|
About Jesus - Steve Sweetman Jealous
The word
"jealous" can easily conjure up thoughts of envy and rage that
are motivated by an unhealthy possessiveness.
Jealousy is an issue the Bible addresses, but maybe not in the
sense you might think. The
Hebrew Old Testament has two words with two somewhat distinctive
meanings that are translated as "jealous" in our English
Bible. So, when we read the
word "jealous" in the Old Testament, we can't be certain to
its exact meaning without further study of the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word
"ginah" denotes an envious protection of
one's possessions that's motivated by an unhealthy
possessiveness. The Hebrew
word "ganna" denotes a rightful protection of one's
possessions that's motivated by who one is.
Ganna is linked to a Hebrew word that has a connotation of having
no rivals. In modern
vernacular, He who has no rivals shares the stage with no one and
protects what is rightfully his apart from any hint of possessiveness.
In short, ginah is jealousy based on possessiveness while ganna
is jealousy based on individual rights due to whom one is.
Ganna is associated with
God in Exodus 20:5, 34:14, Deuteronomy 4:24, 5:9, 6:15, and Joshua
24:19. The notion that God
can exhibit jealousy as seen in these passages is contrary to much of
our popular concept of God, but, if Scripture says that God is a jealous
God, a jealous God He is. We
just need to understand what that means.
In Exodus 20:1 through 5
we find the command not to have any god other than God Almighty, who is
Elohiym, the God who spoke this command to Moses.
According to this passage, God issued this command because He is
a jealous God. Clearly, God
can be jealous, but His jealousy is not motivated by envy or unhealthy
possessiveness. The Hebrew
word "ganna" that is translated as "jealous" in this
passage implies that God has no rivals and that He is supreme over all
things. He has the right to
protect what is His and He shares the universal stage with no one.
Any attempt to share the stage with Him is an outrageous act of
illogical stupidity which will result in jealous judgment as stated in
Exodus 20:5. The Hebrew word
"ganna" is seen in Exodus 34:14 where we learn that one of
God's names is Jealous. This
reflects the fact that He is supreme over all things and all things
belong to Him. Therefore, He
has the right to jealously protect what belongs to Him, just as you have
the right to protect what belongs to you. Ganna is translated as
jealous in the prophetic chapters of Ezekiel 38 and 39.
Ezekiel 39:25 tells us that God will have compassion on Israel
and will restore its fortunes because He is jealous (KJV), zealous
(NIV), and ganna (Hebrew), for His name.
In other words, God will restore Ganna is also translated
as jealous in the prophetic passage of Joel 2:18.
Here we learn that the land promised to Israel
belongs to God. Therefore,
He has the right to protect His land.
No nation, terrorist group, anti-Christ, or the devil, will rival
God when it comes to His land. In
the final analysis, as an act of jealous judgment, He will remove Israel's enemies from His land for good.
Ganna is also translated
as jealous in the prophecy of Zechariah 1:14 where we learn that God has
a jealousy for Jerusalem. Despite all of the
historic attempts Like God Himself, the
Apostle Paul had a similar jealousy.
He called it "godly jealousy" in 2 Corinthians 11:2. Godly
jealousy isn't based on envy or possessiveness.
Godly jealousy is based on who God is and the fact that He has
commissioned the followers of Jesus with the responsibility to represent
Him and protect all that belongs to Him on this planet.
This responsibility is a serious matter and is too often not
taken seriously. As those responsible for
this great commission we must realize that the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ is supreme over all things spiritual and all things
material. He has no rivals.
He has no real competition. He
has the final word in all things. If
we attempt to place anyone or anything on the same universal stage with
the Almighty, we have another god. If
we attempt to bring the Almighty down to our human stage as if He was
one of us, we consider ourselves to be a god along with the Almighty.
If we associate the Almighty and speak of Him in the same breath
with Santa Claus, the sun god, Mohamed, humanistic religions, mother
nature, or any other product of our depraved imagination, we massacre
the very nature of God.
I cannot overstate the
seriousness of this matter. Our
lack of understanding to whom God is can often be seen in our
lackadaisical devotion to Him. 1
Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23 tells us that we have been bought at a price.
At the heart of our faith in Jesus is the fact that God now owns
us and He will jealously protect what He owns.
On the other hand, we are commissioned to represent Him and
jealously protect what is His. Our
challenge is to live in accordance with this commission.
|