What does it mean that God is a jealous God?

Jehovah El Qanna means the Lord (Jehovah) is a jealous God (El Qanna). In today’s vernacular, the word jealous conjures negative connotations of envious behavior toward someone because of their advantages, achievements, or belongings, but what does it mean that God is a jealous God?

 

To better understand, what it means for God to be jealous, let’s look at Exodus 32 where the Israelites crafted a golden calf idol and credited it for bringing them out of Egypt. This happened while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the commandments. When the people came to Aaron with their ideas, he told them to “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” From these, he fashioned a molten calf and the people said, “This is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

Before Moses went up on the mountain the people agreed to DO whatever God said (Exodus 24:3). God sent Moses down to the people with the stone tablets and he found them partying and celebrating their new god. Moses threw the tablets to the ground. After dealing with the people, God told Moses to make two new stone tablets and come back up the mountain, where He re-established His covenant with the people through His law. During this interaction, God made it clear He will not share His glory with other gods or anything else. It was at this time that Jehovah introduced Himself as Jehovah El Qanna.

 

What does the Lord is a Jealous God mean?

To understand the name El Qanna, it helps to put things into context. The fundamental meaning of the word Qanna (jealous) relates to a marriage relationship. Remember than in the Old Testament, God is depicted as Israel's husband. When Israel worshipped other gods, it is adultery. In Jeremiah 3, the Lord spoke to Josiah the king about what faithless Israel did. She went up to the high places and was a “harlot” there. And Judah followed with the same sin of adultery. Then God invited them to repent (to change their minds, their way of thinking).

 

“Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,

'Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD;

‘I will not look upon you in anger.

For I am gracious,’ declares the LORD;

‘I will not be angry forever.

‘Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against the LORD your God

And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree,

And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the LORD.

‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the LORD; […]

And I will bring you to Zion.’

“Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. ~ (Jeremiah 3:11-15) (Emphasis mine.)

 

God desires an intimate relationship with his wife, Israel, but because of her unfaithfulness he gave her a “writ of divorce” Jer. 3:8. In the New Testament, the church is his bride, but the only way to become his bride is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

 

In this verse, the word “knew” is referring to that intimate relationship between a husband and wife. When you come to Him in faith, you receive the Holy Spirit. He resides inside you. He “knows” you.

Jehovah is a jealous God. It is his desire that our faith is placed in Him. When Abraham placed his faith in God, it was reckoned to him as righteousness. That was before the Law. When the Law came along, the first half of the ten commandments dealt with our relationship to God. “You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” This reminds me of Jesus saying, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

 

It's easy to look at Scripture and see where people went off course to serve a god other than Jehovah El Qanna. The question that we need to ask ourselves is when people look at our lives, who do they see us serving?

 

As I prayed this morning, I thought of the AI Jesus in the news. and how people are flocking to it with questions. It is an idol. In fact, as I searched for images for this blog post, I ran into chat Jesus and it said, “I am Jesus the Son of God” and asked how it may be of service. On top of that, we they are crafting an AI Bible. What do you think God thinks of that? We don’t need to speculate since his Word says “you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).

“I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images (Is. 428)

Yahweh Sabaoth meaning

In my quest for a more intimate prayer life, I’ve been studying the names of God so that when I say hallowed be thy name, I can actually use his names and know what they mean based on the original language and their first use in Scripture. For instance, when I praise Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will provide), I know that Abraham used that name when God provided the ram for the sacrifice to spare Isaac. I praise him for Jesus, who took my place as the sacrifice for sin. I’m still working through the compound names of God, and the growing understanding enriches my prayer life. Today I want to talk about Jehovah Sabaoth (Yahweh Sabaoth). 

 

Jehovah vs. Yahweh

Before we look deeper into the name Sabaoth I want to address the Jehovah vs. Yahweh dispute. The difference can be traced back to Latin-speaking Christian scholars. Ancient Hebrew YHWH had no vowels (pronounced Yahweh). Since the letter “Y” does not exist in Latin, they replaced the Y with J, and the Latinized version of YHWH became Jehovah. There are other theories, but instead of going into things that might divide us, let us agree that Yahweh and Jehovah mean the same thing and focus there. In the Old Testament it is written as LORD in all caps.

