Daniel 3
Bible Passage: Daniel 3
“We Have a Jealous God”
We know very well the first Commandment of God:
You shall have no other gods before God Himself.
“…For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God”, the Bible says.
But what consumes our thoughts and actions throughout the day?
Daniel’s three friends certainly had God on their minds,
For they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol.
They remained pious despite being threatened with a fiery death,
And even if they could not escape death they remained true to their faith.
Daniel’s three friends had a close relationship with God.
They feared God more than they feared the fiery furnace,
And so they’d much rather keep His commandments,
Than please the King and worship a statue and all its ornaments.
Today we face the same scenario in our modern way of life,
It may not seem as extreme as being threatened with death,
But it can consume our daily thoughts and actions,
To the point that we may leave God or be overcome by distractions.
For example relationships can consume one’s life,
Not even talking about romantic relationships,
but hanging out with friends, being included, belonging to a group, being liked.
Sometimes we please people and/or compromise our faith to be liked.
When we feel lonely and a little jealous of worldly people,
How do you think God feels?
When we yearn for the approval of human beings and try to please people all the time,
How do you think God would respond?
But God’s jealousy is not like our human emotion.
He does not become jealous out of selfish needs.
He is a jealous God because only God is perfectly righteous and holy.
He has the right to be angry and jealous when we do not remain faithful to Him.
Although we know God is a loving and merciful God,
there is no room for sin in His kingdom.
God gives us many opportunities to change because He is patient with us.
We need to remember to fear the Lord and bring glory to His name.
Let us pray for God’s continued guidance and strength.