Saul's Jealousy

It's interesting to note that after David killed Goliath King Saul's attitude began to sour. What a day. With all that David had done so far was to obey every command also.

David had risked his life out of loyalty to his God. Loyalty to his people and loyalty to his king, but beloved the king was jealous, discovered today. Jealousy was the source of chaos and destruction would let you join us for the Saturday edition of Renewing Your Mind by we went for making her way through Dr. RC's Pro series on the life of David and the lessons learned today have implications for everyone of us sooner see no apparent link in their ministries. We have a man who works as our Dir. of A/V production.

In fact, even today he's working on this program for your benefit and for mine but one of the distinctive characteristics of this man is that he is a devotee of Elvis Pressley. He likes to sing Elvis songs he likes to do. Elvis person, nations, and I doubt if there've been many examples of people who have become a phenomenon of American culture. The way Elvis Pressley did. I have to admit that I was alive and can remember vividly his first appearance on toast of the town. The Ed Sullivan program and what a raging sensation he was overnight. The so-called meteoric rise took place. He was catapulted into the public eye and I remember also in the weeks and months that followed, that the press trailed Elvis Pressley all around and myriads of articles were written about in the magazines and in the newspapers chronicling the team would go out and buy a pink Cadillac and then a powder blue Cadillac and he had six or seven of these cars, a fleet of them and all of the pendants were saying that Pressley was a flash in the paying and that he was going to regret this sudden catapulting into an extravagant style of life, but in another sense Elvis Pressley lived the American dream because he achieved fame and fortune virtually overnight. It's a Cinderella kind of story but so often in our fantasies, our dreams of fame and fortune. We overlooked the stark naked reality that such experiences more often than not, are catastrophic to a person's life. There is an enormous price that people have to pay for instant thing and perhaps no one in biblical history exhibits that truth more clearly and more deeply than David. You can imagine after the killed Goliath how rapidly his fame spread not only through Israel, but through the whole Middle Eastern region of his day. He was an overnight sensation instant status and fame accompanied him, but at the same time as David experienced this radical change in his life from the quiet domestic life of a shepherd where he could enjoy his solitude. His time of reflection and meditation before the living God. Now that all changes and he becomes visible to everyone around him and what happened to David is what happens to many people who achieve instant fame. The first thing that happened to him. Of great significance was that he became a target of jealousy. That of course came principally from the king whose troops were defended by David, let's look at the text in first Samuel chapter 18 before we get to the reaction of Saul to David's overnight fame.

Let's look at what is introduced in the beginning of the chapter and verse one that when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore, and then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David with his arm or even to his sword and his bow and his belt. What is introduced here at the beginning of this chapter is a relationship between two men, a relationship of bonding that serves as the supreme biblical model of loyal friendship. If anybody in the world had reason to be jealous of David. It was Jonathan. If anybody in the world had reason to be afraid of David.

It was Jonathan why Jonathan was the crown prince of the kingdom of Israel. He was the heir apparent to the throne of Saul, David could have been seen immediately through the eyes of Jonathan as a potential threat and rival to all of Jonathan's own aspirations. But instead of a response of fear or envy or jealousy. The response of Jonathan was one of love, his soul was Nick to that of David later on we will see that Jonathan realizes early on that he himself will not receive the throne of Israel and that instead David will ascend in his place, and even when that Takes Pl., Jonathan shows not 1 ounce of envy or bitterness or threatening.

But if anything takes place. The bond between these two men grows even deeper and in a very real sense, Jonathan risked his life as we will see later out of his love for David. But that was the response of the son of Saul, it was not Saul's response. Initially Saul was excited about this victory. David had got him out of a jam. He was looking embarrassed before all of his troops before the whole nation that the taunts of Goliath and now David had rescued him, and also inquires as to the family of David and asked David to leave his phone and come and live at the palace of the king. But that relationship turns sour in a hurry and what causes it. If we come back to the text and look at chapter 18, we look at verse five where we read and so David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved wisely and Saul said him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants, but 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. What we do in the United States when there's an extraordinary feat of heroism or accomplishment. We welcome our heroes in New York City with a tickertape parade we get a convertible and we get the hero and set them up in the back seat of the convertible road bike and see him and he drives down the street that he's waving and the people are throwing flowers and confetti and tickertape and all the rest, as they praise and laud the hero that's not something unique to America.

That's human and in all cultures. Heroes are given hero's welcome, but in this triumphal procession.

The person who stood at the head of the procession was Saul he was the leader. He was the king.

It was his army that had just been victorious through the heroics of David to be sure, but nevertheless Saul now is basking in glory, and the people are coming out to greet him and the women are flocking in the public square, singing and dancing and celebrating with music and they sang this song.

Saul has slain his thousands, and David is 10,000.

They understand there should have been enough. Glory to go around. Saul was being honored in this song. This was not a John Hyde and Saul.

There was public recognition that Saul was a hero. He had slain his thousands. However, there was one paradigm 10 times better. David has slain his tens of thousands and so the text goes on to say.

Saul stood forward and took David by the hand and stood at the front of the multitude and said, hail David are mighty conqueror.

Think about how David why we all proud of this young know that's not what he did what was his reaction to this public celebration.

Verse six says this, then Saul was very angry and the saying, displeased him and he said they have ascribed to David 10,000s and to me, they have ascribed boldly thousands as if that were nothing now. What more can he have, but the kingdom so that Saul I David from that day forward. Sometimes in the Bible like we have in a good novel.

We have the literary device of foreshadowing and there is the foreshadowing in this text that is at the same time foreboding. We are told that Saul from that day on, began to I David this led bears watching. Why would I David all that David had done so for was to obey every command also. David had risked his life out of loyalty to his God. Loyalty to his people and loyalty to his king, but beloved the king was jealous, just pause right here for second and ask you the question have you ever in jealous of anyone.

