What does the Bible say about jealousy?

The Bridegroom's love is the ground of the bride's confidence, as the love of Christ is the ground of our confidence. This is a love that has been proved, and found to be strong as death. Death holds men in its strong grip. Death makes sport of all man's puny strength. From the fall onwards men and death have been in mortal combat, but death has triumphed all along the lines, until at last love — love divine — went down into the dark valley and entered into combat with death. At the Cross love came into conflict with death and love triumphed. Death could not hold back the love of Christ; death could not vanquish the love of Christ. Death took away His life but death could not take away His love. Love prevailed, for love yielded to death in order that love might triumph over death. "Death stung itself to death when it killed Him."

Jealousy is cruel as the grave. How pitilessly cruel is the grave. It swallows up the young, the loved, the fairest, and the brightest. It knows no pity, and so jealousy would deal without pity against all that would come between the Bridegroom and His bride. Christ must be supreme: "He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of Me," and therefore the Lord can say, "If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife and children, and sister, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." To "hate" has the sound of cruelty, but it is the cruelty of jealous love that brooks no rival. Almost universally men speak of jealousy in an evil sense, Scripture hardly ever so. It speaks even of a "godly jealousy." The Apostle can say of believers, "I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy" for, says he, "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2). His love to Christ, and his love to the saints made him jealous lest anyone, or anything, should come between them and Christ. He had no pity for any who, by false doctrines, would beguile the saints from Christ. If an apostle or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel let him be accursed. This was the cruelty of jealous love.

qana, 'to be inflamed.' The warm affection that cannot bear to see its loved one enticed by another, as a man is jealous of his wife, Num. 5:14; as Paul felt for the Corinthian saints, 2 Cor. 11:2; and as God regarded the people and the land which He had chosen, and upon which He had placed His name. Ps. 79:5; Ezek. 39:25; Joel 2:18; Zech. 1:14; Zech. 8:2. "Jehovah, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God." Ex. 34:14.

Moses speaks of Jehovah provoking Israel to jealousy by their seeing Gentiles coming into blessing. Paul also sought to do the same that they might be saved. Deut. 32:21; Rom. 10:19; Rom. 11:11, 14.

I also read Heb. 12:29. It seems very different to say, "Our God is a consuming fire" in contrast to "God is love," but really these statements go together. Our God is a consuming fire because He is love, because there must be an intense action both preservative of the good and hostile to the evil. Can God be indifferent to that which would hinder His love being known? Impossible. How does the mother feel towards the snake, which would bite her child? Love is a fire which many waters cannot quench, and he who understands the jealousy of love will be thankful that God is a consuming fire. He will understand it. Our jealousy is the result of selfishness, but God's jealousy is the result of absolute unselfishness. If we know the love of God, we are thankful for every attribute of His. If not, even His kindness fills us with dread.

It has been said that jealousy is inconsistent with love. But this is an entire mistake. Where there is the tendency to be unfaithful, the least movement in that direction, the determination to preserve the beloved object at all cost from evil must surely be aroused. In such circumstances where no jealousy is there is no love. He will not allow any attempt on the part of His people to connect His Table with the table of demons, and Himself with the demon. In chapter 11 we see what stern measures He takes to guard the Supper from desecration, and in this chapter we see He will not allow Himself to be associated with demons.

"Jealousy is cruel as the grave, the coals thereof are coals of fire, which has a most vehement flame."

There is something wonderful about the jealousy of Christ. The more a man loves the more he is jealous of any rival who attempts to steal away the heart of the one he loves from him. The intensity of Christ's love makes Him jealous of every influence that would dull or corrupt the affections of those who are espoused as a chaste virgin to Him. (See 2 Cor. 11:1-3.) How hateful must every influence appear to Christ that weakens our heart's affection for Him. The flame of His jealousy is like "a most vehement flame" because His love for His spouse is so great He cannot bear that any should steal her heart away from Him.

Nothing is so jealous as true love: it cannot bear rivalry. But, alas! how much the blessed Lord has to bear with us; for is He not often rivaled in our hearts? "Little children, keep yourselves from idols," is a word which is often forgotten and greatly overlooked. Anything that supplants Christ in the heart of a Christian is an idol, and ought to be judged and put far from us.

The Apostle convicts them of their carnality by calling attention to the conditions that existed amongst them. He says, “There is among you envying, and strife”. In their practical ways they walked as natural men. Instead of serving one another in love, as becomes saints, they were envious of one another and seeking to equal, or excel, one another in knowledge and the exercise of gifts, even as men of the world. Envy was thus at the root of all their strife. Perhaps there is no greater power for evil in the world than envy. Envy led to the first murder in the world, when Cain rose up against his brother and slew him; and envy led to the greatest murder in the world, when the Jews killed the Prince of life, for we read that Pilate “knew that for envy they had delivered Him” (Matthew 27:18). Will it not be found that envy has been the main cause of all the strifes amongst the people of God? The Apostle Peter warns us that envy knows no pity. It leads to “malice” and “evil speakings”, and the malice leads to “guile” by which a man attempts to cover up what he is, and “hypocrisies” by which a man pretends to be what he is not (1 Peter 2:1).

Nor has one to face before God such frivolous complaints only, but also the cruelty of wrath and the outrageousness of anger; for surely the sun ought not to set on either outburst or reserve in this way. But there is another evil feeling still more unworthy and dangerous: "Who is able to stand before jealousy?" Let us look up for grace to value anything good in another, and the more if conscious that we claim not that particular good ourselves. To allow jealousy in ourselves, or to let others insinuate it, is to give room to the great enemy.

Do you know anything of the spirit of discontent, of envy and jealousy, dear friends? That cannot bear to see God use others. Paul had not one particle of that. When the gospel was preached, no matter by whom, Paul could rejoice at it. And when Christ was preached, even of contention, not in sincerity, he could still thank God that it was Christ that was being preached, for in some way or other God would get glory out of it. Here is Ephraim, though, they are just simply jealous, because God had used a more spiritual instrument than themselves. Jealousy is a proof that God cannot use you. If you are jealous of another, if you are envious of the spiritual state, spiritual power of another, it is simply the proof that God cannot use you. You would not be jealous of another, if God could use you; and the thing that jealousy teaches first of all, is to go on your face in the very dust, and own to God that you are not a faithful instrument. The man who envies his brethren, should rather criticise himself. That is what Ephraim should have learned, but did not.

But, thank God, there is a bright side of the picture. There is mercy as well as judgement; and our God, blessed for ever be His holy Name, is something more than "a consuming fire and a jealous God." True, He is a consuming fire, because He is holy. He is intolerant of evil, and must consume our dross. Moreover, He is jealous because He cannot suffer any rival to have a place in the hearts of those He loves. He must have the whole heart, because He alone is worthy of it, as He alone can fill and satisfy it for ever. And if His people turn away from Him, and go after idols of their own making, they must be left to reap the bitter fruit of their own doings, and to prove, by sad and terrible experience, the truth of these words, "their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another."