I found it very interesting reading over Deuteronomy 6 where it talks about loving the Lord your God and serving him only:

“Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.  Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.”  (v. 12-15)

Dr. Reid brought up a great point that really got me thinking this week: “Too often we confuse God as being zealous rather than jealous.”  After hearing him say this I went home and looked up the definitions of each respective word in order to better understand exactly what he was saying.

Jealous – feeling resentment against someone because of that person’s rivalry, success, or advantages

Zealous – full of, characterized by, or due to zeal;  ardently active, devoted, or diligent.

By looking at the definitions of these two words we see some nuances as related to their meanings in this passage in Deuteronomy 6.  This passage is not saying simply that God is devoted to us and actively pursuing us. Sure, God does indeed embody those characteristics but the Deuteronomistic author is conveying a different message.  Rather, this passage is trying to tell the people of Israel that God does not honor people who follow other gods.  He has a hatred towards any other god for it is sinful.  He hates sin and evil so much that he will not associate with it or anyone who partakes in it.  So many times we take v. 15 out of context and only read that God is a jealous God and then skip the rest of the verse.  However if we read the rest of the verse we understand what it means for God to be jealous. It means that his anger will burn against us and destroy us if we follow other gods instead.