Have you ever experienced other people's being jealous of you to have any idea how utterly destructive that peculiar human emotion can be how many reputations have been destroyed, how many friendships have been violated, how many wars have been fought that were driven by this perverse attitude of jealousy. Jealousy is so damaging that one form of it actually is elevated to the status of one of the 10 Commandments.

The 10th commandment prohibits the coveting of another person's property and covetousness is a mild form of jealousy. Jealousy is covetousness run amok. It creates a rage of hatred, unjust hatred of one person for another. We even have an expression in the American culture color him green that the person becomes green with envy. And so it was with saw his jealousy knew no bounds and coupled with jealousy almost always is that twin emotion fear I could add to that list hatred, spiteful hatred, the kind of hatred that wishes it will upon arrival, the New Testament says that we are to rejoice with those that rejoice and to be abased with those who abase and that we are to celebrate every member of our bodies. Prosperity or success, but instead there are those who set now the fear that is in the heart of Saul is if David is so famous. If David is so popular that there singing that he is killed. His tens of thousands. What else can this can get. He has all the fame he has all the adulation. The only thing left for him that he doesn't have yet is the king. My king, and Saul determines from that day, driven by his rage, driven by his jealousy, driven by his fear that that shall never take place in it happened on the very next day.

We are told in verse 10 that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul and he prophesied in the house and so David played music with his hand as at other times that there was a spear in Saul's hand and Saul cast the spirit for he said, I will pin David to the wall, but twice.

David escaped his presence a notice in verse 12 the depths of the degeneration of the king.

Now Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him. Why in the world would anybody be afraid somebody if they knew God was with him unless they knew that they themselves were at enmity with God, I read that is, if that were complete sense that Saul was afraid of David because he knew that God was with him but there's a comet. There is not simply because he knew that God was with David. But what comes after the, God had departed from Saul.

So now you can see the jealousy is escalating to the highest possible proportion. Now he's jealous not only of the favor of the people that rests upon David, but he's jealous of the favor of God the realize my friends jealousy ultimately is a grievous sin against God because all of the fortune and prosperity or gifts that we receive in this world we receive from the hand of God's benevolent province, and when I am jealous of another person. What I am saying. Bottom line is God. It is not fear that you should allow this person to have that possession or that office or that success, or that achievement and you have not given it on to me so that every time we were jealous we show hatred to our fellow persons. But above all, we express our anger with God's house so deal with this. Saul had promised that anyone who killed the champion Goliath that he would receive his daughter in marriage, and he tried to give one daughter to David and that the work and then Michael. We read in verse 20. Saul's daughter love David and they told Saul and the thing pleased him not to visit me here comes the report to Saul so I know you were supposed to give your first daughter to David. He didn't do it. You fudged on that one but you still have Michael here and we can still keep your word and let's give Michael to David as his wife because she loves him and this pleases Saul, why because also, I've always wanted my daughter Michael to marry a hero like David Oro.

Isn't this wonderful now. David, the champion can become my son-in-law. No no no. Here's what pleased him. He scheming already on how he can get rid of David and so he comes the day Lisa I let you have my daughter Michael is your bride and you won't have to pay a dowry of money. I know your poor shepherd boy you don't have anything saved up but we have to have some kind of dollars and I'll tell you what the dollar is I want the foreskins of the Philistines taken in battle and so Saul says give me 100 foreskins of the Philistines and take vengeance on the king's enemy. Why did he do that.

The Scriptures tell us in verse 26 Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the fullest. He wasn't trying to honor David. He was trying to destroy what price fame and fortune to be suddenly thrust as a target jealousy of rage that was the lot the hearts of men haven't changed every in the jealousy, revenge is really nothing new under the sun. But as we learned today from Dr. RC scroll those things don't belong in the lives of God's people. I hope you'll stay with us here on Renewing Your Mind.

RC will have a final thought force in just a moment there are so many important themes were learning about in the series on the life of David. Today we touched on Jonathan's loyalty to David we saw Saul's jealousy and we saw David's honesty or part of the framework of God's redemptive plan. A resource offered today will help you connect the dots to see how the Old Testament relates to the new. It's the special edition adductors ProSeries dust, the glory of 57 part study tour exploring the themes and events of the Bible and the special edition set provides an extra disc containing the study guide for the series to request us to glory. When you go to Renewing Your Mind.org or when you call us at 800-435-4343, as we near the close of 2020 we look back on uneventful years only. We look back on a global health and economic crisis, increasing lawlessness and political unrest. We as Christians are uniquely prepared for times like this, we may not know what's coming around the corner but we do know that we been entrusted with a message of salvation and we here at leader ministries intend to faithfully proclaim that message.

Your urine gifts will put us on a strong financial footing as we present the 2021 proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

So I want you to know how thankful we are for your financial support that was promised yours RC with a final thought in our corm diode thought for today I want us to look into our own souls and see how much jealousy resides there is an easy thing to deny but it is so common, it is so normal and natural for human beings to be eaten away inside by an ungodly spirit of jealousy.

Jealousy is never befitting in the life of the Christian and the only way I can know to combat that effectively in our own lives to transcend that human penchant and tendency towards jealousy is that every time we feel the slightest twinge of jealousy we need to make that be a lightbulb go off in our minds jolt to our memory systems and remember at that moment. This is a sin against God. It is an assault against his kindly profits if I am jealous for what somebody else has were for what somebody else enjoys that I lack my jealousy signals immediately. My displeasure with the very government of God, who gives and who takes away so I need to be reminded of that. The first instant feeling of jealousy comes next week will discover some of the tragic results of Saul's jealousy. So I hope you'll join us for the message titled Saul's judgment and David's blessing here on Renewing Your Mind