It seems contradictory to say that God can be jealous, since we know that jealousy is a sin (Galatians 5:20). Obviously, the jealousy that we know and experience in our every day life is a sin as it is being envious of someone who has something we do not have. Now, can God be jealous of something we have? Certainly not! Because “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). So, why would God be jealous of you or anything you have, why you belong to Him and everything you have belongs to Him. Yet, the Lord is jealous when we give to someone else something that rightly belongs to Him: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-5). Therefore, God is rightly jealous when our worship, praise, honour, or adoration is given to idols instead of Him who created us, so that we may fellowship with Him. In other words, when we are jealous for something that God declares to belong to us, this jealousy is divine and appropriate because it resembles God’s jealousy. However, jealousy becomes a sin when we desire something that does not belong to us. We should therefore remember that God’s jealousy over us represents an honour worthy of our deepest gratitude, because it is not a desiring jealousy, but a loving and compassionate jealousy that is accompanied with grace and patience as He is trying to lead our focus onto Christ for our own salvation. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [retweet] [facebook]