
You see, anger has a BRIGHT SIDE and a DARK SIDE. Also, JEALOUSY has a DARK SIDE and A BRIGHT SIDE.
It is because of the dark side of JEALOUSY that we hear so much about, that we generally do not want to list jealousy as one of the attributes of God. We remember some of the Biblical examples, such as:
Illus: Cain became JEALOUS of his brother, Abel, and slew him because Abel's offering was pleasing to the Lord while his gift was rejected.
Illus: King Saul became JEALOUS of David because David was praised for slaying more of the enemy than the king had slain.
Illus: The disciples became JEALOUS of another group of Christians who were also casting out demons.
Jealousy has caused SAINTS and SINNERS to do some terrible things. THIS IS THE DARK SIDE OF JEALOUSY. Also, let us look at...
II. THE DESIRABLE SIDE OF JEALOUSY
What can be desirable about jealousy? Before you can have jealousy, there has to be love. The Lord commanded Israel, and us, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me...for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God..."
We need to ask ourselves a question, "WHY DID GOD COMMAND THIS?"
• Was it because He felt inferior to the other gods that the people worshipped?
• Was it because He felt insecure, like some people are who are jealous?
No! It was neither one of these! The reason the Lord commanded Israel not to serve other gods, and told them He was JEALOUS over them was because:
• THERE IS NO OTHER GOD!
• He LOVED THEM. Love always precedes jealousy.
Illus: Dr. George Morrison said, "Jealousy is the shadow cast by love." For example, we say that a man is jealous over his wife. Why? Because marriage is a love relationship. We do not say that he is envious of her, but that he is jealous of her.
What is the difference between "jealousy" and "envy"? Love preceded jealousy. Many times people use these two as if they were interchangeable. Well, they certainly are closely related, but there is one difference - you can envy someone and not love him, but you cannot be jealous of someone and not love him.
A person can envy another because of what he has, and not love him, BUT YOU CANNOT BE JEALOUS OVER A PERSON IF YOU DO NOT LOVE HIM!
• The reason we say Cain was jealous of Abel is because once Cain loved his brother.
• The reason we say that King Saul was jealous of David is because Saul once loved David.
• The reason we say that the disciples were jealous of the other group of disciples who were casting out devils, was because they loved the Lord and did not want any rivals.
If we are going to understand that God is a jealous God, which is desirable, we have to understand that there is a DARK SIDE to JEALOUSY and there is also a DESIRABLE SIDE TO JEALOUSY. God's jealousy is a DESIRABLE JEALOUSY. It is because He loved Israel that He forbade them to worship other gods.
Illus: A Christian lady told her pastor that she was going to divorce her husband. He asked her why, and she said, "He does not love me." The pastor asked, "Well, how do you know he does not love you?" She said, "Because, it does not matter if men say improper things to me and make improper advances. It does not phase him one iota. I believe a man could do anything he wanted to me, and my husband WOULD NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH!
Do you know what. If what that lady said was true, she had a legitimate complaint! Why? Because the man in love has a "desirable jealousy" that says, "This property is mine and you just keep your hands off!" That is exactly what God is saying about us - that we belong to Him - keep your hands off! That is the DESIRABLE SIDE OF JEALOUSY. Now let us look at...
III. THE DIVINE SIDE OF JEALOUSY
What do we mean when we say that God is a jealous God? What kind of jealousy characterizes God? God's jealousy is certainly not the result of His feeling insecure. It is the outgrowth of...
A. A LOVE THAT WILL NOT TOLERATE A RIVAL
Look at our text again. God makes it clear that, as His people, we have been "staked off" and He will not tolerate any rivals. In the first of the Ten Commandments, God wanted the children of Israel to know that they belonged to Him, and He did not want them to love anyone except Him!
Illus: That was not asking too much! Just as it is not asking too much of any married woman or man.
Illus: We all have ridden down the road and seen signs, in large letters, that stated, "No trespassing." That means that the general public has no right putting one foot on that property. The only people to be on it are the owners and those who have permission from the owners!
God says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God..."
WHY DOES GOD FORBID US TO HAVE OTHER GODS IN OUR LIVES? Because of His love for us. There is that second reason, because THERE IS NO OTHER GOD.
If we place our faith in any god instead of the true and living God, we are placing our faith in a FALSE GOD - a god that does not exist. All that kind of faith will bring is a big let down! God created man so He might have a relationship with Him, but if men do not recognize Him to be the true and living God in their lives, they cannot have that relationship.
God's love is a love that will not tolerate a RIVAL! Also, God's love is...
B. A LOVE THAT CANNOT TOLERATE ANY REJECTION
As we come to the close of this message dealing with God being a jealous God, look at the two verses that precede the first commandment, which tell us that God is a jealous God. We read, "And God spake all these words, saying. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
There are two things God shows when He lays claim on His people.
1. GOD SHOWS RESPONSIBILITY FOR CREATION
He said, "I am the Lord thy God..." God is letting His creatures know that He is the Creator, and if they are smart they will not forget that! If it had not been for God, they would not even exist!
You, who do not know Christ as your Savior, need to realize this TODAY - that there are TWO KINDS OF ATHEISTS. You may not be living as a:
• Theoretical atheist, but
• You are living as a PRACTICAL ATHEIST
You ignore His Word, and you live as if He did not exist. Your love for other gods is so strong that your love for God, by comparison, seems like hate. You can only do this a short while before you are going to realize how FOOLISH YOU REALLY ARE!
2. GOD SHOWS RESPONSIBILITY FOR SALVATION
God says, "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
As you make the decision to prefer the false gods above the true and living God, you need to consider the consequences of that decision. What does God's Word say will happen to you? You do not have to accept Him as your Savior, but you are going to have to deal with Him as YOUR GOD!
Look at verses 3-5 as we read again, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."
Amos, the prophet, said, "Prepare to meet THY GOD." You cannot love God and have other gods in your life.
Conclusion:
A young African student was in the U. S. He said, "Before I came here, I was a good Christian. I dreamed some day of becoming a medical missionary. Now I am an atheist." He was asked how he could change from being a devoted Christian to becoming an atheist, and he answered, "Since coming here, I've discovered that the white man has two gods. One that he taught us about, and another one whom he worships. A mission school taught me that the tribal doctrines of my ancestors who worshipped images and believed in witchcraft were wrong. But here you worship larger images - cars and electrical appliances. I honestly can't see the difference."
Many today are guilty of allowing things to enter their lives, and become rivals to the living God.
God is not pleased with the way we have INSULTED Him with every rinky-dink god we can find to put in our lives. God is a JEALOUS God. If you do not know that, then you do not know the God of the Bible. When you list the words that describe God, you have to place on that list that He is a JEALOUS God!
Lost people and Christians, God wants His rightful place in your lives. Let us hear the words of the songwriter that said, many years ago:
"All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.”
For those who are willing to show their love by placing Him first in their lives, look at the promise He makes, "And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."
Do you want God's MERCY? Then love God enough to make Him God of your life.
I. THE DARK SIDE OF JEALOUSY
II. THE DESIRABLE SIDE OF JEALOUSY
III. THE DIVINE SIDE OF JEALOUSY
