Godly Jealousy

You must worship no other gods, for the Lord whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. – Exodus 34:14
 
I want to start out today by taking a look at Solomon. He was one of the wisest men whom ever lived, but he wasn’t always obedient. Check out this story from 1 Kings: “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord” (1 Kings 11:1-3).
 
Seven hundred wives…not even counting the concubines! In the end, they convinced Solomon to worship other gods and idols. Even though he knew better, he still chose not to obey God’s command.
 
When you give your heart to someone, you want all of them. You want his or her mind, body, and heart as completely as you’ve given yourself. That’s a godly jealousy, and that’s why it hurts so much when your affections aren’t returned, or when your ex starts seeing someone else. You offered all of yourself and had it thrown back in your face.
 
That’s exactly how God fees about us. He was in a relationship with Solomon. He honored and blessed him with wisdom beyond compare. He “had appeared to him twice” (1 Kings 11:9). And what did Solomon do? He threw those blessings right back in God’s face, building pagan shrines and offering sacrifices to idols.
 
What sacrifices have you made to other gods? What shrines have you built to the idols of materialism, lust, achievement, and reputation? God is jealous. He gave you all of Himself – He gave you His own Son! Turn back to Him today.
 
Prayer: I give my heart to you. You are jealous of my time, my affections, and my heart. Help me to give it back to you, because you are worth everything to me! Amen.