Why is God a jealous God?
“Do not make any gods
to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.”
-
Exodus 20:23
This character of our god has
always been confusing for some Christians; in fact, even those who have strong faith
can’t always briefly explain this matter.
God, being a jealous God, actually
compliments his character as a loving and merciful God. It might not be as accurate as I imagine it
to be but we can just put it this way. God and the enemy may have had a treaty
where a person who worships anyone should be subject to whom or what it
worships.
See, when Satan was named as the
“king of the world”, it meant, anything that can be against the Lord is his’.
For example, money, which is the common source of worship for pagans, happened
to be under the enemy’s dominion. Thus, without further explanation, anyone who
worship’s money is subject to the enemy and not to God.
Be careful to do
everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let
them be heard on your lips.
-
Genesis 23:13
When God said that He was a
jealous God, that meant He wanted you to be His’ and Him to be yours. It was
actually an act of grace. Thus, with that thought, we must be very conscious of
our priorities. Does God top it all? Is God always number 1 in your list or
orders?
If we worship other people or
things in this world other than Him, we deviate ourselves from god’s promises
in life. But if we did receive God in our lives and prioritize Him over all,
then, we receive His grace every day.
“Worship the Lord you
god, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness
from among you, and none will miscarry of be barren in your land. I will give
you a full life span.”
-
Exodus 23:25-26
Why God does require us of offerings when He owns everything?
“Tell the Israelites
to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man
whose heart prompts him to give.”
-
Exodus 25:1
God created this world, even man,
of course God owns everything. Even our lives. But because of His love and
Grace, He gave us possession of His creation. The best example for this is our
own lives.
In business, anyone who created or
innovated something is the presumed owner of such thing, unless it is further
sold to someone else. God never sold His creation to anyone. Nevertheless, He
appointed man to rule over His creation. But that didn’t mean we own them. We
are merely the possessors. In more concrete term, we are just care takers of
His creation.
The Lord God took the
man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
-
Genesis 2:15
In business law, we have this
Disputable presumption that anyone who bears possession of a thing is the owner
of the thing. But the beauty of law is seen here. This is only a Disputable
presumption. Why? As my Law Reviewer said, the Law of State respects the Law of
God. Thus, this being a disputable presumption, we therefore derive the fact
that the possessor won’t necessarily be the owner.
Bottom line is, anything we have
right now is not of our own ownership. We are merely possessors of it.
Now, to answer the question, why
do God requires us to, as I may give it as a term, return to Him what he
requires us to return? Does He need it? What will he do with it? Give it to the
poor?
Answer:
God owns everything, He doesn’t
need it. But we do. We need to give it to Him.
Why? Because He loves us.
How’s that a basis?
1.
To refrain ourselves from the warning of the
above topic/question
2.
To make ourselves selfless and be more
transparent and/or submissive to God
3.
To be even more blessed
