Both in the Greek and English there are two words that are very similar in meaning – “jealousy” and “envy.” Here is a good explanation of the differences in the two words. “While often used interchangeably, envy’ refers to wanting something someone else has, while ‘jealousy’ is the fear of losing something one has.
God gave the nation of Israel a king because they wanted one rather having God as their king (I Samuel 8:6). He gave them Saul because he was the kind of king the people wanted. It wasn’t long into his reign until he disobeyed God twice (I Samuel 13; 15) and God took the kingdom away from him, even though God allowed him to continue to reign for a number of years.
Even while Saul reigned, God selected David to be the next King. At first Saul had a good relationship with David, but as David’s popularity grew, Saul became very jealous of David. After David defeated the Philistines the woman sang a song which said, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (I Samuel 18:7). This, of course, made Saul even more jealous of David.
The traits of jealousy he demonstrated can be found in any of us who becomes jealous of what others have. Note the traits of jealousy manifested in Saul that the Holy Spirit recorded in I Samuel 18. (They will be listed in the order in which they are found in the text).
Anger – “Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him” (v. 8). He was jealous of the praise that the women were giving David. He wanted that kind of praise. A jealous person today becomes very angry when he or she sees another’s popularity growing. The jealous person wants others to see him or her as “the best.”
Suspicion – Saul said, “Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” (v. 8). This text shows that in Saul’s mind he became very suspicious of David. His mind imagined all kinds of activities which would take attention away from himself. At this point David may not have even known that Saul was jealous of him.
When one becomes jealous of another, he sees every action of the other person as an attack on his or her popularity. Whereas the one who is creating this jealousy doesn’t even know his or her actions are even noticed by the one who is jealous.
Fear – Because Saul had disobeyed God, God had rejected him but let him continue to reign. Because Saul was angry with David and suspicious of his every action, he now began to fear him. Actually, he was afraid that David might take from him his praise and popularity. Saul saw himself declining in the eyes of others and David increasing in popularity. “Now Saul was afraid of David” (v. 12). He is not afraid David would physically kill him; He was afraid of losing his high status with the people. Jealousy makes anyone afraid of losing popularity with people. The one who is jealous wants to be “Number One” in other people’s eyes. Losing that popularity makes one fearful because he or she feels insecure.
Dread – “When Saul saw that he (David) was prospering greatly he dreaded him” (v. 15). People who are filled with jealousy dread being around the one for whom they are jealous. They dread the feelings of losing people’s popularity. They dread what else they may lose to their opponent.
Plot – Saul wanted to get rid of David so he told David that he would give his oldest daughter to him if he would fight against the Philistines, thinking the Philistines would kill David. That way, he would get rid of his source of jealousy, but not be guilty of killing him, himself.
Being jealous can cause one to do all in his or her power to get rid of the one to whom he or she feels inferior. That may be done through character assassination – spreading lies about that person. Pointing out his or her faults so that the person he or she is jealous of will not look so good and at the same time make the one who is jealous look better.
An Enemy Continuously – When nothing Saul did exalted himself and lowered David in the eyes of the people the text says, “Then Saul was even more afraid of David. Thus Saul was David’s enemy continually” (v. 29). After a long period of time of being jealous, one then cannot get that person out of his mind and so it is a continuous dread that fills the mind. By being jealous of another, he or she actually, mentally, makes himself a slave to the one he or she is jealous of.
The Answer to Jealousy
What can you do if you are the person someone dreads because he or she is jealous of you? There is probably nothing you can do to change the mind of the one who is jealous of you. But, what you can do is revealed in the text about David. “David behaved himself more wisely than all the servant of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed” (v. 30).
Wayne Burger
