Why would God call himself "jealous"? (Exodus 34:14) -- Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14
ESV - 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).
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Although the word "jealous" often evokes associations with feelings of envy, insecurity, or suspicion toward another person, it also has another meaning of being fiercely protective of one's rights or possessions. God is jealous in that latter sense. He and He alone is God -- eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The universe owes its existence to Him. There is no other being like Him. As the Lord's Prayer states, the kingdom, the power, and the glory are eternally His. As such, He will not share the worship and praise that are due to Him with any other being or thing -- not because He is insecure, but because such honor rightfully belongs only to Him.
There are two sides of the jealousy coin. On one side there's an appropriate, normal jealousy from love - and this is what God means He is a jealous God. The other side is an abnormal jealousy from fear. If a man learns that his wife is having an affair and he's not bothered by that, that's abnormal behavior. God actually compares His people with a wife and when His people were unfaithful they were called prostitutes (Hosea 6:10; Jeremiah 2:23, 24). It is a normal response to be grieved by a wandering spouse. Now the problem of jealousy is when a person is being faithful, and their spouse is constantly mistrusting and suspicious. That's a type of phobia. People are often jealous and distrustful without cause. Jesus is our Creator and our Redeemer and in a sense He has married the Church (Rev 21:2). He has the right to be jealous when we are being disobedient and worship other gods.
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