AP

1 Samuel 19:4-5  Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”

The sin of jealousy is a very deep-seated aberration of the image of God in fallen man, and, if we leave it unchecked and unacknowledged its insidious power can cause havoc in our relationships and well-being.  Our God is perfectly justified in being ‘jealous’ of our worship and affections, and of his holy name, as he tells us in the first few of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20; Deut.5): we belong to him through creation and redemption, and the ‘jealous/exclusive’’ love and commitment of a husband and wife to each in marriage is an important aspect of this expression of ‘jealousy’ – ie for each other, not of each other!.  God is a ‘jealous’ God because he is God.  He has every right to lay claim on his right to rule supreme in the universe he has created to display his glory, and we would hardly expect him to do otherwise.

But we are not God, and everything we have is a gracious gift from God, giving us no right to any gifts he bestows on others, but rather to rejoice in their blessing (Romans 12:9-16).  The fact that so many things in our world go wrong today can start with unaddressed ‘jealousy’ – individual against individual, family against family, social group against social group, nation against nation.  It’s hardly surprising when we realise that the first person born on this earth (Cain) killed his brother (Abel) because of jealousy (Genesis 4:3-8).

Now, as we read through this depressing part of 1 Samuel, it is clear that jealousy possessed the soul and mind of King Saul, even to the point of severe mental instability.  Young David was his greatest asset.  Saul gained great kudos from David’s victories over the Philistines; David was God’s gracious provision to help him be a more successful king.  But in the wickedness of his heart, Saul would rather kill David, ‘cutting off his nose to spite his face’, than run the risk of having to share his glory with another.  Saul was not content with being God’s representative among his people – he wanted to beGod among his people, and therefore could not tolerate a ‘rival’.  He had already received two significant rebukes from Samuel for failing to submit to God’s authority (13:13-14; 15:22-23), and clearly he had failed to identify and deal with the source of the problem in his own heart – jealousy!

We see this pattern repeated throughout Scripture.  Even Jesus’ close disciples were slow to learn from their Master’s teaching and example that leadership/authority in God’s Kingdom comes through humble service and submission (Mark 10:42-45).  Are there any relationships in our lives that are rendered less a source of blessing, to us or others, because of jealousy?

– Bruce Christian