The many names of God are telling of His character and nature.
Yahweh Yireh–Provider God
El Shaddai–Almighty God
Ro‘eh Yisra’el–Shepherd of Israel
Yahweh Shalom–God of Peace
El Olam–Eternal God
El-tsaddiq–Righteous God
And, there are many more, which speak of the depth, the richness of our Sovereign King.
One of the names of God which has recently struck me is, El Qanna. We see it referencing Yahweh multiple times in the framework of Scripture.
Deuteronomy 4:24, “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
Exodus 34:14, — “for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Exodus 20:5, “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.”
The picture is clear, that Yahweh is a jealous God. But, “What about it?” We may ask… “I thought jealousy is a bad trait to have.” For humans, jealousy can indeed be bad as it tends to serve our own wants. It causes us to do things not in line with the commands of God. Obviously, in the context of the Divine Being, it describes the passion He has for what is rightfully His.
What is rightfully His? In this case, His people, and all worship.
Our relationship, the people of God with His people is described as a covenantal relationship, a marriage relationship. When the Bride, or the betrothed is tinkering around in giving herself to another, the Lord has Divine right to display jealousy. El Qanna is a jealous God who displays zeal when sin threatens that covenant relationship (Tackett). As the betrothed of God, we cannot engage in a relationship that is placed higher than Yahweh–No other gods!
When worship is being directed to a false god, stealing rightful ascription of glory from Yahweh, He is justified in His jealousy.
After all, “He so loved the world…” That means that He loved the world to a level whereby He provided the measure of His Son to die for us; the only measure of righteousness whereby we could be cleansed. This level of zeal is one unmatched by any other being.
Remember, if you have placed yourself in the camp of the redeemed, then you belong, not to yourself, but to the Jealous God who has redeemed you. Therefore, all your worship is to be directed to Him – El Qanna!