 

Yahweh Sabaoth Scripture

 
We first find the use of Yahweh Sabaoth in 1 Samuel 17:45 in the well-known passage where David goes out to meet the giant Goliath in battle. The armies of the Philistines and Israelites met in the Elah Valley (bout 11 miles from where David lived). They had reached a standoff, but each morning and evening for 40 days, Goliath, a Philistine champion who stood nine feet tall, walked onto the battlefield and challenged the armies of Israel to a winner-take-all contest. He defied the army of Israel and challenged them to send out a man to fight him. Losers would become servants to the winners. Instead of someone stepping forward, the Israelites fled with fear. 
 
Goliath was intimidating and well-armored. He wore a bronze helmet and armor plating that weighed 150 pounds! The shaft of his spear was the size of a weaver's beam, and the head of it weighed 20 pounds. Plus, he had a shield bearer walking before him.

David wasn't old enough to serve in the army, but three of his older brothers were in the ranks. As the youngest, David’s father regularly sent him to check on his brothers' welfare and to bring home news of the war. One day, as he talked with his brothers, Goliath came forward with his threats and the challenge to fight to the death. David asked, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26).
 
David’s questions irritated his brothers, but when David offered to fight the Philistine and Saul heard about it, he called for David. Saul took one look at him and said he was too young and inexperienced, but David was not afraid. He conveyed his shepherding experience of killing both lion and bear to rescue a lamb and that “…this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them since he has taunted the armies of the living God” (v. 36). Notice that he makes this about God, not about himself. He gives the credit to God as he says, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (v. 37).
 
David trusted God. He rejected the armor King Saul tried to provide, and in contrast to the heavily armored Philistine, David chose five smooth stones from the brook, put them in his bag and faced Goliath with his sling and shepherd’s stick. When he stepped up to meet the giant’s challenge, the Philistine mocked David saying, “‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods” (1 Samuel 17:43). 

Yahweh Sabaoth meaning

David’s response? 

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted" (1 Samuel 17:45). 

His confidence was in the greatness of God.
 
So, what is the meaning of Yahweh Sabaoth? First, I should mention that Sabaoth is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Tsebaoth. It means “that which goes forth.” It is a military term that means armies or hosts. Hosts means hordes and refers to both angels and men. That means he is the Lord of the host of heaven and those who live on the earth. The name conveys his majesty, power, and authority. It reveals that He is able to accomplish what He determines to do. Yahweh Sabaoth means the leader and commander of the armies and is used in Scripture almost 300 times.
 
What we can learn from David and his recognition of the LORD of Hosts? We need to get our eyes on the Lord instead of the giants we face to gain perspective of God’s power. As you call on the name of the Lord of Hosts, realize that God is for you. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Romans 8:31.
 
 
 

Call upon the name of the LORD in faith

It’s a new year, a new start, and an opportunity to hone our daily habits to become more the people God wants us to be from the inside out. I gave up New Year’s resolutions decades ago because they tend to go by the wayside quite quickly. Instead, I set goals—targets toward progress (that is measurable) in what I hope to accomplish. In my case, one of those goals is to continue my quest to become a person of prayer.

Calling upon Jehovah the "becoming one"

In Lord Teach Us to Pray, we looked at the model prayer Jesus gave to his disciples in Luke 11 when they asked Him to teach them to pray. Not how to pray but to pray. That model reveals that as a child of God, our relationship opens the door to God and all the way back in the book of Genesis we see that people called upon the name of the Lord.

