We Worship a Jealous God—part 1

We Worship a Jealous God—part 1

            Exodus 20:3-6 demands that, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”  God declares who He is and what He is like in this passage of Scripture.  He is YHVH (3068) the self-existent eternal God who is and He is Elohiym (430) the exceeding God. 

            He also tells us what He us like when He declares that He is a “jealous God” (qanna el 7067 410).  The words qanna el connote that He is moved to show strength because of His jealousy toward us. Why is He jealous?  He is jealous of our worship because He is OUR GOD!  Remember that as He explains in Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”  He was Israel’s deliverer and He is also our deliverer.