Increasingly, parents and children seem to look upon each other with scorn and sometimes break into open anger and fighting. It is a passionate intolerance, even a hostility, toward a rival. In doing so, she has, in effect, declared war against God - a very serious sin. Zechariah 2:8 describes Israel as "the apple of His eye." Because she could not see past her baseless pride and jealousy, she was punished with barrenness. It is also defined as vigilance in guarding a possession. It symbolizes both refining and purifying, on the one hand, and death and destruction on the other. (From Forerunner Commentary). This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. Do we take the time to do the simple things like teach our kids to look an adult in the eye when he or she speaks to them? The strong attack the weak, and oppressed minorities fight to throw off the yoke of tyranny. We will be jealous to uphold the reputation of His name. Why not move over on the road and let others going faster drive by? John W. Ritenbaugh Is it our wish to provoke Him to assert His power? Jealousy is a violent passion in a man, not bearing a companion or a rival as to a thing or person which he loveth. One is positive, the other negative. We are His, and He does not choose to share us with anybody or anything else. In order to combat jealousy, we need to become more like Jesus and less like ourselves. On the other hand, Satan begins very early in our lives to plant seeds of carnal jealousy, never missing a chance to tempt us to react according to his evil spirit. Do we encourage our children to go last in line at a potluck? With warmth, ardor, and affection? He was eagerly desirous to do everything in his God-given power to present the church to Christ as a chaste virgin! Michal, revealing another aspect of her nature, accuses David of dancing shamefully before the maids of his servants. Jesus Christ himself chose the second Saul to be his evangelist to the Gentiles. Living by Faith and Humility. All others must go around. His attitude is not cool in any way, shape, or form, but hot. God encapsulates the reason for His terrible judgment against Edom into a single word: "violence." Uncontrolled lust for power, land and wealth can drive men to murder, if necessary, to obtain a coveted prize. The coals or the burning embers seem as if they are pulsating with heat and energy all the while they are slowly being consumed and their energy dissipating. James shows ever so clearly that the root of these problems is lust, merely one expression of human nature. Leviticus 19:17, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart," succinctly describes the fundamental flaw in Edom, hatred. When no proof could be brought, the wife was called on to make this solemn appeal to a heart-searching God. JEALOUSY. It is a case of divided loyalties. Notice, Paul was not jealous of these people but for them, and maybe that is part of our misunderstanding of godly jealousy. John W. Ritenbaugh It is good to be jealous that God receives what is due Him. The various definitions of the Greek word zeloo (often translated as "affect," "covet," "desire," "envy," "jealous," or "zealous") provided by Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words give us some insights: "to seek or desire eagerly," "to desire to have," "to take a warm interest in," "to seek zealously." How can that be? Today’s devotional first warns of the consequences of jealousy in bible, and then suggests ways to overcome jealousy. He understands that God assigns a place in the outworking of His purpose to everyone He calls. What was Paul's motive for teaching and guiding the church? Similarly, fire is hot, and it is both positive and negative. Hatred against a brother can lead a person to terrible acts, most often underhanded ones. Conversely, instead of entering a room charged with a negative attitude, perhaps we encounter a positive one. Instead of envying Jesus' success, John rejoices that both men's purposes were being fulfilled. For those younger folks who may not know, chivalry was an ancient, knightly code emphasizing the virtues of service to others, honor, love, and courtesy. We sense it or discern it immediately. Like every Bible character's story, the life of King Saul serves as a mirror for us to uncover our own faults, confess them to God, and make changes. What, then, is the motive and object of God's jealousy? It is a case of divided loyalties. Jealousy Martin G. Collins Edom's hatred is the primary consequence of his pride. Earnestly? In fact, in Deuteronomy 4:24, His anger becomes so hot that He describes Himself as being a consuming fire. This is the law of jealousy — “It is not to be wondered,” says Grotius, “if God, among his own people, produced a miraculous effect for the detection of a crime most heinous, and very difficult to be proved. Today, we might call Michal a "party pooper," but in reality, her transgression was far more serious. Her embarrassment—which no one else seemed to share—blinded her to the larger occasion of giving God glory. Such people do not realize that their self-righteousness is as the filthy rags of the prodigal son (Isaiah 64:6). Diligently? Labor and management throw verbal bombs at each other. Being jealous is not always wrong because God is a jealous God (Ex 20:5) that despises worship of other gods and so Paul wrote, “I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2nd Cor 11:2). It was totally enveloped in fire, yet it was not destroyed. The two cannot dwell together. When we think of nations at war, do we also think of what a happy situation it is that people are being killed, families separated, property destroyed or confiscated, hopes and dreams shattered, and futures ended? Human nature expresses itself in vanity, jealousy, lust, greed, murder, hatred, avarice, competition, lying, stealing, dishonoring parent, fornication, adultery, and - the most damaging of all - idolatry. What was the object of his jealousy? In the case of the Edomites, their vile attitudes first manifested themselves in such things as gloating and rejoicing over Israel's catastrophes, and led to actions such as pillaging, selling into slavery, and taking the other's territory when Israel and Judah were weak. Parables of Luke 15 (Part Three). John W. Ritenbaugh It contains many different shades of red, orange, and yellow flowing together, and if it gets hot enough, one can see deep shades of blue in it as well. Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible ‘For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every worthless deed.’ For jealousy and selfish ambition and self-assertiveness simply produce confusion and worthless, useless and vain practises and a church at war with itself (contrast 1 Corinthians 14:33). This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. As a consuming fire, He will either purify or destroy with His passion. We’re told that jealousy is a fruit of the flesh (Galatians 5:21), an antonym of love (1 Corinthians 13:4), a symptom of pride (1 Timothy 6:4), a catalyst for conflict (James 3:16), and a … This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. They frequently erupt for the same basic reason as national wars. Instead, they "only" sold him into slavery, telling their father that he had been torn to pieces by a wild beast. At other times, and certainly in most cases of human bias, the respect of persons is clearly wrong from the outset, and the carnal reactions of those it affects just makes matters worse. He is either for something with a great deal of ardor, or He is against something with a great deal of fury. I would be admitting defeat. The left lane was built for me! If he does not, pride will arise and muzzle humility by means of a character weakness. I would be a loser in life's rat race.” Most people fail to consider that, even if they win the rat race, they are still a rat! It would also hinder the guilty from escaping, and the innocent from coming under just suspicion. Prayer and Seeking God. Yet, more often, human partiality toward or against others opens the proverbial can of worms. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?—by dividing our fellowship between Him and idols (Eze 20:39). These two ideas, jealousy and consuming fire, have something in common, as Deuteronomy 4:24 suggests: Our jealous God is a consuming fire!