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Post Info TOPIC: "I am a jealous God."
Jen


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"I am a jealous God."


What do you think this means? And is jealousy ever a good emotion for us?

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Keeper of the Holy Grail

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This has always been kinda weird to me. If we do not care to worship Him, I would think He would just feel sad for us... not "jealous" ... confuse.gif

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I always took it to mean more the wrath of god thing for worshipping idols etc.

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Yea, I think we are looking here at a semantics difference between what we see as jealosy and what was meant by the words when the were translated back in the day. God isn't jealous but it does convey the message that he doesn't like it.

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Hot Air Balloon

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Yeah, I think it only makes sense in terms of idol worship. In a way we should be grateful God has an interest in us, and doesn't want us wasting our time in pursuits that take us from the worship and true meaning of our lives...

(edit: As for us, I think it's okay to feel jealousy... I mean it tells us something. More than anything it should tell us something about the way we think, what we care about, and how we think others should treat us. If we feel jealous because a spouse is spending a lot of time with some other woman, that could be a natural indication that there's something to be concerned about. I think honestly admiting jealousy helps us realize where there may be trouble in the future...)


--Ray

PS> Interesting topic, thanks for starting it. :)

-- Edited by rayb at 14:15, 2008-02-25

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Keeper of the Holy Grail

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Who is this woman your wife is spending so much time with, ray? You can tell us...

I guess that's right that this would be in reference to idols. And maybe He was trying to speak to us - something we'd understand...?

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Hot Air Balloon

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I'm pretty sure that not all jealousy is sinful. I mean you'd think it a natural response to some betrayals, wouldn't you?

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I always assumed that "I am a jealous God" was the message that people in that time period needed to hear, more than a simple translation misunderstanding.

When multiple-god-worship was the norm, it makes sense to be emphatic about "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

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When I searched for "Jealous God", 9 of 12 references came from the Old Testament. The God of the OT is very often portrayed as vengeful and angry, quick to heap punishment on the children of Israel. Perhaps they needed threats to help them remember to be obedient.

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Keeper of the Holy Grail

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Maybe I should've lived in the OT. confuse.gif

Then again, my mouth would've got me in trouble back when beating your wife was the norm. So... never mind. pray.gif

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Jealous in this context does not mean what we might think.

Exodus 20:5, "jealous" footnote b, states the following:

"HEB qannah, possessing sensitive and deep feelings"

In contrast to idols, which do not act, see, taste, hear, touch nor feel, our God is a real being with emotions and feelings and is capable of blessing or cursing.

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