El Kanno

This week we studied El Kanno, The LORD whose Name is Jealous. Many of us have trouble wrapping our mind around the idea that God is jealous. How can that be? The preconceived negative meaning of what we believe jealousy to be flies in the face of the very character of God. After finishing the homework and listening to Eva’s teaching I believe we came away with a solid understanding of who El Kanno is.

What I Learned in the Homework

Before delving into the homework, I just wanted to let you know that we were blessed with a new homework writer this week – thank you Marcy! As we have in the past, we began our lesson by looking to the first mention of El Kanno in the Bible: “Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim. Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.  Otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods” (Ex. 34:12-16, NASB).

The homework gave us the all-important context of these Scriptures.  After Moses had met with the LORD and received the Ten Commandments he returned to the camp to find the Israelites worshiping the golden calf.  You will remember that Moses then destroyed the stone tablets in his anger at the people.  He again ascended to the mountain of the LORD to plead for forgiveness. God reassured Moses of His faithfulness but included a very strong warning against idolatry.  God made Himself known to the Israelites as El Kanno in light of their propensity to fall into idol worship.

The Hebrew word kanno  is associated with redness, fire, and heat. It describes a burning, passionate emotion. We also learned that the word kanno is translated two different ways in the Bible.  It can mean zealous or jealous.

 Negative Kanno:

“When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy” (Acts 13:45b).

“When feelings of jealousy come over a man because he suspects his wife” (Numbers 5:30).

When we think of human jealousy here are a few of the definitions that may come to mind: fearful or wary of losing affection or position, resentful or bitter, or inclined to suspect rivalry.  

Positive Kanno:

“When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law” (Acts 21:20).

“Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal” (Numbers 25:11).

We are probably less familiar with another definition of jealousy. It can mean to be vigilant in guarding something.  This brings us to the type of kanno that is used in conjunction with the LORD.

God’s Kanno

“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

The above verse shows us how different godly jealousy is from human jealousy.  Paul wants the Corinthians to have the kind of relationship with the LORD that he has. Negative jealousy wants to take.  Godly jealousy wants to give.

The homework stressed that God is passionate about us. He wants us to feel the same way about Him as He feels for us. It describes the relationship as a ‘romance of exclusivity’.  Our relationship with God is not one characterized by unhealthy possessiveness or of co-dependence. We will find joy in healthy submission to the God who loves us unconditionally!

What I Learned in Class

Eva began her lesson by bringing us to Exodus 20: "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-5).  She pointed out that these verses are found before Exodus 34:4 where God first identifies himself as The LORD whose Name is Jealous.  In this passage God characterizes Himself as being jealous. When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments He made His intentions very clear.  It says in Deut. 5:7, “You shall have no other gods before me.  He alone is God and will not tolerate sharing this position with anyone or anything. He goes on to tell us: “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Deut. 5:9).

As we also learned in the homework, Eva touched on the difference between human jealousy and Divine jealousy.

Human Jealousy

She explained that human jealousy can be righteous. An example of this could be when a woman flirts with a married man. It would be right for the wife to feel jealousy because the other woman was no right to that woman’s husband. Selfish jealousy is very different. This type of jealousy would be characterized by wanting what someone else has. Taking the above example, a single woman may be jealous of a married woman, wishing she were married too. Eva then explained the difference between jealousy and envy. Still sticking with the above example, envy is when the single woman would not only be jealous of the married woman, but her desire would be to deny that other woman of her husband.

Divine Jealousy

“You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” (James 4:4-5).

In the verses that we covered in the homework and the above verse from James, we can see how seriously God takes the covenant He has made with His people. God consistently likens idol worship to adultery and prostitution. We have discussed through the year how idolatry plays into our own lives. We may not pay homage to a golden statue but there are things that take a position that only God should have (children, relationships, possessions, even ministry). These things may even be good things, but good or evil, God sees it as spiritual adultery.

Eva left us with a very powerful point. She asked us to think about a marriage relationship. Suppose one partner was flagrantly involved in an extra-marital affair yet the wronged spouse was totally unmoved by this. In fact, the spouse encouraged the relationship. How would you characterize this marriage? Is it one of love? Saint Augustine had said “He who is not jealous is not in love.”  It is right for a husband and wife to desire and expect faithful love from their partner. God’s intense jealousy for us is a manifestation of His intense love for us.

God’s jealousy for us is not characterized by a passing emotion. His desire is for our best. He loves us so much that He knows that nothing short of our full-fledged faithfulness to Him will satisfy us. It says in 1 Corinthians 10:22“Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”. Eva encourages us to be in a place where we satisfy God’s jealousy and never provoke it.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jer. 31:3).