A few places in the Bible, God is described as a jealous God. Perhaps most well known in the book of Exodus when Moses is given the 10 commandments. Coming in at number two on the top ten is the following:
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…
It seems weird that God would ever be jealous of anything because, well, it is God we are talking about. Isn't God above being jealous? Maybe.
First it is worth noting that jealousy and envy are two different things, but we often confuse them. Many times we think of being jealous of someone who has something that we desire. For instance, if I see my neighbor have a cool house or new toy or physical physique I might say that I am jealous of my neighbors house, toy, body. And so when we encounter the ten commandments and read God is jealous, we wonder why would God ever be jealous? God does not need anything, and even if God did need something, God could create it! However this is not what jealousy is.
Desiring an object that your neighbor has is not jealousy, that is called envy. We envy things like homes, toys of physical characteristics. We might even envy our neighbor’s partner or our neighbor’s job. When we want what our neighbor has, we are envious not jealous.
Jealousy is not about desiring an object our neighbor has, but about desiring the relationship our neighbor has with that object. You may not desire your neighbor’s partner, but you desire the type of relationship your neighbor has with their partner. You may not desire the boat that your neighbor has, but you desire the joy your neighbor has when riding the boat. You may not want your neighbor’s physical body but you may want the attraction that your neighbor gets from others due to their physical characteristics.
God does not desire a thing, but God desires the relationship we have with things. God wants to be in relationship with you and when you are in relationship with something else (such as money or fame or success) God is jealous. God knows that your relationship with these other things (idols) are not good for you spirit or your community. God is not jealous because God is lacking in some way. Rather God is jealous because God desires so deeply to be in relationship with each one of us.
God is not envious, but God is jealous.