The Lord Whose Name Is Jealous Series

The Lord Whose Name is Jealous

Exodus 34:14

God is without sin. He is perfectly Holy. He is perfectly righteous. There is an exclusivity of worship God desires from his people. There are two of his names that reflect these aspects of his character.

The Lord is our Holiness.

The Lord is our Righteousness.

Very closely related to this is this name of the Lord; His name is Jealous.

The Lord’s jealousy has no trace of unholiness.

The Lord’s jealousy has no trace of unrighteousness.

Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14)

When jealousy is attributed to God, the word is used in a good sense that reflects his holy nature and his concern for us. As a matter of fact, the Hebrew form of the word is used only 6 times and is always referring to the exclusive relationship God desires with his people.

When we read that the name of God is Jealous, we need to put out of our mind the sinful form of jealousy. Much of the time the word jealousy is associated with sin and has very bad connotations.

There are very similar forms of the word jealousy, and the other forms may be commonly used in the sense of our sin of jealousy. This form In Exodus 34:14 is different. Here it is used as an attribute of God and as the name of God. Two of the six usages of the word are found in this verse.

If we are jealous of someone who has more money that is a different form of the word.

My friend has a very nice car, so I am jealous of him. In this example there is envy and covetousness that produces my jealousy. This is something completely different to:

Our Lord, His Name is Jealous.

God created us. Our creator desires our worship and our devotion. He cannot in his nature be pleased when we worship another aspect of his creation in place of worshiping Him.

The way this name of God is used is unique and only as part of the ten commandments or in the giving of the ten commandments. You could sum up the name of the Lord, Jealous as: it is his nature to give and expect us to obey the first two of the ten commandments.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an image. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God (Exodus 20:4-6)

This is part of a series of Bibles studies on the names of God. All the names tell us something about the character of God.

Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord is our provider. (Genesis 22:14)

Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord is our healer. (Exodus 15:26)

Jehovah-M’kaddesh: The Lord is our Holiness. (Leviticus 20:8)

Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord is our banner, our victory. (Exodus 17:15)

Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord is our peace. (Judges 6:26)

Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6)

Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is present (Ezekiel 48:34)

What we have in Exodus 34:14 is Jehovah-Qanna, the Lord is jealous. The name of the Lord is jealous. It would be a misunderstanding for anyone to associate our Lord to having a sinful envious jealousy.

It is helpful to look at the context of this name for the Lord, Jealous. It was very soon after one of the miraculous highpoints for God’s people. The deliverance from 400 years of bondage in Egypt. The exodus from Egypt has just happened weeks ago when the Lord says his name is jealous.

The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. They had their chariots and armor and were about to cross and conquer Israel. When Israel was safely across the Red Sea it closed and killed the Egyptian soldiers. It was one of the most dramatic and important miracles of the Bible.

Soon after the crossing of the Red Sea Moses goes up on Mt Sinai for forty days with God. During that time Moses receives ten commandments. Because Moses is gone the people make a Golden calf to worship. They proclaim that the golden calf they formed from their earrings was the god who delivered them from Egypt.

It follows the miracle where God divided the Red Sea and the children of Israel crossed on dry ground. Also, some of the most important events of biblical history have happened in the span of the few weeks between the Passover and the Lord declaring his name is Jealous.

It was beyond incredible how quickly God’s people forgot God. When Moses came down from the mountain, he broke the tablets. Moses intercedes for the people for God not to destroy them.

Would we ever do what Israel did to misplace the worship due God alone? Could we forget God so quickly and worship an image instead of the God who created us? We are the creation of God. God made us. He knows the number of hairs on our head. He loves us. Jesus died for us. God is jealous for our exclusive worship of him.