1 Sam 18:5-30 Saul’s Envy CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Saul envied David for the saying of the women who ascribed to David’s victories ten-thousands and only thousands to Saul, v.7-8.  And in Saul’s case look what this envy did to him and to his family.  Envy is:

Hateful – It caused him to eye David – v. 9 – all that did is make the matter worse, v.28-29 – once you envy someone they seem to be magnified in your sight and everything they do bothers you – you end up hating them – Tit 3:3

Evil – It contributed to his trouble with the evil spirit – v.10 – envy is responsible for a lot of evil – Jas 3:14-16

Deadly – It made him want to kill David – v.11 – that’s the same reason that the Pharisees decided to kill Jesus – Matt 27:18

Fearful – It resulted in him fearing David – v.12 – the remedy for the fear of man is the fear of the Lord, but a person overcome with envy is not in the fear of the Lord and he can end up fearing the person he envies – Prov 23:17 – the fear of man bringeth a snare

Confusing – It clouded his decisions with regard to David – v.20 – trampled on his daughter’s love for David, v. 21-22 – tried to have him killed for the dowry of foreskins, v.25 – ended up fighting against the Lord since it was the Lord’s decision to take the kingdom away from Saul and give it to David – and, of course, Saul was fully aware of this, v.8 – as Prov 27:4 says, who is able to stand before envy; David eventually had to leave the country to get away from Saul

Rotten – It eventually ruined Saul – Prov14:30 – and it will ruin you, too, if you don’t get rid of it Jas 3:14, Gal 5:20