DEFEATING THE GIANT OF JEALOUSY
1 Samuel 18:1-5
INTRODUCTION: After David defeated Goliath, it seemed like he was loved by everyone. King
Saul loved David. Saul’s son Jonathan loved him, and all the army commanders loved David
too. Everywhere David went and everything he did succeeded. 1 Samuel 18:6-7. There is a
green-eyed monster of jealousy in all of us. King Saul became extremely jealous of David:
1 Samuel 18:8-9. One day later: 1 Samuel 18:10-11. Doesn’t it seem strange that the Lord
would send an evil spirit to Saul? 2 Chronicles 18:12-22 is another example of God using evil
spirits to bring about His will. Saul’s jealousy turned to fear: 1 Samuel 18:12-14.
I. JEALOUS OPPOSITION CAN COME SUDDENLY!
Sometimes the more right things you do, the greater the jealousy of others will grow as they
watch God bless your life. Jealous opposition can come very quickly and unexpectedly. When
David rose up that morning, he had no idea he would be facing a Green-Eyed Monster.
Jealousy often grows in an atmosphere of fear: 1 Samuel 18:12-15. Fear is the first emotion of
man described in God’s Word: Genesis 3:8-10. Fear will either make you hide or fight and Saul
chose to fight. When we are attacked if we will simply trust our God He will be with us just as He
was with David: Hebrews 13:5-6; Proverbs 29:25. If we chose to act in anger and jealousy, it
can very easily lead us into sin: James 3:13-18.
II. DAVID’S FEAR OF THE LORD ALLOWED PEACE TO REIGN IN HIS HEART!
David’s trust in the Lord, his fear of the Lord allowed him to live a life at peace in his heart:
Psalm 23:1-3. Often our jealousy can play itself out in very subtle ways. The next thing King
Saul does is to promote David and ask him to become his son-in-law: 1 Samuel 18:16 -17.
Eventually Saul gave his second daughter to David. Now why did Saul do that? 1 Samuel
18:20-21. What did King Saul think of his own daughter? 1 Samuel 18:24-30. King Saul’s
jealousy pushed him even further: 1 Samuel 19:1-2. Remember the Pharisees wanted Jesus
dead and used Judas’ love for money against Him: Matthew 27:15-18. We must think of
someone’s motives for saying bad things about others because their sayings may not be true:
Proverbs 27:6. When we do know our friends have done something wrong, we are to confront
them privately: Galatians 6:1. God protected David from King Saul: 1 Samuel 23:14.
III. TWO IMPORTANT FACTORS TO OVERCOME JEALOUSY!
There are two important factors given us in God’s Word to help us overcome the results of
someone’s jealousy of us. We need spiritual encouragement! 1 Samuel 23:16-17. Jonathon
encouraged David in the Lord! Encouragement is the act of replacing fear with courage in
someone’s life. We must learn to trust in the Lord: Psalm 37:25. How had David overcome
adversity in his own life? Psalm 37:1-9. We must learn to maintain our own integrity and
continue to do good when others become jealous of us: Romans 12:17-21. David always did
good to King Saul: Psalm 37:4. When we delight ourselves in the Lord He will change or adjust
the desires of our hearts to match His desires in our hearts: Psalm 37:5-6. We need to learn to
commit our heavy burdens on the Lord: 1 Peter 5:7. It is not always easy to trust in the Lord:
Psalm 37:7-11. At times waiting can be painful. Yet as we trust God in our times of jealous
opposition, He will give us the strength to overcome the jealousy of others.