“Our God Is A Jealous God: Serve Only Him!”

“Our God Is A Jealous God: Serve Only Him!”(Dt. 4:15-24).
“…Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
Idolatory of any kind is forbidden to anyone who calls on the name of the LORD. Whoever does only provokes the wrath of God and his jealousy.
Apart from here, it is mentioned in other places of this book that God is a jealous God, “punishing the children for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generation…”(Dt. 5:9). Again, 6:15 reiterates, “for the LORD your God who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you…”
God forbid that the LORD God of the new covenant should punish children for the sins of their parents right up to the third and fourth generations.
By the time of Ezekiel God had abrogated this law. “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him”(Ez.18:20).
We cannot belabour the fact of God’s hatred for idolatory and his seething anger against idolaters.
We have noted that God is a jealous God who does not tolerate any rivalry. It is either him the LORD God or any other God of your choice.
Of the various definitions of the word jealous, this one suits the context of God’s jealousy: “fiercely protective of one’s rights or possessions.”
None of us would want to share what we cherish with others.
What this means is that if you know that the God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ is LORD, obey and worship him alone! Because if you go up the barn and take groundnuts in both hands, you may not be able to hold the ladder to descend. The end can be catastrophic.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you alone are God and I give myself entirely to you through your Son Jesus Christ. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.