Jealousy Versus Humility: Where's Your Heart?

1 Samuel 18:1-30

At this point, David has defeated Goliath and all of Israel has taken notice...even Saul. Saul even asked the commander of his army about David's family and hometown. (Oddly, he already had this information from months before when David came to work in his court, playing the harp to sooth his foul moods.) In any case, David's victory over Goliath had earned him the hand of Saul's daughter in marriage; but, it didn't quite go down that way.

David told Saul that his father was Jesse and they were from Bethlehem. Then, David met Saul's son, Jonathan and became instant friends. From that point on, David was not allowed to return home as he had been previously. So, his and Jonathan's bond grew stronger and they made a pact of friendship - a huge deal in that day. And, Saul made him a commander over his troops because whatever he did was successful.

As the army returned from finishing off the victory that David started, by killing Goliath, the women came up with a victory song and dance. They sang that Saul had killed thousands and David ten thousands. Errrr. Say what? Now, we already know that Saul was an arrogant man. That's why his kingdom was in a slow downward spiral as it was. So, you can imagine his rage when he heard this.

Perhaps you recall that tormenting Spirit God put on Saul when David was anointed king. Well, it was back with a vengeance and a hatred for David. He was so jealous that ozone day, as David was playing the harp, Saul hurled a spear at him, hoping to pin him to the wall. But, David escaped...twice. So now, Saul has cycled through jealous anger to pure jealousy to jealous fear of David, all in a couple days. But, David stayed right there, just as humble as ever.

In fact, after Saul sent him away to command 1,000 troops in battle - which, of course he did successfully - he refused his rightful reward of Saul's daughter for a wife. So, a couple things with this. First, Saul surely dragged his feet in holding up this end of the deal. In fact, if he hadn't seen it as a way to possibly get rid of David, he may have never offered. Secondly, David's humility didn't allow him to bring it up, even though that reward was among his reasons for killing Goliath in the first place.

In any case, Saul told David he could marry his oldest daughter, Merab, if he fought the Philistines, hoping they would do his dirty work for him. David refused because he still identified with his humble beginnings and didn't see himself as worthy. But, then Saul's daughter, Michal, fell in love with David and Saul used that as a second chance to have David killed.

This time, Saul was more cunning. He had his men go to David and butter him up, so he wouldn't refuse Michal. David told them he couldn't afford the bride price. They reported this to Saul, so he made David an offer he couldn't refuse. He set the price at 100 Philistine foreskins, claiming that vengeance on his enemies was all he wanted. Of course, David was happy to oblige and even came back with twice the required price.

Well, now what? Not only did David not die in battle, he more than accomplished the mission and now Saul had to give him his daughter. Now, it became painfully clear to him that The Lord was with David and there was nothing he could do about it. So, his anger and fear and jealousy led him to become and remain David's enemy for the test of his life. Meanwhile, David remained humble, despite the fame he earned as he continued to be more successful than all his peers.

So, what can we learn from this story? As usual, that's a loaded question, but I will offer up a few ideas. The most obvious, I think, is that jealousy gets you nowhere. For all his rage and jealousy, Saul was still without God's favor and David still had it. Instead of trying to harm those who have things that we like or want out of jealousy, it would be more productive to focus on improving ourselves to get in a similar position - or one more suitable for us. Things that we see others with are not always good for us.

That feeds into the other major point here. When God does have something for us, we can't let pride get in the way of it. We have to remain humble, glorifying God for whatever it is that he has gifted us with and continue in it faithfully. David fought every battle in the name of The Lord and gave God the praise for every victory. We have to be the same in our lives, no matter how big or small we may think it is.

Thank you, Lord, for your justice. We know that we can trust your judgement in our lives, so we don't need to be aloud or arrogant. You know the plans you have for our lives and you are a rewarded of those who diligently seek you. Help us to be seekers, humbly doing your will and glorifying g you at every opportunity. Correct us when we let our flesh get in the way, so that we don't stray too far down a deadly path. We love you, Lord. Help us to always show you that love in the way we live our lives for you. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.