THE SEIZURE
    Now let's look at the people who are the objects of jealousy.  I don't want to call them the "victims".  That word is not very popular these days.  It somehow connotes weakness, stupidity, or someone who is born to lose.  The world says, "Stop being a victim!" when it might demonstrate compassion, instead.

    The two victims from the Bible we will look at are Abel and Joseph.  In each case jealousy resulted in a seizure-both were taken suddenly because of jealousy.  Jealousy is a temptation that will seize hold of you if permitted.  We are not told how Abel or Joseph felt, or what they thought when jealousy grabbed them.

    Genesis 4:2 tells us that Abel was a shepherd.  We read in verse 5, he "brought of the first born of his flock and of their fat.  And the LORD respected Abel and his offering."  Verse 8 says, "Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that he rose up against Abel his brother and killed him."  And so Abel's life came to a sudden end because of Cain's uncontrolled jealousy.  The jealousy he could not control seized him, and took his brother's life.

    Verse 6 says, "Cain was very angry and his countenance fell."  Did Abel notice, or was he so happy that God had respected him and his offering that he never even saw the scowl on his brother's face?

    Being received into God's presence and feeling His pleasure certainly can make the things of earth grow strangely dim, as a familiar song says.  But maybe Abel did notice that Cain was unhappy and felt a little bit sorry for him.  He may have tried to tell him how to present his offering so it would be accepted.  He may even have offered to trade sheep for vegetables.   
   
    We don't know what they talked about.  We don't know what Abel's last thoughts were when his brother rose up against him.  This was total betrayal.  Jealousy seized Cain and he killed his brother.  What Abel felt-fear, confusion, disbelief, even anger-the Bible doesn't tell us, only that his blood cried out to God.

    When jealousy seizes a person, the outcome is sometimes death-physical death.  Just read a newspaper and you will probably find a story of someone who was killed because of jealousy.  Jealousy in the church is much more subtle.  When someone is operating or moving in the power and presence of God, they frequently become the object of jealousy.  Perhaps they, like Abel, are so happy to be having an intimate encounter with God, they fail to notice the looks of judgment, envy, or animosity.  The thought never even crosses their mind that they may have become the target of someone caught in the sin of jealousy.

    When confronted by jealousy in another person, there may be feelings of confusion, disbelief, and self-doubt.  It is very hard to believe that anyone would be mad at you just because you were in God's presence, or because you received recognition for working hard toward a common goal.  It is upsetting when someone else is disturbed by the fact that you got something nice.  Attempting to appease a jealous person, when you are the object of their jealousy, is an exercise in futility.                       

       The end could well be the death of a relationship, one person or another leaving the group or even the church, or even possibly a person separating themselves from everyone, even God.  When jealousy strikes this hard a blow, I believe the heart cries out to God, just as Abel's blood did.

    Let's look at another biblical example of the impact of jealousy.  Joseph's story is in Genesis 37:3-28.  Verse 3 tells us, "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age.  Also he made him a tunic of many colors."  I am sure that Joseph loved his father and was very proud of the tunic.  The narrative continues: "But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him."  They had unquestionably allowed the sin of jealousy to rule them.  Joseph shared two dreams in which his brothers became his servants and they hated him even more.

    Later, when the ten older brothers were out feeding the herds, Jacob (Israel) sent Joseph out to check on their progress.  He had proved to be reliable as an overseer in the past, much to the chagrin of his brothers.  When they were not where they were supposed to be, Joseph was so committed to fulfilling his father's wishes that he persevered until he found them.  In verse 18, we read: "Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him."  Nice Jewish boys, yes?  His oldest brother Reuben saved his neck by coming up with the idea of just throwing him into a well while they talked things over.  When a band of Ishmaelite traders happened on the scene, Judah convinced his brothers to sell Joseph, and tell their father that he had been killed by a wild animal.  So Joseph was sold into slavery and his jealous brothers were glad to be rid of him.

    We know that Joseph rose from slavery to a position of prominence within the Egyptian government, and lived to see the fulfillment of the dreams that so angered his brothers, but how must he have felt when he was standing at the bottom of a well knowing most of his brothers wanted him dead?  Was he thinking how unfair this all was?  Was he grumbling to himself about how rotten his brothers were?  Was he worried about how broken-hearted his father would be if any harm came to him?

    I think Joseph may have been experiencing all these different thoughts and emotions.  I'm certain he also was praying.  The intervention of Reuben and the appearance of the Ishmaelite traders were extremely timely events for young Joseph.  Although I don't know how it feels to be tossed into a well or sold into slavery, I too have been overwhelmed by the circumstances I found myself in because of someone's jealousy.  What I heard God speak over and over was, "Keep your heart clean."  It sounds simple, but for me it was not.  I tried and tried to love the person whose jealousy was hurting me, but I ended up walking away from the whole situation, leaving a church I had been committed to for several years.  It took months to get over the feelings of betrayal and hurt.  Through it all, God kept telling me, "Keep your heart clean."

    I believe that Joseph was able to keep his heart clean throughout his cruel betrayal by his jealous brothers.  I wish I could tell you how he did it.  As difficult as it was for me to do, with the Holy Spirit living in me, for Joseph to keep a clean heart without the Holy Spirit was quite an achievement.  Somehow he was able to keep loving his father and totally trusting his father's God.  Joseph was definitely one of the greatest men of faith ever, in my opinion.  To withstand the destructive force of jealousy, we must do what he did-totally trust our God.  AMEN.
 

Read:    Part 1         Part 2        Part 4

 

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