Bible Expert Defends God's Jealousy
Jealousy is an uncomfortable emotion to have or to be near. Yet how is it possible that a good God is jealous and is there such a thing as a good jealousy?
Back to the Bible, an international Christian radio ministry, discussed the idea that God is jealous recently and the meaning for God’s jealousy during a series on the character of God.
Dr. Woodrow Kroll, president and senior Bible teacher for the ministry, explained last week that God’s jealousy stems from Him wanting the best life for man which can only be achieved through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
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“When you're talking about God's jealousy, God is jealous over you having the very best you can possibly have in a sinful world,” said Kroll during a BTTB broadcast Friday.
“Anything that leads us away from God is detrimental to our relationship with God and God is jealous over that relationship.”
The Bible instructor pointed as example to Exodus 34 when God warned Moses and the Israelite to not make covenants with the original inhabitants of Canaan, intermarry with other tribes, and “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).
Kroll explains that God is jealous because He is afraid of losing His people if they mix with other people.
“And, yet, we think of God's jealousy as a bad thing because God's jealousy says, ‘Don't do this; it's bad for you and your relationship with Me,’” said Kroll. “If God is jealous because He wants my relationship with Him to be a right relationship that is not a bad thing. That is a wonderful thing.”
Similarly, the Ten Commandments, was given not to confine man, but “in order to order our lives so that we can be happy and fulfilled.”
“God is so jealous over us; He doesn't want us doing the kinds of things that will rob us of blessings He's already given to us,” explained Kroll.
Sin interferes with man’s relationship with God and his ability to receive blessing, according to the BTTB head. God is jealous because He doesn’t want sin “robbing” His children of the “good things” they can have if they have a close relationship with Him.
“The fact that God is jealous over your relationship is something you ought to thank Him for every day of your life. If God were not jealous, who knows where you would be in your relationship with Him today?”
