I Brought You in This World, and I Can Take You Out

Jealousy.  That's one characteristic we immediately frown upon when spoken of or observed in another.  But that's the term God used to describe Himself to Israel.  God even went as far as to say His name is Jealous.

"For thou shalt worship no other god: 

for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."

(Exodus 34:14) 

One 21st-century icon said when she heard as a child that God was jealous, it changed her perspective of Him.  "I was raised a Baptist, and we were too hung up on traditional ways. I was sitting in church and heard that God is a jealous God. I asked 'Why?' Come on; let's get over it!"  But we have to consider why God is jealous.  Having responded to the Israelites' groaning and rescuing them from slavery, He expected the people to worship and reverence Him.  He took them across dry ground and through the Sea of Reeds, wiped out Pharaoh's entire army, and provided food, water, and shelter in the wilderness (along with a spectacular "compass" of sorts). Wasn't that reason enough to ask the people to stick to their end of the covenant? It's similar to past days of childhood when the parent says, "If you're going to live under my roof, eat my food at my table, and sleep in the bed I provided, you're going to follow my rules. I brought you in this world, and I can take you out." God had some rules for the Israelites and some repercussions if they didn't obey.

God is jealous in the sense that He has a "righteous zeal" for our worship and love, and He doesn't want to share it with another.  We may say we have no idols, but lack of a graven image is not the absence of idolatry. Idols can include time, money, people, success, absorption with self-image, etc. God wants ALL of our worship and reverence; He's just jealous like that.