To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26)

If we look at the original Hebrew, this verse reads “And to Seth, also to him there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”

 

Notice that LORD is all capital letters. In How do we praise the name of God, I talked about how God’s personal or proper name in Hebrew is not pronounceable. It is written as YHWH or JHVH and today articulated as Yahweh or Jehovah. In the Old Testament, it is written in all caps as LORD and rather than being a proper noun it is actually a verb and means “the becoming one ” or “I am.” It is a name by which God reveals his desired relationship with you. He is willing to become to you what your need is (notice I'm not saying want but need). An example of this is found in Proverbs 18:10.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe (Proverbs 18:10).

Jehovah the strong tower

In this case, “the becoming one” becomes a strong tower we can run into to be safe. Here the word for safe means, "to be high, be inaccessibly high" or out of reach. Life throws all kinds of things our way. Just look at what we’ve lived through since Covid 19 entered the world. Even in a world filled with anxiety and fear, Jehovah (Yahweh) becomes everything we might possibly need. It doesn't mean we won't get Covid or that none of our loved one will get Covid. Understandably, that is what most of us want. What we need to understand is that even if we get Covid or even die of Covid, that our souls are out of reach of Covid. Believers are "safe." God becomes what we need.

In future posts we will look at some of the compound names of God such as:

• Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
• Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
• Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
• Joehvah Rophe (The Lord Who Heals)
• Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts) The Lord of Powers
• Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
• Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
• Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
• Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You) The Lord Who Makes Holy

As I call upon the LORD, in faith, I believe he is my righteousness, that He is the Lord who sanctifies me, and the Lord who will provide as I ask him to grow me into a person of prayer.

Happy New Year. Be blessed.

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How do we praise the name of God?

 

What does it mean to praise the name of the LORD? Part of prayer is praise but how exactly do we do that? I don’t want it to just be empty lip service. I want it to be the real deal. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, in Luke 11:1, he gave them a model prayer. Not to pray those exact words over and over, but to learn to pray by using it as a template. Not just how to pray, but to actually pray.

In my post, Lord, teach us to pray (Part 1), we looked at the importance of the use of the word “Father” in that model prayer and how it shows the need for a relationship with God before we can pray. We also looked at how when we pray “our Father,” that father is not God’s name. It is one of his titles. The word “hallowed” in the model prayer shows that we are to set His name apart as holy and worthy of devotion. But what name are we praising?

 

God's personal name 

God’s personal name in Hebrew is not pronounceable. It has no vowels. You’ll see it referred to as the Tetragrammaton, and in the Old Testament, you’ll see it written in all caps as LORD. When it comes to praising God, His name is much more than unpronounceable. First of all, His name is a verb. That means it describes an action, state, or occurrence. Keep that in mind as you pray.

 

God’s name YHWH or JHVH (today articulated as Yahweh or Jehovah) is the Hebrew name revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus at the burning bush. It means “the becoming one” or “I am.” It is a name by which God reveals his desired relationship with you. He is willing to become to you what your need is. Throughout Scripture, God reveals Himself to us through His names. The meanings behind His names teach us more about who God is to us. For instance, his name, El Shaddai, means Lord God Almighty. He is the All-Sufficient One, our Lord God With this deeper understanding, it becomes more natural to praise God.

 

List of the names of God and their meanings

Use this list of the names of God to practice praising Him.

• Adonai (Lord, Master)
• Elohim (God) God, Judge, Creator
• El Olam (The Everlasting God) The God of Eternity, The God of the Universe, The God of Ancient Days
• El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty) All-Sufficient One, Lord God
• El Elyon (The Most High God)
• Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
• Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner) The Lord My Miracle
• Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
• Jehovah Rophe (Rapha) (The Lord Who Heals)
• Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts) The Lord of Powers
• Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
• Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
• Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
• Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
• El Qanna (Jealous God) Zealous
• Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah)

You can use this list to praise the Lord for who He is becoming in your life as you grow into the person He wants you to be. As the Lord leads, I’ll post more about these names and their meanings individually in the future along with Scripture references.

Photo credits: Sapphire Dream Photography

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The Inheritance by Donna Sundblad

Written within the allegorical tradition of classics like Pilgrim's Progress, The Inheritance offers a symbolic fantasy adventure with a Christian message. Ideal discussion starter for youth groups, homeschoolers, and families.