The Jealousy of God (Exodus 20:4-6)

First Scripture Reading: Isaiah 44:1-28

Second Scripture Reading: Acts 17:1-34

Sermon Text: Exodus 20:4-6

In his systematic theology textbook, John Frame clearly explains the jealousy of God and why we should find comfort in this attribute among God’s many others. Frame writes:

God’s jealousy is not inconsistent with his love or goodness. On the contrary, his jealousy is part of his love. Although…God has some love for all his creatures, he has an exclusive love for his own people, and he demands the same of them. When they violate that love, he behaves as a godly husband: he becomes jealous. There is nothing wrong with that jealousy. It reflects the intensity of his care for the love-relationship. When a man’s beloved wife turns away and loves another man, he is rightly jealous. If he were not, that would be evidence that he does not care for her.

1. Read Exodus 20:1-6. What is the significance of the preface to the Ten Commandments according to Westminster Larger Catechism Q/A 101? What is the relation/connection between the first and second commandment?

2. What are the duties required and the sins forbidden in the second commandment according to Westminster Larger Catechism Q/A 108-109?

3. What are the reasons attached to the second commandment according to Westminster Larger Catechism Q/A 110?

4. What do the following verses reveal about God’s jealousy? Exodus 34:10-17; Deuteronomy 32:15-22; Hosea 2:16-23; Ephesians 5:25-27.

5. How is the second commandment fulfilled in Christ? (John 14:9; Colossians 1:15)