This is a good question to ponder. It is similar to asking questions like: Why does God love us? Why does God hate sin? Why does God desire to be worshipped? The Scriptures tell us that God's thoughts are higher than ours and His was are far above ours to fully understand.
I think of reasons why God is He is a jealous God along these lines:
God knows that He alone is God and there are no other gods, even if anyone chooses to worship one other than Himself. Therefore all worship of idols is false because the god worshipped is just a vaporous idea with no substance, no power, no divinity, nothing to offer the worshipper.
God knows that worshipping Him is the best for all He has created. He knows that only He can satisfy all of what His creatures and wants to do this for those who worship Him alone.
God knows that idolatry can never bear good fruit. Its fruit is always rotten and, even more so, poisonous, always destructive to the worshipper.
God knows that what He has in store for all those who believe in Him and worship Him only is far more than what anyone can ever have in this life., that is eternal life of knowing Him and His Son, Jesus.
God knows that idolatry leads to more and more sin, which He hates, and it deadens us to Him even more.
God has compassion for those he has created and so does not want His creatures to suffer needlessly due to idolatry.
God desires for all to be saved through faith in Him alone. Anyone who worships idols cannot have this salvation He desires for them to receive.
God's ultimate purposes in creation, redemption, and eternal life are not realized by idolaters. These people do not receive the gifts He has laid up for those who worship only Him.
I hope these ideas help you to understand why God does not want us to turn from Him to any idols or to choose to worship Him and idols at the same time. This is what He is jealous about. This jealousy is for our good, not because He is selfish or conceited.
This is a good question to ponder. It is similar to asking questions like: Why does God love us? Why does God hate sin? Why does God desire to be worshipped? The Scriptures tell us that God's thoughts are higher than ours and His was are far above ours to fully understand.
I think of reasons why God is He is a jealous God along these lines:
God knows that He alone is God and there are no other gods, even if anyone chooses to worship one other than Himself. Therefore all worship of idols is false because the god worshipped is just a vaporous idea with no substance, no power, no divinity, nothing to offer the worshipper.
God knows that worshipping Him is the best for all He has created. He knows that only He can satisfy all of what His creatures and wants to do this for those who worship Him alone.
God knows that idolatry can never bear good fruit. Its fruit is always rotten and, even more so, poisonous, always destructive to the worshipper.
God knows that what He has in store for all those who believe in Him and worship Him only is far more than what anyone can ever have in this life., that is eternal life of knowing Him and His Son, Jesus.
God knows that idolatry leads to more and more sin, which He hates, and it deadens us to Him even more.
God has compassion for those he has created and so does not want His creatures to suffer needlessly due to idolatry.
God desires for all to be saved through faith in Him alone. Anyone who worships idols cannot have this salvation He desires for them to receive.
God's ultimate purposes in creation, redemption, and eternal life are not realized by idolaters. These people do not receive the gifts He has laid up for those who worship only Him.
I hope these ideas help you to understand why God does not want us to turn from Him to any idols or to choose to worship Him and idols at the same time. This is what He is jealous about. This jealousy is for our good, not because He is selfish or conceited.
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