Saul’s Envy

 (1 Samuel 18:1-19)

In the passage before us we see that after David had killed Goliath and everyone returned from the battle, that the women were praising David more than Saul. They said that Saul had killed thousands but David had killed ten thousands. Saul could not handle this and became very envious. This Envy led Saul to try and kill David himself with a javelin. He then devised a plan to try and have the Philistines kill him.

Even though Saul failed because God was protecting David, we can still learn a valuable lesson from this regarding the dangers of envy. In this lesson we will look at some things that the word of God says in regards to envy, the dangers of envy and the results of envy. Before we begin with what the word of God says about envy, we need to get a definition of the word.

Envy – to fret or grieve one’s self at the real or supposed superiority of another and to hate him on that account.

Somethings that the word of God says about envy:

One of the first things that the word of God says about envy is that it affects everyone (Proverbs 27:4). This verse says “who is able to stand before envy”. We also see that Proverbs 14:30 likens envy to rottenness of the bones. Envy is also given in the list of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:21). Note the context that we find in it in Romans 1:29 as well. The word envy is found 26 times in the word of God and not one of them is good.

What are the dangers of envy?

1)  It slayeth the silly one (Job 5:2)

2)  It led the Jews to deliver Jesus to Pilate (Matthew 27:18)

3)  It led Joseph’s brother to sell him as a slave (Acts 7:9)

4)  It led to an assault on the house of Jason (Acts 17:5)

The Results of Envy?

From Genesis to Revelations the result of envy is never good. Can you think of anything good that has come from envy in your life? James says it best in James 3:16 when it says “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work”. Let us take heed to the word of God and do everything possible to avoid envy.

Saul’s Envy : Handout

 (1 Samuel 18:1-19)

1) What is happening in the passage and how does it relate to envy?

2)  What is a good definition of the word envy?

3)  What are some things that the word of God says about envy?

4)  What are the dangers of Envy?

5)  What are the results of Envy?