The God of the Bible,
a model for violent jealous husbands ?
They tell us that the principles of morality are in the Bible. Thus let us see what in this book one advises to us when the person we love and we are bound with, by a reciprocal commitment, is unfaithful.
This situation was indeed lived on several occasions by the God of the Bible, who established a pact with his people, the Hebrews, pact by which it was said that He will protect his people in return for their exclusive worship: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt … Thou shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20, 2-3). And God goes on saying: “I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren of them that hate me and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments” (20, 5-6).
We are thus in front of one characteristic: the Old Testament does not tell stories of husbands or wives tormented by jealousy, because in it the couple is never based on love nor on a reciprocal commitment, but only on the acquisition of a good by a man, whereas the God of Israel can be jealous because there is a contract between his people and Him, a reciprocal commitment: the idolatry is thus an unfaithfulness to this commitment (there was at the time no commitment of fidelity between spouses).
Another characteristic: this jealousy of God is related to his anger and to harsh punishments, even very violent ones.
The Second Commandment already announced a tough resentment: “… (the jealous God) visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation…” (Exodus 20, 5).
Thereafter, a large number of occurrences bind jealousy and anger, as for example “For the Lord thy God is a jealous God… lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth” (Deuteronom 6, 15); or: “they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them” (Isaie 26, 11). Anger brings on the punishment, which can be mutilation (“And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword”, Ezechiel 23, 25) or a series of natural disasters (“For in my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken: surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; … the mountain shall be thrown… every man’s sword shall be against his brother… And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands … an overflowing rain and great hailstones fire and brimstone”, Ezechiel 38, 19-22).
In fact, such texts, in our civilization, will lead people to be not firm enough with the excesses of brutality that jealousy causes, since God himself sets the example. And being under the influence of jealousy when one strikes or kills has been long regarded as a mitigating circumstances.
To conclude, they can produce any proof of what they affirm: our models of morality are truly in the Bible…
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