Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him,
and he said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have
ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?’”
1 Samuel 18:8
David had defeated Goliath. The
Israelites were filled with joy. They sang and danced to meet King Saul. “Now
it happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the
slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel , singing
and dancing to meet King Saul, with tambourines with joy, and with musical
instruments. So the women sang as they danced, and said ‘Saul has slain his
thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ Then Saul was very angry, and the
saying displeased him, and he said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands,
and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the
kingdom?’ So Saul eyed David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 18:6-9). So we
can see from these passages that instead of having a grateful and thankful
heart because the Lord had delivered the Israelites through David, Saul focused
on what he considered was a slight to himself. His self-focus eventually
destroyed him. Self-focus can also destroy us. We are going to look at the two
main means of self-focus that Saul had. They are envy and jealousy. Envy is a
discontent or resentment because of another’s success, advantages, or
superiority. Jealousy is resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success
or advantage. It affects their feelings, disposition, state and mood. Their
focus remains on themselves and their slight instead of on God and His
greatness. God tells us in His Word that He abandoned the people that refused
to acknowledge Him. He abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do
things that never should be done. Romans 1:29 says that “There lives became full of every
kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy,
murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.” He goes on to say
in Romans 1:30 that “They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and
boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to
their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are
heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for
those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And,
worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.” As you can tell … they have
no respect for the Lord and no healthy fear of Him. God’s Word tells us that
when we “follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce
these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful
pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish
ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your
own little group, envy, drunkenness,
wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before,
that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God Kingdom of God Kingdom
of God
Father, we thank You for the written Word. We thank You for
what it can reveal to us. Lord, we come to You and ask You to be with us. Help
us to learn from Your Word. May we examine our own hearts. Is it full of
jealousy or envy? If it is, may we confess it as sin to You and may You take
out all the wrong feelings inside and replace it with Your love. In Jesus’ name
we pray. Amen.
Kimberly Lenz, Care
Ministry Coordinator
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