Is God Jealous?

By Rev. Johnny Lee Clary



Back when I was single I had a girlfriend once that I thought was hot, beautiful, and a stone fox. Problem is other guys thought so too. I found out she cheated on me and we broke up and then she had the nerve to show up at the bar with the guy she was cheating on me with and the fight was on baby! Tables,, beer bottles, chairs, all sailed across the honkytonk and as Roy D. Mercer would say, “Git yo’re fists a- flying” seemed to be the barroom motto that night. Why did all this happen? I was jealous that’s why.

How would you like it if you saw the person you were dating out on a date with someone else? The jealousy you might feel might just be similar to the jealousy God has for His people. You mean God is jealous? Yes He is because He says so in Exodus 20:4-6, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

God wants exclusive rights to your affection and He will not tolerate anybody or anything that try to take His place. When you marry someone you both take an oath to love, honor and be true to each other, forsaking all others. You would not tolerate your spouse breaking that vow and likewise God doesn’t tolerate people sharing him with false ‘gods’ either. Some twisted preachers teach that universalism is OK and there are different paths to heaven besides Jesus. HOGWASH! Other ‘gods’ will land you in Hell, plain and simple because Jesus said “No man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

It is not just bowing down like to the false ‘god’ of Islam or some other cult, but placing anything like your job, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, child, or hobbies above God, is idolatry. Read this in Hosea 13:1-6:

“When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, people trembled. The people of Ephraim were important in Israel. Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal, so they must die.2 They keep on sinning more and more. They make idols from silver for themselves. These idols are skillfully made. All of them are the work of craftsmen. People say this about the Israelites: "They offer human sacrifices and kiss calf-shaped idols." 3 That is why they will be like fog in the morning and like morning dew that disappears quickly. They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors. They will be like smoke rising from chimneys. 4"I am the LORD your God. I brought you out of Egypt. You have known no god besides me. There is no savior except me. 5 I took care of you in the desert, in a dry land. 6 When I fed you, you were full. When you were full, you became arrogant. That is why you forgot me.”

Take a look at your life and see if you are letting anyone or anything get in the way of your relationship with the one who gave you eternal life. If there is, then make some readjustments now before God does it for you!

© Johnny Lee Clary International Ministries

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is an ordained elder minister in the Church Of God In Christ, the largest African American denomination in the USA. He is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in Feb. 2010, April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales. He holds the record for the largest crowd ever at Hillsong Brisbane, Australia.