The Torment of Jealousy

Highlights from 1 Samuel

Allen Snapp

Grace Community Church

May 14, 2023

The Torment of Jealousy

Happy Mother’s Day – please take a carnation as you leave

Let’s turn together to 1 Sam. 18

King Saul is an interesting character. Tragic, but interesting. When God chose him as king he started out well, but then disobeyed God’s direct commands and God rejected him as king. God then led Samuel to anoint David as king of Israel, but there is a lengthy period of time where David is anointed to be king but not yet appointed to be king. Saul still sits on the throne, but his reign is dying.

In chapter 16 it says the Spirit of the Lord descended upon David and departed from Saul. In place of God’s Spirit, it says an evil spirit began to torment Saul so much that they sent out for a musician to play and calm his tormented soul. David was chosen as that musician, so David would go back and forth from being with his father and playing the lyre to soothe Saul’s tormented soul.

Then David defeated and killed Goliath and now he is a household name. Let’s pick up in chapter 18 verse 1.

18 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. ³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵ And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

God’s favor is on David. Everything he does, everything he touches, is successful. Saul’s son Jonathan, who is a good man and a courageous warrior, finds his soul knit to David’s soul. There is a deep connection between these two godly young men and Jonathan loves David and David loves Jonathan.

Because everything Saul gives David to do is successful, Saul sets David over the men of war. David is now the commander in chief of Saul’s army. This was good in the sight of all the people. Everyone loved David, including Saul

Until something happens that plants a seed of jealousy in Saul’s heart. Verse 6

⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷ And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands,and David his ten thousands.”

⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on.

¹⁰ The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. ¹¹ And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

¹² Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. ¹³ So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

Before we go any further, let’s deal with a difficult issue found in chapter 16 and here. In chapter 16 it says the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit – the ESV translates it a harmful spirit - “from the Lord” tormented him and here in verse 10 it says an evil or harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul leaving him raving.

Let’s consider two questions: is this evil spirit a demon? And why does it say this spirit is from God?

Is this spirit a demon or is it describing the human spirit of Saul turning bad?

The quick answer to this is I don’t know. But I think it’s possible that it can mean both at the same time. By human spirit we mean the aura that emanates from them. It can be a temporary “spirit” that comes and goes such as when Jesus rebuked John and James for wanting to call down fire on a town, saying “you do not know what spirit you are of.” Or it can be a more settled spirit such as a person who has a murderous spirit or a perverted spirit.

By demonic spirit we’re talking about a demon entering and influencing a person. There are many cases of demon-possessed people in the gospels and they are tormented by the demon.

I think it can be both because someone with a murderous spirit has murder in their heart but there can be no doubt that the devil, whom Jesus said was a murderer from the beginning, is inspiring and feeding that human propensity to murder. Judas went to the chief priests to betray Jesus – that was his decision – but on the night he actually betrayed Jesus, it says that Satan entered him. Judas’ “spirit” was already going in that direction but at the crucial moment Satan entered him to fan that flame and harden his resolve.

Saul’s heart is going in a bad – evil and harmful – direction, and this spirit is just accelerating it.

Why does it say it’s from God?

We need to recognize that the Old Testament doesn’t have the developed teaching about Satan and his kingdom that the New Testament has. They knew about demon spirits and Satan but it was much less developed. So two possible answers to this question come forth.

We know that God isn’t evil and doesn’t tempt anyone with evil, but He is sovereign over all so nothing is outside of His sovereign reign. Evil is allowed for a time for a bigger good purpose that God has designed. The evil isn’t good but God will work all things together for good. So “from God” might very simply be God taking responsibility for it even though it’s not directly from Him. He does this in Job, where behind the scenes we see the evil that befalls Job is from Satan, but in the end God doesn’t explain that, He simply takes responsibility for it all.

Or it could mean that by the Spirit of God departing from Saul, it leaves evil in it’s place in the same way that light departing will leave darkness. Nature abhors a vacuum. Jesus said if a demon is cast out and something good not put in its place, it will come back with seven other demons.

My personal inclination is to think it is from God because by removing His Spirit from Saul it allowed Saul’s spirit, perhaps energized by a demonic spirit to turn bad. But what we do know is that Saul is being tormented in a general way in chapter 16, and only by David playing music is Saul’s spirit soothed, but in chapter 18 his evil spirit gets focused on and aimed at an individual because of jealousy.

Saul and David lead their armies out on military campaigns and have quite a bit of success so that when they return the women came out singing their praises. Problem is, they’re singing louder praises for David than for Saul.

“Saul has struck down his thousands,and David his ten thousands.” Vs. 7

When Saul hears this song jealousy hits him right between the eyes. It’s not that they’re saying bad things about Saul, they’re saying good things about him. They’re singing his praises – literally! The problem is that they’re singing Saul is good and David is great!

⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on.

Jealous has been called the “green-eyed monster” for good reason. In Shakespeare’s play Othello, jealousy is shown as a sharp fanged monster that feeds on people who had hidden feelings of jealousy.

Jealousy is different than envy in a couple ways. Envy wants something someone else has, jealousy fears someone else taking away something from us. A man gets jealous when he thinks another man might steal his girlfriend away. Saul sees his own prominence and admiration being stolen from him by David. The women’s song just opened the door to jealousy. Now Saul sees that all the people love David. His own son loves David. What’s next but the entire kingdom?

And that’s exactly what God is doing. Saul is losing his grip on the kingdom and David is strengthening his grip on the kingdom. From that point on Saul is determined to kill David. He throws his spear at him. He plots to have the Philistines kill him by offering his daughter Michal (who loves David!) to him in marriage if he can prove his worthiness by killing 100 Philistines (and proving it with gross proof). Jealousy is causing Saul to spiral downward and that will accelerate to his death.

I think at some point everyone struggles with jealousy in one way or another but we need to fight it with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jealousy torments our souls.

• Jealousy torments by creating a rivalry between us and the person we’re jealous of. We start to compare ourselves with the other person and to compete with them. We see their success as a threat.
• Jealousy torments us with the fear of losing something precious. It can be fear of losing our position or someone’s affection or our success being lessened because someone else gets more (as is the case with Saul. He was a success, it’s just that David was a bigger success).
• Jealousy torments us by making us insincere. We put on a public face to cover our true feelings.

So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. Vs. 13

In his heart Saul hates and fears David, but everyone else loves David so he can’t let his feelings show, so he elevates David in order to remove David from him and to put David in greater danger with the hope that David will be killed. Saul is tormented now by having to live a double life: public and private. What’s going on in here, and what he shows out here.

David, by contrast, isn’t seeking more. He isn’t competing with Saul. He doesn’t care that much about what the women sing. He is secure, at peace, content, and sincere. He is who he is through and through. He is a man of integrity.

Our lives belong to God. Who we are, what we become, what we accomplish, how much outward success we achieve or don’t achieve – it’s not based on what other people do. It really depends on God, but the choices we make play a big part. Saul could have gone in a different direction with different results. He could have obeyed God. When he was confronted about his disobedience he could have repented. He could have submitted himself to the word of the Lord that he would lose the kingdom and another would take it and say, “God’s will be done.”

There is nothing more valuable than God’s favor upon our life. In fact, one of the meanings of grace is favor. God’s grace upon our lives is God’s favor. Jesus came to give us God’s favor when we did not deserve it. God gives grace to the humble – He favors the humble, but He opposes – that is, He makes life difficult for the proud.