Jealousy

By Stephen Terry

Sabbath School Lesson Commentary for February 26 – March 4, 2011

"Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. 'They have credited David with tens of thousands,' he thought, 'but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?'  And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David." 1 Samuel 18:8-9, NIV

Jealousy is older than the earth. The Bible tells us that jealousy brought about the change in heart that turned a perfect angel into the Devil.  Given a preferred position as a covering cherub, Lucifer, found this not enough for his ambition. He craved more and brought civil war to heaven to obtain it.  The Bible describes Lucifer's fall In Ezekiel 28 and Revelation 12:

‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.  Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.  Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings." Ezekiel 28:12-17, NIV

"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."  Revelation 12:7-9, NIV

One gift for mankind that the Devil brought with him to the earth was his jealousy. It bore early fruit. Jealous of his younger brother, Abel's, relationship with God, Cain took his life. Thus began a sordid history of jealousy and murder that runs throughout the Bible.  Jacob's sons are early examples. Joseph's brothers wanted to kill him as a result of their jealousy, but instead human trafficked him into slavery in Egypt. The jealousy and its results nearly destroyed their father. (The account is in Genesis 37.)  

Later, it poisoned the rule of Israel's first king. When King Saul became jealous of David, he became obsessed with killing him, and attempted it many times. With Joseph and with David, God overruled and preserved their lives.  As Joseph so prophetically said in Genesis 50:20: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." NIV

The most dramatic example of jealousy getting the upper hand is in the New Testament with the treatment of first John the Baptist and then Jesus Christ. Jealous of their influence with the people, the religious rulers plotted against them. In the case of Jesus, even one of his disciples schemed against Him.  However, here also God's purpose overruled and Jesus' death did indeed result in "the saving of many lives."  John recorded in his gospel in chapter 3, verse 17, that Jesus was sent "...to save the world through him." NIV 

These and many other accounts illustrate the sad results of jealousy in the Bible. But in every case, those who became jealous overlooked the blessings that God had given them personally.  Those blessings became secondary to their desire to have what someone else had been blessed with.  Cain overlooked the skill with farming that God had blessed him with. Saul overlooked that God had blessed him with an entire kingdom. The religious leaders overlooked the position and responsibility that God had entrusted to them when they crucified Jesus.  Just like the Devil, in each example, someone was not happy with the blessings they had been given, and wanted what belonged to another.

But jealousy is more than that. The jealous person manages to somehow turn the tables and justify their behavior by claiming that he and not the target of his jealousy is the victim.  They see God's blessing of another and feel that something has somehow been denied to them. Then they set about scheming how to obtain what is not theirs.  They may initially simply attempt to make the other person feel guilty for receiving a blessing.  Hoping that guilt will motivate the other party to share with them, they attempt to manipulate them to give them what has not been given to them by God.  When that fails they begin to self-talk a justification for severing their relationship with that person. They start to portray themselves as the victim of the other person's lack of caring. The other person is no longer seen as a person fully entitled to God's blessings, they are seen only as an obstacle to the jealous person's happiness and fulfillment. Once the relationship becomes thus objectified, the step to animosity and ultimately murder becomes much easier. To do violence or to kill a person is hard. To remove an obstacle is much easier. While some might never go as far as murder, Jesus said that the evil of character assassination is just as evil. (See Matthew 5:21-22)

The jealous person is not really a victim. God sends his blessings on all. "...for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45, KJV  It is well and proper for God's people to rejoice in the blessings He sends them.  But doing so does not victimize those who do not receive the same blessing. Instead all should rejoice at one another's blessings.  We do not all receive the same blessings for a reason. (1 Corinthians 12 expounds at length on this.)  But each of our gifts or blessings enhances those of everyone else.  We should rejoice at our blessings and share them as doing so not only increases the effectiveness of another's blessing but also increases the effectiveness and enjoyment of our own.  When we realize this we will rejoice with our brothers and sisters for their blessings as well as our own and encourage them in honoring God through their recognition and use of His blessings.  

One day, all jealousy will be laid to rest, and the earth will be made new. (See Revelation 21)  I look forward to that hope. Isn't that a wonderful reason to put jealousy aside now as we prepare for that day?

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