4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:4-6

The second commandment is related to the first in that it states the inverse of loving the Lord God.

We can define jealous in two distinct ways in the English language.

One is being jealous for something that’s ours. You would be jealous if another man flirted with your wife. Only you should be permitted to do that. She “belongs” to you. You should be jealous of that “right.”

The other definition of jealous is envying something. “I’m jealous of that new car he bought.”

Honor and praise and glory belong to God alone. When we worship something other than Him, He is jealous of something that should rightfully be His.

Again, we can ask the same questions we asked yesterday.

• What do I spend my time doing?
• What would others say my most important things were?
• If someone told me I was putting that thing on a higher level than God, what would my reaction be?
• What would putting this thing above God look like in my world?

God wants and deserves our allegiance and worship. He alone is worthy.