Thursday, 24 May 2012
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Jealous Man and Jealous God: A Contradiction?
The topic of jealousy has been weighing on my mind lately for no reason in particular, and I feel like the only way to figure this out is to really examine and study it. And anyone who knows me knows that the best way I process things is to write them out. So here goes.Jealousy is a generally negative emotion and is at the base of things; wrong. I get this, I understand this, and like many people, I have fought it. James 3:14-17 says “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”
So rather than submitting to the jealous emotions within in us we are called to seek out the wisdom of God from above so that we may be made pure. Simple enough right?
Maybe it’s just me, but after reading those verses in James; the next passage that immediately comes to mind is Exodus 20, specifically verses 4-6; “You shall not make for yourself a carved 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. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
Now; the Bible states also that we are to be holy, just as HE is holy (Lev. 11:44, 1 Pet. 1:16). He is holy, perfect, righteous, and unable to even glance upon sin. So we know God is not sinning in that He is a jealous God. Yet; jealousy is a sin that we ought to strive to overcome by seeking out the wisdom of God. So what have we here; a contradiction? I beg to differ. Rather this is an opportunity for deeper study and examination into the word of God as to the differences in the origin of the word and how God can be a jealous God, yet we are called to avoid jealousy.
Thus far I have found the difference of adjective vs. noun to be an interesting starting point for study. God is described with the Hebrew adjective use of the word jealous which; according to Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew lexicon and Strong’s concordance, is only used when defining an attribute of God. However; the word jealousy as used in James 3:14, 16 is preceded by the word bitter and is defined as a noun usage of the Greek word zelos, which is defined as zeal, eagerness, or rivalry. Thayer’s Greek lexicon defines this type of word usage as that of “an envious and contentious rivalry.”
And I believe therein lies the difference which bears proof the Bible is not contradicting itself, but rather the English language simply is not constructed in the same manner as the Hebrew and Greek languages and thus the translations fail to match up 100%. The jealousy of the God whom we worship stems from a love which gives him a jealous attribute where he desires our love and worship. The jealousy spoken of in passages such as James 3:14-17 is that of a rivalry which stems from a bitterness and zeal that is not pure. God is pure and thus His jealous is rooted in a pure love; whereas the jealousy we fight as humans is rooted in our imperfect human nature.
But don’t take my word for it. Be as the Bereans (Acts 17:10-15) and search it out for yourself. I don’t claim to know everything or to always be right. I’d love to learn what you’ve found yourself; especially if it differs from what I’ve learned so far in my study. If you’re reading this; then you obviously have access to a computer and the internet. And the internet is a wealth of information right at your fingertips. That’s really all you need to study-up and search for answers. And that means no excuses for not doing it.
So what do you think? Is God’s jealous nature different from that of the jealousy we are called to avoid? Why or why not?
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- From: Krazy_monkey09@xanga
- About Me: I write because it's therapeutic. It's my way of sorting out everything running through my head at any given point in time. "I love books, by the way, way more than movies. Movies tell you what to think. A good book lets you choose a few thoughts for yourself. Movies show you the pink house. A good book tells you there's a pink house and lets you paint some of the finishing touches, maybe choose the roof style, park your own car out front. My imagination has always topped anything a movie could come up with."
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Comments (7)
I love Pretzels!!
You're right in that jealousy can be a terrible thing. To be jealous for someone's possessions or of someone's success or whatever else is bad because we are to be content in all situations, and not to find worth or pleasure in materialism.
However, there's a flip side: God is jealous for us, not of us. He wants our whole worship, love, and affection.
Same way for a marriage. It is only expected and natural to be jealous for the affection of your spouse and his/hers alone. No one who truly is committed and loves their spouse would be totally okay and emotionally neutral if they cheated. That's the nature of a relationship. God wants us to himself. He does not want to share us with false gods. If he did, that would contradict his nature and his attributes.
I think my first post may have been misleading. It sounds as if I disagree with you or that I didn't read all of the post. I was more trying to post in such a way so as to answer questions that other xangans would have. I do agree with this blog.
"The jealousy of the God whom we worship stems from a love which gives him a jealous attribute where he desires our love and worship. The jealousy spoken of in passages such as James 3:14-17 is that of a rivalry which stems from a bitterness and zeal that is not pure. God is pure and thus His jealous is rooted in a pure love; whereas the jealousy we fight as humans is rooted in our imperfect human nature."
Amen
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It is really a difficult subject to take on. Because, we, as humans, are in battle with this thing called jealously more often than we'd care to admit. Mindlessly, being jealous of someone's financial inheritance. Or another''s abilities in areas we struggle in. We like to think we rejoice for these people, but oh, it is difficult. So, are we really loving God all the time? When people argue politics at the doorstep are we really loving God? Is it actually possible to love God? People here will say yes, because of wonderful things God has done for them. And that puts God in the works category. I know I've felt inordinate love for God because my life would be total trash without him, yet wonder if that love would have come into my life without all the difficulties.
We were created in God's image but are punished for being like him.
Welcome to Christianity.
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HEY OKAY RIGHT THERE IN GENESIS GOD MADE MAN BOTH MALE AND
FEMALE IN HIS OWN LIKENESS AND IMAGE. MIND YOU GOD HIMSELF SAYS HE IS A JEALOUS
GOD. WHO IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE OTHER, HUMAN OR GOD? HOW CAN THE CREATOR
DESIGN SOMETHING ALMOST LIKE HIMSELF WITH ALL HIS ATTRIBUTES YET EXPECT THE
CREATION TO BE STRONGER. WHAT AM I SAYING, GOD IS JEALOUS, I AM MADE IN HIS
LIKENESS AND IMAGE, HOW AM I NOT GOING TO HAVE JEALOUS TENDENCIES, FOR ME IF
GOD DIDN'T WANTED US TO BE JEALOUS HE WOULD HAVE MADE US WITH OUT THOSE
TENDENCIES. I MEAN WHY MUST THE FIRST SECOND THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION SUFFER
FOR THE SIN OF THEIR FATHERS AND MOTHERS? IF GOD LOVE US SO JEALOUSLY LIKE HE
CLAIMS THEN HE WOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN US FREEWILL IN THE FIRST PLACE. I WONDER WHY
LUCIFER NOT IN HEAVEN. NOW, THAT IS ANOTHER STORY. LUCIFER WAS JEALOUS OF GOD.
SO GOD THE ALMIGHTY TOSS TO LUCIFER TO HUMANKIND. I MEAN THERE ARE OTHER
PLANETS, WHY EARTH WHERE HUMAN LIVE AND WORSHIP GOD??