AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE

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By Akin Ojumu

I’m afraid that not a whole lot of professing Christians are cognizant of the fact that the LORD of Our God is a jealous God. The idea of a Holy God being jealous is not something that crosses the mind of a vast majority of those who call themselves children of God. That general lack of awareness sends cold shivers down my spine.

To what can we ascribe this head buried in the sand attitude towards God’s jealousy? It isn’t that God hasn’t made it explicitly clear in the Bible that He is a jealous God.

Exodus 20: 2-6
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Not only is the LORD a jealous God, but He goes even further to let us know that His name is Jealous. That’s right. One of the many names by which the LORD is known is Jealous.

Exodus 34:12-14
“Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).”

Jealousy, as we humans understand it, is the fear of losing something you already have, e.g., a relationship or possession. Jealousy often involves feelings of resentment, suspicion, and protectiveness. An example is the intense emotion that rises within you if you happen to find somebody else flirting with your spouse. 

Another human emotion that’s closely related to jealousy is envy. Unlike jealousy, though, envy is to desire something that somebody else has. Envy can either be a discontent, which is when, for example, you want your neighbor’s brand-new car or brand-new home. Another example of envy is admiration. This is when you admire someone for their unique ability or special attribute.

Now, there are those who may struggle to associate a negative emotion such as jealousy with the Almighty God. They cannot reconcile a Holy God with the feeling of jealousy which they consider a sin, and it’s impossible for God to sin. There’s nothing that God has that He will be in fear of losing to anyone and there’s definitely nothing that anyone has that God doesn’t already have and desires to have, they reason.

It’s important for you to understand what jealousy, as it relates to God’s character, is totally different from our understanding or expression of that emotion. God is not jealous or envious because someone has something He wants or needs. He is jealous when we give to another something that rightfully belongs to Him.

Idolatry and the pursuit of other gods is the context in which God calls Himself jealous in Exodus 20:2-6 and Exodus 34:12-14. In these verses, according to Got Questions:

“God is speaking of people making idols and bowing down and worshiping those idols instead of giving God the worship that belongs to Him alone. God is possessive of the worship and service that belong to Him. It is a sin to worship or serve anything other than God. It is a sin when we desire, or we are envious, or we are jealous of someone because he has something that we do not have. It is a different use of the word “jealous” when God says He is jealous. What God is jealous of belongs to Him; worship and service belong to Him alone, and are to be given to Him alone.”

Jealousy is a sin when it is a desire for something that does not belong to you. Worship, praise, honor, and adoration belong to God alone, for only He is truly worthy of it. Therefore, God is rightfully jealous when worship, praise, honor, or adoration is given to idols.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

One of the Jewish religious leaders, who was expert in the Law of Moses, came to Jesus, one day, to test Him. The question he asked to ensnare Jesus was:

Matthew 22:36
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

Responding to the question, the Lord Jesus threw Deuteronomy 6:4-5 back at him. Loving the LORD with all our heart, soul, and might is the first of the ten commandments, it is also the greatest commandment. God alone is to be the sole object of our love and worship. Anything less amounts to idolatry. 

An idol is whatever it is that competes with God for our love, affection, and devotion. Regardless of the person, anyone we revere more than God is an idol of our own making. Whatever it is that we reverence above God has become a deity in our heart. 

I don’t have to tell you the names of your idols. You know the persons in your life who are idols to whom you bow and worship. The things in your life that are deities to which you pay obeisance are not unbeknownst to you. You just have to be honest with yourself and examine yourself.  

All I’ll say to you is this. The LORD is a jealous God. He will not tolerate or accept a rival throne in your heart. Just as the fury of God was visited upon the idolatrous children of Israel, the same judgment awaits anyone who has any other god besides the Almighty. It’ll behoove you to tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place in your life.

To keep your lovely face
Ever before my eyes
This is my prayer
Make it my strong desire
That in my secret heart
No other love competes
No rival throne survives
And I serve only you

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Not man. Not things. God alone will be the object of our worship. It’s for this reason we’ve made the above our prayer and our strong desire for the year 2025.

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