Wednesday: A Jealous God
In His confrontation with Pharaoh, God declared, “For at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth” (Exod. 9:14, NKJV).
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What did the Lord mean when He said that “there is none like Me in all the earth” (NKJV)?
“It is impossible for the finite minds of men to fully comprehend the character or the works of the Infinite One. To the keenest intellect, to the most powerful and highly educated mind, that holy Being must ever remain clothed in mystery.” – Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 698, 699.
God has no equal (1 Kings 8:60). He thinks, remembers, and acts in ways we do not comprehend. No matter what attempts we try to make Him into our own image, God remains God. He is the One who made every snowflake, brain, face, and individual characteristic unique, and “there is no other” (1 Kings 8:60, NKJV). After all, He is the Creator, and as Creator He is certainly distinct from His creation.
What do these texts tell us about how different God is from His creation? 1 Sam. 2:2; Ps. 86:8; Isa. 55:8-9; Jer. 10:10; Titus 1:2.
When we look at all that God is, all that He possesses, and all that He does, it’s remarkable that He could have competitors. And yet He does, in the sense He has to “compete” for human love and affection. Maybe that’s why He says that He is a “jealous” God (Exod. 34:14). God created humans to be free, which means we have the option to serve Him or to serve anything else. That has been, in many ways, the essential human problem: choosing to serve other gods, regardless of what form they come in, as opposed to serving the only God worth serving, the One who created and possesses all the universe. That’s why then that He is indeed a jealous God.
| What, if anything, in your life is competing with God for your affections? |
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I used to worry about that if something happens to me will my wife be ok? Have I done enough and will I be able to leave enough for her to survive. This is more a spiritual matter for me than financial. It always reverts back to material things and money and seems to be in direct correlation with my focus. My close friend once asked me if I trust God. My answer to him was "Of Course." His reply was, "then do you trust God to take care her if something happened to you?" My answer was yes, but my actions sure reflects differently. Always trying to acquire more.
Can anyone share some light on this matter? My feelings are sincere and real. I don't plan on anything happening (none of us do, but tomorrow is not promised). Is my focus warranted or am I being mislead, especially with the direction of where the world seems to be heading?
Am I being too materialist for a good reason?
It is good stewardship to prepare for your older years when you can no longer bring in an income. Depending on the country you live in the actual details may differ. Some countries provide a pension while other countries leave it up to the individual. Essentially there comes a time when most people retire. In Australia, where I live, the retirement age is somewhere between 65 and 70, which means that many people look to having 20-25 years without work-related income. It does not take a great effort to work out how much it costs to live during that time. Added to that is the cost of medical treatment which naturally increases with age.
To do no preparation for retirement is presumptuous and the cost of the lack of preparation falls back on the rest of society. For me it was a case of "best effort" preparation. God has given me a job and a framework to prepare for retirement. I understand that there are ultimately no guarantees about my financial arrangements for retirement but I trust in the Lord that he will look after my wife and I in the event that my preparation is insufficient.
Thank you.
Hi Nelson
I can relate to your experience. I agree with what Maurice has said, a reasonable degree of preparation is good stewardship but the freedom from trying too hard or worrying whether you've done enough comes from trust in God - that taking care of your wife is ultimately God's responsibility and one which He takes seriously. Though you love your wife dearly, so does God and He alone has the capacity to secure her to eternity.
Getting to this point of trust is easily explained - it can take longer to actually undertake the emotional and spiritual journey when we have been conditioned by a culture to be the 'provider' for our loved ones. God bless you as you undertake that journey...
In our immediate family we have a good example of what can happen when we confuse faith with presumption. We have been fortunate to have a fully paid home and an income for the next 10 years, thanks to an inheritance (our home) and income from the sale of our previous home to our son with a bond held by us instead of the bank. The chances of either my husband or I outliving the 10 period of the bond is questionable. On the other hand our son's in-laws live by faith in God providing for their needs. Only one of their three children are in a financial position to provide a roof over their heads. I see how the Lord is blessing the family providing a home but also the financial burden it places on them. Where does presumption end and faith begin!? Government pensions don't even pay the electricity bill .... let alone the roof over our heads. But the Lord is still in control!!
