El Qanna

Arrival at Mount Sinai

After the Israelites departed from Rephidim (where Moses struck the rock to bring forth water and they battled against the Amalekites), the Israelites finally arrived at Mount Sinai. 

This was the mountain where Moses had originally encountered God in the burning bush, so it was located near to where Moses had been a shepherd in the land of Midian. 

One of the things that God had spoken to Moses out of the burning bush was that he would return to this location:

 …When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. Exodus 3:12

God introduced Himself as El Qanna

Soon after this, Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. It was as God was carving out the first three commandments that He introduced Himself as El Qanna. He said, I the Lord thy God am a jealous God [El Qanna].

The first three commandments had to do with how the Israelites related to God:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

The Israelites had never before had a formal relationship with God. Everything that they knew until then was handed down by word-of-mouth. But now, God wanted to establish a structure for them to depend on, something that would span more than just the one generation. When He said that He was a jealous God, and then defined jealous God, He was explaining why it was important for them to follow these Commandments.

Jealous God

Jealousy can be understood in two ways. We mostly define it today as a feeling of envy towards someone because of their advantages or their accomplishments. But this is not a Godly jealousy.

James said:

But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. James 3:14-16

The jealousy of El Qanna is more akin to zealousness. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel struggled with idolatry, abandoning their covenant with Elohim to chase after false gods. El Qanna was jealous, or intolerant, of this unfaithfulness because He refused to be in rivalry with false gods.

El Qanna’s jealousy was all about love. He wanted to protect His people, Israel, from the destruction of sin and bring them back into His perfect plan for their lives. It was a healthy jealousy, such as you would find in a marriage or with someone that you love.

Likewise, God likened Himself to being Israel’s husband, tenderly caring for them and wanting all of their love and obedience for Himself. El Qanna yearned for a deep level of intimacy with them. His jealousy was a reflection of His love.

El Qanna (El Kanna) in the Old Testament

The word qanna (also spelled kanna) in the Bible signifies a fiery passion or zeal. It was used almost exclusively to describe God’s refusal to share worship with idols. Jeremiah 3 defined idolatry as spiritual adultery.

God was only called El Qanna six times in the Old Testament, but His jealousy, or zeal for Israel can be found throughout. This attribute of God reminds us that God will not settle for half-hearted devotion. He is not content to be just our Sunday mornings. He wants to be our everything.

Jesus taught the attributes of El Qanna

Jesus gently taught his followers about the jealous nature of God. 

He said, No man can serve two masters … (Matthew 6:24), meaning that God claimed sole rights to His people and sole commitment from them.

He said, … no man cometh unto the Father but by me. (John 14:6), meaning that He claimed the exclusive pathway to God the Father. He was demanding the undivided loyalty and exclusive relationship that El Qanna desired in the Old Testament.

He said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matthew 22:37), meaning that God is the only worthy recipient for worship.

He called himself the bridegroom, paralleling God’s claim to be the husband of Israel. 

 The School of Life

Jesus also instructed by demonstration. When various men of the crowds wanted to follow Jesus, He challenged them. He told one, …leave the dead to bury their own dead … (Luke 9:60) To another, he said ... go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor…  (Matthew 19:21). 

Do you think Jesus was being unreasonable by not allowing them to take care of loose ends before they left home? My thought is that Jesus knew that in their heart of hearts they were not settled on making Him exclusively their master, and He would settle for nothing less. They may have simply wanted to follow him for a while to check him out. This could be the case since none of these stayed with Him.

Jesus was jealous over God’s house

Although we like to think of Jesus as the loving rabbi who walked the land, healing and teaching, He expressed the jealous attribute of El Qanna many times during His ministry.

When Jesus cleared the temple of the money changers with a whip. He demonstrated a burning, hot jealousy for the sanctity of God’s house. It was not to be a marketplace, but a house of prayer.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem

Jerusalem was the heart of Israel at the time that Jesus walked on the earth. The Temple was located there, and it was the gathering place for Jews from other parts of the world. Because of this, it held a special place in His heart. He expressed His zealous love in Matthew: 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matthew 23:37

Later, as He stood on the hillside overlooking the city, He lamented over their hardness of heart and spiritual blindness that would lead them to destruction.

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. Luke 19:41-42

Psalm 78

Psalm 78 is called a Maskil. It is less about praise and more about instruction. The writer put to poetry the various troubles that Israel had made for themselves and God’s reactions.

Maskils were often meant for teaching or meditation. The Hebrew word maskil comes from a root word meaning to be prudent or to have insight. Overall, the word maskil is found in the titles of 13 Psalms.*

As you read through this psalm, you can find various sections with themes. Several of these sections are listed below. As you read through each section, can you pull out the gist of what it is about? To get more insight, click the link below.

1. Verses 1-8: What do you think the important theme is for this section?

2. Verses 9-39 seem to cover a cycle of obedience and disobedience. What do you think the broken covenant was that was mentioned in verses 9 & 10

3. What cycle of disobedience does verses 40 to 55 talk about?

4. What do you think the writer meant in Verses 65-72 about rejecting Ephraim in favor of Judah?

Click here for insight