“Preeminence Threatened!” – FBC Morning Light (5/8/2023)

Well, a good Monday morning to you. I hope your weekend was a good one, that you had a good time at God's house yesterday, meeting with God's people, hearing from the Lord, worshiping him, and just taking the opportunities you had on the Lord's Day for some spiritual growth and refreshment, spiritual refreshment.

David and Goliath as a Victory That Glorified God

Today, in our Bible reading plan, we're reading in 1 Samuel 17 and 18, Acts chapter 2 and the 91st Psalm. I really debated, should I focus on Acts 2, but there's so much rich stuff in 1 Samuel, isn't there?

Chapter 17, of course, is the battle of David against Goliath and that great victory that really was motivated by bringing glory to God and resulted in that very thing, that God got the glory. He's the one who gave this great victory from this young guy who just threw a stone and did away with Israel's enemy, Goliath.

Saul's Jealousy Over David's Success

That moves us into chapter 18, where I really wanted to focus our attention and realize how quickly and easily jealousy rises in the heart of someone who thinks that he should be preeminent, that he should be the center of attention.

Of course, I'm talking about King Saul, who was filled with rage and jealousy when he heard the accolades that David was getting. We read women saying, as the army comes back to town, women are singing, Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands, and Saul became very angry with this.

You think about how foolish this really is. Here's a man who is getting older, I'm thinking of Saul, we don't know how old Saul was at this particular time, but he's clearly much older than David. He's filled with rage because this younger man has enjoyed great success, I should say, because God has graciously used this younger man to help defeat Israel's enemy, and therefore defeat Saul's enemy.

So here's a man who should be appreciative of what God has done through this young man, and should be encouraging him, and really praising him for his faith and trust in God, and for his being an instrument in God's hands to bring about such a great victory.

But rather than appreciating the success and the accolades that this younger man gets, and to think that someone other than I is the beneficiary of such praise and such exaltation, rather than appreciating that success, he views him instead as a threat, and therefore begins to hate him, and look at him as his enemy.

So this comes out very clearly in verses 6 through 15. So Saul became in verse 8 very angry, the saying displeased him, and he said, they've ascribed to David ten thousands, to me they've ascribed only thousands, now what more can he have but the kingdom?

What more can he have but the kingdom? That statement, that question, indicates the fear that Saul had. He felt threatened by this young man, that this young man could end up taking over the kingdom and taking it away from me.

Of course, you and I know that's exactly what's going to happen eventually, but he doesn't realize that at the time. He doesn't know David's in line to take over the throne, he doesn't know that. He just sees David's success, he sees the way people respond to him, and he responds, Saul responds, in fear and looks at David as a threat.

Therefore, he hates him, and therefore, he wants to eliminate him. So by the time you get to the end of the chapter, down to verse 29, it says, Saul was still more afraid of David. What was he afraid of?

He was afraid David was going to kill him? David was going to assassinate him or something? No, no, that's not what he was afraid of. He was afraid that people would like him. He was afraid that people would want him to be their king.

And so, we read at the end of verse 29, Saul became David's enemy continually. This is an Old Testament story that occurs between two men, both of whom were going to be kings. Saul was the king, David was going to be the king.

Jealousy in the Workplace and the Church

It'd be easy to relegate this to the past, but let's not forget that this is an ongoing reality, and many of you have known this. You've experienced it, you've seen it at work, in your workplace. A boss feels threatened by one of his employees, one of his underlings, he's afraid that that guy's going to try to get his job, and so he undermines that other guy to keep that from happening.

But let me tell you, unfortunately, this isn't limited to the secular workplace and to an Old Testament monarchy. The same kind of thing happens in the church, and it's a tragic thing, it's a terrible thing, and it shouldn't happen.

There should not be a jealousy and that kind of thing, but unfortunately, there is. A man like my age, who's getting up in years, can look at a younger pastor and look at him as a threat, that he's going to take people away from me, he's going to take their affections away from me, and therefore eyes that younger man suspiciously.

I don't know, I've been on the receiving end of that, maybe others have as well. But what a tragedy, what a tragedy. No, the spirit of the Christian heart should be to esteem others better than themselves, and to rejoice in the success of others, and to praise them and encourage them in that ongoing success.

This should be the attitude of heart that we all should have. Well, let's be challenged by that today. Our Father and our God, we thank you for this Old Testament account that reveals even a modern tendency today.

Deliver us from such a spirit of jealousy, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. All right, listen, I hope you have a good Monday, and your week gets off to a great start. God bless.