Deuteronomy 4

"And now, O Israel, LISTEN TO the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, AND DO THEM..." "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently..." "Therefore, watch yourselves very carefully..." "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." (Deut 4:1, 9, 15, 24)

God takes His commands seriously. God wants us to obey Him. Taking care of our souls, watching ourselves carefully, are descriptions of what it means to obey God's commands. If you want to live, then obey; if you want to die, then don't worry about it.

What is important is that God calls Himself in this verse 'a consuming fire' and 'a jealous God'.

1. God is a consuming fire. Whatever is not holy is destroyed by the fire that holiness is. There is nothing else holiness can do; by nature holiness destroys that which is not holy.

2. God is 'a jealous God'. There are 2 kinds of jealousy. Jealousy of something and jealousy for something. For a human being to be jealous of someone is a sin; we are placing our desires above our willingness to do someone else good. This is the opposite of God: He desires the good of all.

When we are jealous for someone, we are placing our desires, our happiness, on another's good. Hence, we can be jealous for someone to have a specific experience or blessing. This is the kind of jealousy God is. However, there is a major difference: the good of the other (namely us) is wrapped up in the honor and majesty of God Himself. So, whereas God's jealousy can (and sometimes does) look suspiciously like jealousy #1, it is only because God is fundamentally different than we are: His glory truly is our good.

Interestingly there is a 3rd 'jealousy', we call it 'zealous'. When a person is 'jealous for' God, that person is said to be zealous. Thus, we are imitating the kind of jealousy for God that He exhibits Himself.

Praise Jesus, may I be jealous for God more than my own happiness always.

Father above all creation, praise You for Your transcendence above us.
Son, creator of heaven and earth, praise You for Your Immanence among us.
Spirit, One who hovered over the waters, praise You for Your omnipotent power working in and through our human frailty.

What sin in your life do you need to fight with jealous abandon to bring it into submission to Christ?

Jealous for you,
Pastor Greg