Today's Passage: Deuteronomy 13-14
Some of the attributes of God flow quickly off our tongues in worship: powerful, mighty, holy, perfect, awesome, loving, worthy...but when is the last time we sang about or praised God for being a jealous God? Isn't jealousy supposed to be a bad thing? Galatians 5:20 even says that jealousy is an act of the sinful nature. But Exodus 20:5 says, in part, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." So what's the difference?
I think these two passages help us understand what God's jealousy really means. In the dictionary, jealousy as stated in Exodus 20 is defined as "intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry." God is not envious of our time away from Him...He is intolerant of unfaithfulness. He is upset that there would be something that would rival the attention and worship that we've already promised Him through our covenant relationship.
That's why He makes it clear to the Israelites in Chapter 13 that there is no circumstance that makes it right to worship something other than Him. If a so-called prophet of God says to worship something else, that's no excuse. If a family member says to worship something else, that's no excuse. If everybody else is doing it, that's no excuse. If the world says it's ok, that's no excuse. There is no excuse for putting something above God...we've promised Him our full attention.
That makes Chapter 14 make more sense in context as well. God was telling them that He would provide...if they trusted something else for their provision, they were being unfaithful. God made it clear what was being provided. He also made it clear that a part of His provision was giving back through tithes. When God blessed the people with abundance, He expected the people to acknowledge His provision by offering back to God the firstfruits.
It makes us think...are we causing God to be jealous? Are we making excuses about worshiping other Gods...the things of this world...when there is never an excuse to break our word to Him? Are we trusting Him for provision? Are we giving back to Him, thanking Him for His abundant blessing? God will not stand for something else taking His place in our hearts!
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