Exodus 34:14, KJV: "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"

Exodus 34:14, KJV: "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"

Exodus 34:12-16
God describes idolatry as harlotry, playing around with someone else's spouse. It is a case of divided loyalties. God becomes angry, jealous, when this happens spiritually. In fact, in Deuteronomy 4:24, His anger becomes so hot that He describes Himself as being a consuming fire. Fire symbolizes God's radiant glory as an aspect of His holiness.

God does not stop with one form of idolatry because He again specifically warns in Leviticus 17:7: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations." And again in Leviticus 20:6, "And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people."

Zeal and jealousy are opposite sides of the same coin; both of them are driven by passion. One is positive, the other negative. One is for, one is against. Zeal is passionately for something or somebody, while jealousy is passionately against something or somebody. Similarly, fire is hot, and it is both positive and negative. It symbolizes both refining and purifying, on the one hand, and death and destruction on the other.

The pattern is in the way God depicts His feelings toward us. As a consuming fire, He will either purify or destroy with His passion. He is either for something with a great deal of ardor, or He is against something with a great deal of fury. He is for those who are with Him, and He is loyal to the nth degree to them. But He is against sin and disloyalty with just as much heat as He is for those who love Him and diligently seek Him. His attitude is not cool in any way, shape, or form, but hot. He wants us to respond in like manner.

In what way are we seeking God? Diligently? Earnestly? Sincerely? With warmth, ardor, and affection? Is our seeking the ardent pursuit of one in love—one who wants to be around this personality and really desires to know Him because we are, after all, going to marry Him and spend all eternity with Him? Or is it a kind of a take-it-or-leave-it, distant, academic coolness because we do not want to make a fool of ourselves or offend others with our zeal? Think about it.

In other words, there is a time in our spiritual development when God seems to be a magnification of our worst fears—dictatorial, judgmental and jealous. God is really a power of infinite Love. But just as we can misuse the power of love within us so that it expresses as jealousy, we assume that God can do the same. As we grow in awareness we realize that jealousy is based more in fear than it is in love. And there is no fear in God. The Lord of our being—our own Christ Nature—is eager for us to remain focused solely on God—on love. But that means the Lord is loving—as a loving parent wants only the best for his/her child—not that the Lord is jealous. Whatever jealousy there may be is entirely coming from our own fear-based attitudes.

So rising above jealousy doesn't make you “better than God.” It makes you exactly as loving as God eternally is.

Blessings!