109. God is a jealous God

In Moses' last speech to the Israelites there are so many wonderful lessons hidden inside. There is so much to learn for us all. One particular verse caught my eye this morning:

"The Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:24

Now at first I thought that that can't be right. God cannot sin and as far as I know jealousy is sin. But when I looked deeper into the true meaning of jealousy I realised that God is right in being jealous.

Jealousy is the emotion related to fear that something you have will be taken away by someone else. And in God's case it can also mean - "Expecting complete devotion". On the other hand envy is an emotion related to coveting what someone else has. And that is a big difference. God can never be envious, because He owns everything. But He can be jealous, when His beloved people rather choose to be with another.

The more I thought about it, the sadder I became. If you read the whole Bible it is a wonderful love story relating God's never ending love and patience with people. His whole idea with the creation was to have fellowship with mankind. And when Satan came and spoiled the party, God still created a system to have fellowship with mankind through the whole sacrificial system involving His presence in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. Unfortunately the people didn't appreciate His presence with them and they stopped to worship Him in the manner that He ought to be praised. Their hearts grew cold and they drifted off into the arms of another. And God in His jealousy sent them off into exile, hoping that they will repent and turn back to Him. And His ultimate statement of His love was when Jesus came and died on the cross in order to take away their sins and restore fellowship with mankind again. The veil in the Temple tore in two, inviting all to come into the presence of God once again. And today the invitation to us all still stands.

But unfortunately we have fallen in love with others again. We love to spend hours upon hours on Face book, we love to sit mindlessly before the television for hours on end, we love to browse our I-pad for the latest news and happening articles, we love to buy gossip magazines in order for us to be able to discuss the latest developments in the stars' lives with our friends, we love to rush around in this life, acquiring more and more. Now I am not saying it is sin to watch television or to be on Face book or to listen to the news, but there must always be a healthy balance. As most of us are too tired when we climb into bed to spend 5 minutes with God and yet we've spent 2 hours on Face book. We cannot allow these small jackals to rob us from making time to fellowship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Nothing is more important than that.

God is a jealous God, He longs for you to make time for Him and to listen to His voice. He wants to embrace you and nurture you, but if you are in the arms of another, He cannot do it. Sit still for a moment and reassess your life and make sure that your priorities are what it is supposed to be, God above all else. Only God and no other. All 'idols' in our lives have to go; He should be our number one priority.

Father God please forgive us for venturing off. We get so easily side tracked from where we are supposed to be. We are supposed to spend quality time with You, and not because we have to, but because we want to. You are our loving God, our Father and our Savior and we declare that nothing is more important than You. We love You. In Jesus' Name. Amen

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