God, The Jealous Lover

James 4:5 is exceedingly difficult. To begin with, it is cited as a quotation from Scripture, but there is no part of Scripture of which it is, in fact, anything like a recognizable quotation. We may either assume that James is quoting from some book now lost which he regarded as Scripture; or, that he is summing up in one sentence what is the eternal sense of the Old Testament and not meaning to quote any particular passage.

Further, the translation is difficult: There are two alternative renderings which in the end give much the same sense. "He (that is, God) jealously yearns for the devotion of the spirit which he has made to dwell within us," or, "The Spirit which God has made to dwell within us jealously yearns for the full devotion of our hearts."

In either case the meaning is that God is the jealous lover who will brook no rival. The Old Testament was never afraid to apply the word jealous to God. Moses says of God to the people: "They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods" ( Deuteronomy 32:16 ). He hears God say, "They have stirred me to jealousy with what is no God" ( Deuteronomy 32:21 ). In insisting on his sole right to worship, God in the Ten Commandments says, "I the Lord your God am a jealous God" ( Exodus 20:5 ). "You shall worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous God" ( Exodus 34:14 ). Zechariah hears God say, "Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy" ( Zechariah 8:2 ). Jealous comes from the Greek zelos ( Greek #2205 ) which has in it the idea of burning heat. The idea is that God loves men with such a passion that he cannot bear any other love within the hearts of men.

It may be that jealous is a word which nowadays we find it difficult to connect with God, for it has acquired a lower significance; but behind it is the amazing truth that God is the lover of the souls of men. There is a sense in which love must be diffused among all men and over all God's children; but there is also a sense in which love gives and demands an exclusive devotion to one person. It is profoundly true that a man can be in love only with one person at one time; if he thinks otherwise, he does not know the meaning of love.