“He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.”
– Ezekiel 8:3
Now, this is interesting. This is a reference to the jealousy of God. And whenever we think about that word, we usually have a negative connotation, like it’s wrong to be jealous. And it is wrong for us to be jealous, but not God.
What Does it Mean for God to be Jealous?
Think about the 10 Commandments, Exodus 20:4. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness, or anything that’s in heaven above, or that’s in the earth beneath, or that’s 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.”
So what does this mean for God to be jealous? And why is it right for him to be jealous? Well, think about it. There are actually ways that are positive for us to be jealous. I think about Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. He says to the church, “I have a divine jealousy for you,” which in that reference, he’s saying, “I want your good. I’m jealous for your good.” And that’s one way in which God is jealous for us. He’s jealous for our good. He knows, Exodus chapter 20, that if we bow down and worship false gods, that will lead to death. That will lead to all kinds of ruin. He is jealous for our good.
Ezekiel 8:3 Reminds Us of Marriage
I think about my wife. I am jealous for her affections. And I don’t want her to give her affections to another man. And that’s a good thing. It’s good for me as her husband to want her love and want to love her in a way that she loves me. Now, the deal is, I’m imperfect in that love. But that’s the beauty of who God is and what makes God totally different from us when we think about jealousy, because so often jealousy is driven by some kind of insecurity in us. We want something we don’t have. Or even to use the example of my marriage. There could be a fear in me, a jealousy in me that’s afraid my wife is going to find someone or something better than me.
But this is where I want us to see. God is not jealous in some kind of insecure way that we’re going to find something or someone better than him. There is no one better than him. So God is not just jealous for our good. God is jealous because he is glorious, because there is no one like him and he knows that. And he wants you and I to experience fullness in him. And so we pray.
Ezekiel 8:3 Praises God for His Jealousy for Glory
God, we praise you for your jealousy, for your jealousy for your own glory, because there is no one like you, there is no one better than you. All the gods of the nations are idols. You alone are the Lord. You alone are supreme. And you alone are supremely satisfying. We praise you for your jealousy, for your glory, and for our good. God, thank you for your jealousy for our affections that longs for us to experience full eternal satisfaction and life in you. God, we pray that you would help us to live with jealousy.
And so God, we pray that you would help us to live with zeal for your glory, and with zeal for our good. That we would live for our good to the full, knowing that our greatest good is found in knowing and enjoying you in all of your glory, and in spreading your glory to the ends of the earth. God, we pray for Berber people of Morocco. We are jealous for your glory among the Berbers of Morocco. Cause your glory to be made known among them.
Cause disciples to be made, churches be multiplied among Berber men and women and children, communities, cities in Morocco. We pray for that. Among all the nations we say, oh God, right now, we are jealous for your glory among the nations. Help us to live toward that end, even as we find ourselves supremely satisfied in you and your love. God, make us a people who are zealous for your glory in our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
