A jealous God

Why the second commandment against carved images (idols, in context)?

Exodus 20:5 - "For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God."

Our women's Bible study at church had a question on this jealousy of God, after I mentioned it in a sermon from Zechariah 1:14-15. One person with strong Dutch roots, and a Dutch Bible firmly in the mind, remembers the Dutch translating this phrase "I am an ambitious God."

This sent me to my Hebrew lexicon. The Hebrew "kana" means ardour, zeal or jealousy, always in the provoked sense - due to a rival lover or enemy.

So the 1st 2 commandments (also Joshua 24.19) are making the point that we must love God only, and whole-heartedly, as a husband asks the same of his wife. If the guy sees his wife making eyes at somebody else, he is provoked. He is jealous. How often do we "make eyes" at, or flirt with the world, God's rival for our love, devotion and worhsip? Far more often than we realize, I'd bet, since God puts it first on his list of 10 Commandments, and as the Greatest Commandment: "Love Yahweh your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."

Or, turn this around for even more impact today: the point was to not keep pictures and statues of other gods around - they might tempt you away from Me. How often do pictures on the internet, in movies, or in glossy magazines by grocery checkouts tempt MEN away from their wives? Safe to say virtually all wives or husbands have had this "provoked to jealousy" feeling at one point. We already know what we're doing to God when we sin. So God says, don't make that stuff. Don't look at it. Look at, love, serve, worship Me.

As for the original Dutch version (!) I have no explanation. It's a bit off the mark according to the Hebrew, although it does get across the idea of God being roused and taking seriously our loyalty to Him. I'm sadly ignorant of the translation of my native Dutch Bibles...

Given the amazing literary resources for Bible study we have now, relative to what Erasmus and Luther had during the Reformation 500 years ago, I also have no explanation for why we aren't experiencing a much greater Reformation today. (The Spirit of course, revives, but He used the printing press and Luther's Bible, in part.) But perhaps I'm speaking too soon; it may be under way...