Scripture Reding: Exodus 20:4-6
From time immemorial, man has provoked God to anger to the extent that He wanted to wipe out human race from surface of the earth, except Noah that found favour in His sight (Genesis 6). In all the cases at which generations have wronged God, it has always been disobedience to His ordinances.
One of those instances is idolatry. His commandment on this was instructive in Levticus 26:1 – Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.
Despite this biblical ordinance, many that profess Christ as their Lord and Saviour still directly/indirectly follow the idolatry path, most especially when confronted with earthly challenges.
Today, however, our focus will be more on the personality that we ascribe our various successes to. Whilst God in His infinite mercies has been standing for us, we, most times, and like the biblical Jews, provoke Him to the point where His jealousy will be evoked.
Evaluation of the developmental stages of our lives
From our conception, to when we came out from the womb, to adolescent years, to a level of teenagers, to adulthood, and all what we achieved, without any doubt, God has been merciful.
When we now expect some other things but they are yet to manifest, do we need to provoke Him by our ungrateful attitudes?
We are majorly shortsighted Christians, embracing selfishness on things expected without continually expressing gratitude to those previous things that we have been blessed with, thus, bringing forth the jealousy of God.
This jealousy of God comes forth partly from the neglect of the Scriptures, which says “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images”.
Regarding this, the Hebrews demonstrated their absurdity immediately they left Egypt. On getting to the Wilderness of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai, they had nothing to eat, and started to murmur with disregards to the freedom they got from slavery.
“(2)And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. (3)and the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:2-3).
People also read about : Have no other gods beside me
These were the people under servitude for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41), but didn’t remember that grace from God within days of their emancipation. This manner of ungrateful attitude brought up anger of God, hence, “he is a jealous God”.
Despite that God still made available for them Quails and Manna. This did not deter them from murmuring to God until they overdid this in a spy mission to Canaan.
Whilst God had commanded them in Deuteronomy 10:17-22, firstly as what was expected of them, He equally reminded them of how He had increased them in numerical strength and wealth with the expectation that they would never doubt him.
Alas, they had embedded in their blood, ungrateful virus. This was why ten of the representatives of the twelve tribes (with the exception of Caleb of the tribe of Judah and Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim), decided to doubt the ability of God to strengthen them above the Canaanites.
For this reason, God had to prove to them that He was still God and that His kindness should never be taken for granted (Numbers 13).
The verdict: “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me?” – Numbers 14:27
- Your children shall wander in the wilderness for forty days, each day for a year shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise (vs 33)
- All that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, which murmured against me shall fall in the wilderness (vs 32-37).
- But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still (vs 38)
It is with this that beloved children of God should rather resort to praises in place of lamentation/murmuring, when things are not going as we have planned.
Furthermore, we should also be eternally grateful to those that God has sent to support us in all perspectives. We should not resort to betraying them, and neither should we behave in an ungrateful manner to them. All these have consequences in the spiritual realm.
We should, therefore, never forget our past and how God has brought us from darkness to light and “made us to meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colosians 1:12)
When we are conscious of this, we will never anger God to the point at which He will remind us that “I am a jealous God”. Thus, in everything, thanksgiving should be our consumption (1 Thessalonians 1:18).
May we never run foul of God’s ordinances, through Christ our Lord.
Memory Verse:
Colossians 1:13
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”
Author
Baba Aladura, Elder Israel Akinadewo – FCA, PhD
Prelate, Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Worldwide (MCCSW)/President, Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC)