Envy is a Troublemaker

“And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played (his harp) with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand.  And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it.  And David avoided out of his presence twice.”  I Samuel 18:10-11

Saul, king of Israel and David’s soon-to-be father-in-law, was extremely jealous of David because David was becoming more popular with the people of Israel than himself.  Saul only allowed David to marry his daughter Michal believing that she would be a snare to him (18:21).  King Saul was not about to let David destroy, either intentionally or unintentionally, his position as king over Israel.  Saul was never God’s choice to be king.  God only allowed him to be king because the people desired him, and God knew that they would have to learn the hard way that their choices were not necessarily the best for the people of Israel.  When he was anointed, God’s Spirit rested on Saul, but God could also remove His Spirit which He did after David was anointed king.  Saul also suffered bouts with severe depression, but God would relieve him of these evil spirits when David played his harp.  Today, Saul would probably be diagnosed with a bi-polar disorder, but his heart was prone to evil and not being a man who was humble enough to repent, God allowed Satan to once again invade his heart and mind.  There is no evil in God, and therefore, He could not send an evil spirit, but rather gave Satan permission to do so.  In Job 1:9-12, God had also allowed Satan to test Job.

Under Satan’s influence, Saul came up with an idea to rid himself of David, his perceived threat.  To lure David into his presence, Saul pretended to prophesy in the center of the palace.  Under the control of evil spirits, he likely sounded like a madman, thus David, as in times past, began to play his harp to soothe Saul.  Music does have a tendency to soothe the savage beast, at least temporarily.  I don’t think David was aware of Saul’s intense hatred for him at this time and was unaware that Saul had a javelin in his hand.  Perhaps God allowed David to be utterly surprised by Saul’s attempted attack in order to teach David that there were some who were close to him now and some in the future who could not be trusted.

Saul hurled the javelin in David’s direction.  He intended to pin David to the wall, but God was protecting David.  He quickly moved out of the way.  Saul likely thought that he would be successful because he had the element of surprise as David trusted him and would not expect Saul to murder him.  When Saul saw how easily David avoided the javelin, Saul knew that God was with David but not with him.  He became quite fearful.  Would David retaliate?  Saul decided to give David the position of captain over 1,000 of Israel’s troops in order to keep him occupied and away from the palace.  Every time Saul had to look at David, it only reminded Saul of his failures.  Even so, he could not humble himself to repent to the LORD.

There was a benefit for David in being out in the field and among the public.  His presence gave the people of Israel an opportunity to see him up close and personal and to observe his wisdom, integrity, intelligence, and his faith in the LORD God.  David was an extrovert who enjoyed being among his soldiers and the people of the community.  He was eager to do a good job and please Saul and all Israel.  He was very conscientious of making wise decisions.  Most of all, David wanted to please God.  Naturally, Saul would get word of David’s popularity and success which would make Saul all the more envious and fearful.  Saul could likely see his kingdom slipping away from him all because he was filled with envy and did not depend on the LORD to guide him as he ruled the nation.  Envy is called the “green-eyed monster” because green is sometimes associated with illness, and deep envy can make someone sick with rage, hatred, and revenge, as it did with King Saul.  Sometimes folks become jealous over what others possess or the positions that they hold, but most folks do not want to take the risks and do the work that is required to obtain these things.  They just want it without working for it.  The tenth commandment tells us not to covet what others have.  If we trust God, He will provide all that we need and what is beneficial to us.  Envy is not very becoming especially for a believer.