Nelson,
I would suggest that you do the best that you can and then leave the issue at the feet of Jesus.
Then claim the promise in Philippians 4:19 which says "but my God shall supply all your need."
God keeps his promises.
Also with regard to your preparation, claim God's promise in Psalms 32:8 which says "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee with mine eye."
Allow yourself to be receptive to the Lord's guiding hand.
The seed is the word of God. Luke 8:11
For any promise God has made, we are to ask. Mark 7:7
Then return thanks to God that we have received. Mark 11:24
The gift is in the promise. John 11:41
My father died from a long battle with cancer when i was only ten. My mother did not work. But i have to say that the Lord took care of us. God will provide. You can trust his promises. Put your trust in him to guide you and keep you. He will.
Dear Brother,
We are not the ones to ask.
Sincerely Yours
The Bible is wise when teaching about our resemblance with God. Some times, despite of our sin nature, I can see the same jealousy in my wife.
She doesn't accepts half of my heart and my attention but she eager for all my dedication if possible all time.
I believe this is mainly because as well as God, she loves me so much and wants my corresponding affections with loyalty. Also she thinks and acts in ways I never can comprehend very likely because of superior capability of love.
The sin of the world and "The Sinful Things That Are In It." The sinful "lusts," of the eyes, the sinful "Pride of life," and the sinful "lusts of the flesh."
God is on his throne for ever, there can be no other. He is from everlasting to everlasting, there was none before him and there are none to come after him. Therefore, the things we worship are no God, that is why he said in all our ways acknowledge him and he will direct our path. This is something personal; God made us so that he could love us and we intern love him but we have given our love to someone or something else. God's jealousy is like he is sad and sorry for us because the persons or things we worship are no God and has no power; however, we give them power over us. Israel ask for a king and God said "I have always been your king and yet you ask for a man who has no power of his own to be your king"
So he feels sad and sorry for us; that is his jealousy. We need to wake up from our sleep of death.
Spending so much time doing everything for work for others and not spending time with God.
Who said to whom and under what circumstances? "Beware lest you make of God altogether too much such an one as yourself."
Jealousy is an emotion. Anger is an emotion. And so on. All emotions are motivational 'energy' - they rouse us to take action. By God expressing attributes of Himself in terms that we can relate to, God is revealing to us that he too is passionate about things.
As per Eph 4:26 that says "in your anger, do not sin", it is not the motivational energy per se that is good or bad, it is how that energy is expressed. God's 'jealousy' is His passion toward we would choose to life/walk the way He has outlined for us - because He is the only Source of life and 'His way' is the only way that works (see Jn 10:10). Contrary to the popular song that says "God is watching - from a distance...", God is passionately disposed toward us. The ancient Hebrew and Greek langauge conveys this passion whereas the English lacks it and therefore we tend to miss its presence in our perception and understanding.
However, by using concepts we are familiar with to communicate Himself with us, God also risks that He might be misunderstood. Human jealousy is most typically a motivational energy that is self-referenced. I am jealous of something you have or something about you because I want what I don't have. The difference is that God's jealousy is not self-referenced. He passionately wants us to have something because it is in our best interests to do so. That is how typical human jealousy differs from God's jealousy.
Thank you Phil for that thought regarding the self in reference to God's jealousy. God is love therefore He cannot by His very nature be selfish in His (really our human understanding of how we experience the emotion of jealously) jealously. Those two ideas are incongruous. You are absolutely right! I totally agree that God risks being misunderstood as He engages the foolishness of humanity to communicate with us. Additionally, as I contemplated your contribution Phil I began thinking this is beautiful example for how our fallen nature has been corrupted when compared to the original creation. Even though God's experience of jealous is different from our human experience, it is still a reflection of an attribute of His nature, one that we reflect. However, we have lost the capacity to experience this emotion in its purest form.