Everybody Loves a Parade

Monday, March 10, 2008
Read 1 Samuel 18:1 through 20:42.

(18:8-9) Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. (NIV)

Can you see him basking in the glow of his people's praises? With the Israelite army in tow, Goliath dead and the Philistines soundly defeated, women were making their way from all the towns celebrating and cheering. "It's good to be the king," I'd bet nearly anything Saul actually thought. Can you see him taking in all the festivities... the singing and the dancing, the tambourines and the cymbals? "Everybody loves a parade," he might have said as he waved, while deep down relishing the idea that it was HIS parade.

Then it happened. Those celebrating women hit the "refrain that galled him." Once heard it would've been like fingernails on a chalkboard, bringing what pride he was taking in himself to a screeching, sobering halt. And you realize like the refrains in our joyous songs today that it would have been repeated, each time driving thoughts of jealousy into his mind with the force of a jackhammer. These women supported Saul but swooned over this newcomer... David is his name, right? "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands."

Keep watch over King Saul as we continue through his saga. He's been in a bit of a downward spiral anyway, but from here on it really comes tumbling down. His envy of David will be the reason. Can you relate? Have you ever experienced real difficulty because you grew jealous of someone else? And how has God dealt specifically with what envy you've felt?

Envy is thin because it bites but never eats.
Spanish Proverb