Lent is a time of self-examination but it is also a time for us to reflect on the characteristics of our God and who He is. 

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ESH OKLAH, EL KANNA

CONSUMING FIRE, JEALOUS GOD

The Lord is a Consuming Fire who will ultimately destroy whatever is opposed to His holiness.  He is also a Jealous God, who loves us completely and who, therefore, demands our wholehearted response and attention.

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Why is God a Jealous God?

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In the Ten Commandments, God describes himself as a jealous God after giving the command to not make idols. 

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Thou shalt not make unto thee 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.  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:5-6)

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For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.  (Exodus 34:14).

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Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.  For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:23-24).

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Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.  Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.  Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.  Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.  And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers. To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. (Deuteronomy 6:13-19)

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God’s description of himself as jealous is only given in the context of idolatry. 

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God breathed the breath of life into the first man. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7. He breathed this life into every person. God jealously yearns for – desires – this spirit in us. “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, ‘the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’? James 4:5. God does not want our spirits to be consumed by this world or by the god of this world, the devil.  He sent His Son to die for mankind because He wishes for none to perish but through Jesus have eternal life.  He took His wrath out on His only Son so that we would not have to endure His consuming fire/wrath.  Instead, He has become a “wall of fire” to protect and deliver us.  But be not fooled.  He will not tolerate or overlook sin.

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In these verses, God is speaking of people making idols and bowing down and worshiping those idols instead of giving God the worship that belongs to Him alone. God is possessive of the worship and service that belong to Him. It is a sin (as God points out in this commandment) to worship or serve anything other than God. It is a sin when we desire, or we are envious, or we are jealous of someone because he has something that we do not have. It is a different use of the word “jealous” when God says He is jealous. What He is jealous of belongs to Him; worship and service belong to Him alone and are to be given to Him alone. 

God pursues us relentlessly and passionately.  He is jealous for our attention, or devotion, our love.  He’s not interested in competing with other deities or priorities.  He neither shares His glory nor compromises His holiness.  This is our Jealous God, the one who loves us with an everlasting, all-consuming love.

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Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.  For the Lord, thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:23-24).

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• Ask God today to consume everything in your life that distracts from His glory. 

• Then pray for the grace to forsake every love that would compete with your love for Him.