“NOBODY ELSE SHOULD HAVE IT EITHER”

But I ask, “Did Israel not understand?” First, Moses said: I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that lacks understanding.  Romans 10:19

            I may not want something and even turn up my nose at it but at the same time, I don’t want anyone else to have it either.  Jealousy has many manifestations.

            The Jews rejected Jesus and though He called them “His people”, they did not call Him ‘their Savior’.  When the apostles were sent to the Gentiles, the ones the Jews believed to be spiritually inferior, their jealousy erupted.  This is not the first time in scripture that one group rejected Christ but were then jealous of those who embraced what they had rejected.

            In Acts 5, the Sadducees (a stricter group of religious people than the Pharisees) saw the popularity and power of the apostles and were so jealous of them that they began persecuting them severely.  We might believe that if they didn’t want Jesus, they simply wouldn’t be interested in anything the apostles were saying or doing.  But, that’s not the way it worked nor the way it works today.

            Jealousy is not rational. Even though the Sadducees didn’t want the apostle’s faith, they did want their charisma and influence, which was really the anointing of the Spirit (though they didn’t understand that.)  Their own teaching was probably lifeless, full of rules and regulations. They were proponents of the law and sticklers for keeping every “i” dotted and “t” crossed.  Their listeners would have been bored.  The only ones who enjoyed their company were like-minded legalists.  They had few converts and I’m sure it was hard to watch the apostles’ zeal and see thousands embrace a faith you believed was misguided.

            Today, a similar jealousy can be among us.  Those who have been the spiritual fathers of a certain church can come to see the church as ‘their church.’  But when the move of the Spirit is quenched by familiarity and tradition, God takes the fire and zeal to a new generation.  Those who look, dress, and worship differently suddenly occupy their seats, once considered to be reserved for pillar families in the congregation who had claimed them as their own spot Sunday after Sunday.  There can be an indignant and unrighteous response, believing that God has done wrongly in extending the Gospel to an untamed and undeserving crowd.  God uses jealousy to stir up the pot and allow the impurities to come to the surface.

            To personalize:  Am I rejoicing over the ways the Gospel changes all lives?  Am I grateful for the favor God puts upon others if I am in a wilderness?  Can I express my joy over the providence of God and trust His sovereignty?  If any twinges of jealousy stir in me as I read or write this, I have an issue with God and He invites conversation in prayer.

Bless my enemies and help me mean it in all seasons of my life.  Amen