Biblical Answer

The Righteousness of God's Jealousy

The Bible teaches that God is a jealous God, and His jealousy is righteous. In fact, the Bible says, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and to the fourth generation" (Exodus 34:6-7). This passage reveals that God's jealousy is not a destructive or vengeful emotion, but rather a desire to protect His own honor and uphold His righteousness.

God's Jealousy: A Desire to Protect His Honor

God's jealousy is a holy and righteous emotion that seeks to protect His honor and uphold His righteousness. It is not a compound of frustration, envy, and spite, as human jealousy often is. Rather, it is a desire to maintain His holy name, will, and government. When God sees His honor being dishonored, He acts to defend it. For example, when the Israelites began to worship other gods, God said, "You shall not make for yourself any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and unto the fourth generation" (Exodus 20:4-5). In this passage, God's jealousy is seen as a desire to protect His honor and uphold His righteousness.

Deepening Our Jealousy for God's Honor

So, how can we deepen our jealousy for God's honor? We can start by recognizing the importance of God's honor and righteousness. We can reflect on how God's honor is often dishonored in our culture and in our own lives. We can pray for a greater sense of God's jealousy for His honor, and ask Him to give us a deeper desire to protect and uphold His righteousness. We can also seek to live a life that reflects God's honor and righteousness, and avoid actions that would dishonor Him. By doing so, we can deepen our jealousy for God's honor and become more like Him in our thoughts, words, and actions. As the Bible says, "Be imitators of God as dear children" (Ephesians 5:1). By imitating God's jealousy for His honor, we can live a life that is pleasing to Him and reflects His righteousness.