Many years ago, as I was walking through the corridor of our local church, I overheard a mother call to her daughter, “Come on, Jealousy, it’s time to go!” For a moment I stood appalled, thinking to myself, “Why would a mother name her child Jealousy? How horrible! How insensitive!” I thought she could have chosen a thousand better names than Jealousy to label her little girl.
The Bible is filled with wonderful names for God—Jehovah Jireh, El Shaddai, LORD of Hosts, Prince of Peace, Almighty God—to name a few. These names evoke the nature of God, His holy attributes and His righteous character. But does God have any names that show a different, perhaps shocking facet of His being? One name I ran across in Exodus 34:14 shocked me just as the mother in our church did years before.
“But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).”
This made me think, “Why would God be jealous, and how could this be a positive attribute?” One definition of jealous states, “fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions.” In the context of this verse, God was saying that He did not want to compete with any other gods for His people’s attention. He wanted them to be focused on Him alone for ALL their needs. He craved and demanded ALL their worship.
Another connotation of a jealous God is that He loves us and is fiercely protective or vigilant over us, His children. He wants what is best for us all the time and does not want the enemy to have even an iota of claim in our lives. James 4:4-6 explains this jealousy God has over us,
“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’? But He gives more grace.”
The Lord yearns for relationship with us. He is jealous of the special time you and I spend together with Him. He will not stop, never give up, calling for us to return to Him, giving us many opportunities to find salvation. We are His prized possession, and He will not share us with anyone else. Indeed, our God is a jealous God! The name suits Him perfectly. And it’s not such a shocking name now, but a beautiful one to me. I want to be the treasured object of His affection.
May you feel the Spirit’s yearning in your heart today. And may His grace abound to you richly in all you set your heart to do.