A Glorious Jealousy
A Glorious Jealousy
“For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous
God” Exodus 34:14.
The Lord Almighty is jealous. That can be a striking and uncomfortable statement to us.
Jealousy is a bad thing, is it not? And yet God not only declares Himself jealous, but He
also reveals “Jealous” to be one of His names. This isn’t an isolated verse, either; there
are several instances in Scripture where the Lord calls Himself a jealous God.
While Moses was on Mount Sinai, Israel committed idolatry with the golden calf. They
created a false god shortly after Yahweh had miraculously and gloriously delivered them
out of bondage from Egypt. As He renewed His covenant with them in Exodus 34, God
reminded them that worship belongs to Him alone because He alone is worthy. This
jealousy is not some petty envy or insecurity of fallen humanity; this is a burning and
holy zeal for His name. It is a protective guarding of that which is of infinite value: His
glory.
"I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other" (Isaiah 42:8).
In The Nature of True Virtue, Jonathan Edwards wrote: “For as God is infinitely the
greatest Being, so he is allowed to be infinitely the most beautiful and excellent: and all
the beauty to be found throughout the whole creation, is but the reflection of the diffused
beams of that Being who hath an infinite fulness of brightness and glory.” (We would do
well to allow this truth to saturate our souls.)
Since the Lord alone possesses infinite worth and glory, it would be wrong for Him to
permit His creatures to give His honor to another. If He is the source of all that is, the
Being above all beings, then His demand for worship is good and right and true.
This beauty, this glory that God guards so jealously, shines most brightly in the face of
Jesus Christ.
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as
of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Speaking of the
Son, the author of Hebrews proclaims, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the
exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power”
(Hebrews 1:3).
The Father’s jealousy for His glory is inseparable from His zeal for His Son.
This jealousy became a mercy to us in that, for a fallen, sinful world to behold what God treasures above all things, He had to sacrifice Himself that we might know Him and have new life. When He saves us, the blurry darkness is gone, and our eyes are enlightened to finally see. We can, through Christ, remove the sinful idols in our hearts and enjoy communion with Him, truly fulfilling Exodus 34.
May we not be satisfied with lesser things. Let us treasure Christ above all things and
behold His beauty. All glory and honor to the Lamb of God!
Brian Gates
“For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous
God” Exodus 34:14.
The Lord Almighty is jealous. That can be a striking and uncomfortable statement to us.
Jealousy is a bad thing, is it not? And yet God not only declares Himself jealous, but He
also reveals “Jealous” to be one of His names. This isn’t an isolated verse, either; there
are several instances in Scripture where the Lord calls Himself a jealous God.
While Moses was on Mount Sinai, Israel committed idolatry with the golden calf. They
created a false god shortly after Yahweh had miraculously and gloriously delivered them
out of bondage from Egypt. As He renewed His covenant with them in Exodus 34, God
reminded them that worship belongs to Him alone because He alone is worthy. This
jealousy is not some petty envy or insecurity of fallen humanity; this is a burning and
holy zeal for His name. It is a protective guarding of that which is of infinite value: His
glory.
"I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other" (Isaiah 42:8).
In The Nature of True Virtue, Jonathan Edwards wrote: “For as God is infinitely the
greatest Being, so he is allowed to be infinitely the most beautiful and excellent: and all
the beauty to be found throughout the whole creation, is but the reflection of the diffused
beams of that Being who hath an infinite fulness of brightness and glory.” (We would do
well to allow this truth to saturate our souls.)
Since the Lord alone possesses infinite worth and glory, it would be wrong for Him to
permit His creatures to give His honor to another. If He is the source of all that is, the
Being above all beings, then His demand for worship is good and right and true.
This beauty, this glory that God guards so jealously, shines most brightly in the face of
Jesus Christ.
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as
of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Speaking of the
Son, the author of Hebrews proclaims, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the
exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power”
(Hebrews 1:3).
The Father’s jealousy for His glory is inseparable from His zeal for His Son.
This jealousy became a mercy to us in that, for a fallen, sinful world to behold what God treasures above all things, He had to sacrifice Himself that we might know Him and have new life. When He saves us, the blurry darkness is gone, and our eyes are enlightened to finally see. We can, through Christ, remove the sinful idols in our hearts and enjoy communion with Him, truly fulfilling Exodus 34.
May we not be satisfied with lesser things. Let us treasure Christ above all things and
behold His beauty. All glory and honor to the Lamb of God!
Brian Gates
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