"You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:4-6
And now for a parenthetical statement…
Did you notice that after the sentence about idolatry, in the midst of verse 5, a new sentence begins? Why does God assert that He is a jealous God, and add a multi-generational curse and blessing? Let’s consider this sentence a phrase at a time.
First, “For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” Note that this is associated with the second commandment regarding idolatry. God prohibits idolatry because idolatry is the establishment of a pseudo-rival to Him. I say “pseudo-rival” because nothing that can actually rival almighty God. So why does God identify Himself as “jealous”? It is certainly not, as jealousy usually is in us, born out of insecurity. God is not, nor can He be, insecure. Why? Because He is God! Because He has created everything (other than Himself) that exists. (1)
So how are we to understand God’s jealousy? A definition I like is: “The jealousy of God is His holy commitment to His honor, glory, and love.” Though not perfect synonyms, we can understand God being jealous as God being zealous. And why is God zealous for His honor, His glory, and His love? Because like everything else about God, His honor, glory, and love are infinitely superlative. Therefore He deserves all honor, glory, and love from everything and everyone—including from Himself.
It is a sin for us not to give God the honor, glory, and love He alone deserves. It is likewise a sin to claim any of the honor, glory, and love He deserves for ourselves. Now get this: It would be a sin for God not to be jealous/zealous for all honor, glory, and love, simply because He is absolutely deserving of it.
Let us understand God’s jealousy, and let us never usurp what belongs to Him for ourselves or for anything else—including worthless idols.
Notes:
(1) God did not create Himself since He would have had to create Himself before He existed. God is, therefore, uncreated and self-existent. Everything else that exists is created by Him and for His honor, glory, and love.