A Jealous God?

Our God.  A jealous God.

Something wrong with that.  When I think of a jealous husband, I think of one who is controlling and possessive of his wife.  I think of one who expects more love than he gives.  I think of a jerk.

So, maybe our translation of Exodus 20:5 needs a little help.  I do not think this is what was intended by our God being "jealous."

The original sense of qahnah' is "zeal."  The jealous part come from being "zealous for one's own possessions."  God is zealous for the love of his beloved, his people, each one of them.

Certainly, unfaithfulness brings about anger and pain in him.  Such is the form of jealousy we are most familiar with.  But there is something else.  For this jealous anger to make sense, something must be understood about "cheating" on God.

God is not zealous for us because we belong to him, but because he wants us to belong to him.  This is not a controlling, possessive God, but a wooing God who calls out to us.  The anger and punishment are not the focus here, but the great desire he has for each person.

Although idolatry is serious, it is not as serious as God's zealous love.  Exodus 20:5-6 explains that his love is expressed 250-333 times more than his anger and pain.  That is the point.

Just think, if we could even show our loved ones love 2-3 times more love, kindness, and respect than our anger, worry, and disappointment the world would be an entirely different place.

Maybe before we spend too much time on God's wrath, significant and important as it is, perhaps we should focus on his zealous love a little more.  Otherwise, God's wrath will be misunderstood.

What if we re-translated, well, paraphrased Exodus 20:4-6:

"Don't be mastered by your desires for things around you.  Don't kneel, wallow, or crawl merely trying to get what you want.  You have me, the God you know by name, who deeply loves you and wants you to love me.  For their own good and the good of those around them, I briefly punish those who abandon me for such empty desires and even their grandchildren will feel it.  Those who return to me and joyfully obey me out of love will find such love deeply affects and encourages as many as 25 generations of their family and friends by my loving grace."

What a legacy that would be!  But even more, what a merciful and kind God whose rewards so far outweigh his punishments.

I think I might exchange the jealous God for the God who desperately wants me to be his.  Such a commandment would not be burdensome at all.