Have you noticed: a lot of powerful people stuff their emotions? Why Winston Churchill covered-up the terror of facing the Nazi’s through a no-nonsense, bull-dog look. John D. Rockefeller masked the joy of amassing huge amounts of money through a stern, glassy gaze. And Mohammad Ali hid the grief of losing to mean Joe Frazier, through an intimidating ego and vocabulary.
But there are some powerful people who do share their emotions. One of the most recent is John Boehner, the Speaker of the House. Why one minute John Boehner is laughing – the next minute John Boehner is pounding a podium in anger – the next minute John Boehner is crying his eyes out; in fact John Boehner cries so much, he’s been nicknamed: weeper of the house. Recently Scott Pelly interviewed Boehner for 60 Minutes about his wide range of sentiment, his unapologetic display of feelings. It’s like this, Boehner remarked, “…there [are] just some things…that trigger real emotions…”
Frankly, God would agree. For God
exhibits a wide range of sentiment, an unapologetic display of feelings. Why one minute God is laughing at the kings
of the earth in Psalm 2:4 – the next minute God is angry at Solomon in I Kings
11:9 – the next minute God is weeping over the results of Noah and The Flood in
Genesis 6:5-6.
As we enter Exodus 34, we discover yet another emotion of God: jealousy. Why upon discovering the Hebrew people worshipping other gods other than the one true God, Moses confronts the Hebrew people: you better “break down [your] altars [to other gods]. [You better] smash [your] sacred stones [to other deities]…For… [God]…is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:13-14)
Actually the Hebrew people should have known that, for God expressed His disdain for rivals earlier in the Ten Commandments: “you shall not make…an idol in the form of anything in heaven…or on the earth…on in the water below” God declares in the Decalogue in Exodus 20 “…You should not bow down to them or worship them -- for I the Lord…am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:4-5).
As we enter Exodus 34, we discover yet another emotion of God: jealousy. Why upon discovering the Hebrew people worshipping other gods other than the one true God, Moses confronts the Hebrew people: you better “break down [your] altars [to other gods]. [You better] smash [your] sacred stones [to other deities]…For… [God]…is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:13-14)
Actually the Hebrew people should have known that, for God expressed His disdain for rivals earlier in the Ten Commandments: “you shall not make…an idol in the form of anything in heaven…or on the earth…on in the water below” God declares in the Decalogue in Exodus 20 “…You should not bow down to them or worship them -- for I the Lord…am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:4-5).
Why yes – but jealousy related to God is different than jealousy related to us. I mean jealously related to us is about envy, comparison and competition. Jealousy related to God is about concern, protection and intense love. In fact the word jealous mean literally in Hebrew: zealous -- akin to the zealous love of a parent for his or her child.
And so when God says He’s a jealous God -- He’s actually saying He’s a zealous God, eager to protect us from what will harm, and bring us down.
I don’t want to be brought down; I want to be protected and loved! And so I give thanks for a jealous, zealous God -- eager to stay within His reach, and intense concern..
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