Where does jealousy come from?

The story of Saul, David and Jonathan is one in the Old Testament that is not hard to figure out how to apply. There are many lessons within this soap opera situation, but the general themes seem to be jealousy, friendship and loyalty.

It is so interesting to think about where Saul's jealousy comes from. If we take the account sequentially, Saul is not aware (that we know of) of David anointing to be King after Saul, until after David slays Goliath at least. So, our first indication that Saul is jealous of David comes after Saul appoint David to lead his armies and there is another Philistine battle, where David slays more than Saul. Saul jealousy begins with David slaying more than Saul and didn't have much to do with succession of the throne at this point. (1 Sam 18:5-9).

Saul was chosen by the Lord to be the first King in Israel. He was admired by the people and had many talents and was very tall. He was anointed to be captain over Israel, though he was later called King. The anointing was a symbol of the endowment of the spirit from God and the monarchy became a Divine Institution to help fulfill the purposes of God.

It did not take long for Saul’s power to go to his head. And while he tried to do the right things, he did them without proper authority. He offered sacrifices without holding the proper priesthood, he did not wait for Samuel to come and preside over the sacrifices. This was inexcusable in the Lord’s eyes and from this point lost the endowment of the spirit and was rejected by the Lord. When Saul was confronted by the prophet Samuel, Saul said that he "feared the people and obeyed their voice" (1 Sam 15: 24). Saul asked for forgiveness, but sacrificing without proper authority was unforgivable. He was rejected of the Lord and the gift of the spirit was withdrawn.

This is where I believe Saul's jealousy began. It began with shame and guilt for doing something against the Lord's will. The jealousy of David became the manifestation for this. Jealousy tends to turn focus from changing and improving oneself to blaming others. Saul could never overcome this. He tried, he even swore not to kill David. But he could only focus on things that he didn't have instead of things that he did have (which is how Heavenly Father sees us according to Joseph Smith).

President Ezra Taft Benson gave a life-changing talk "Beware of Pride" he said that with prideful people, the praise of men rings more loudly than the praise of God. I have thought a lot about this. It is obvious what the praise of men is, but how do we recognize the praise of God for us and what do we do with that recognition. It almost seems incorrect to say that God has praise for me, but I really believe that he does. Not only does he have praise for us, but recognizing that praise is essential in our well-being, image and peace. It is not something that we have to report to anyone, in fact we should probably be like Mary and ponder it in our hearts, just letting that confirmation rest between me and the Lord. But if we can figure out how to recognize praise from the Lord, I think we can avoid the jealousy trap that Saul was in.

Samson, Samson, Samson

I thought I had posted on Samson the week I taught that lesson, but apparently I didn't. Here are belated thoughts on Samson:

I will be honest, the story of Samson frustrated me. I had such a hard time figuring out what to teach in this lesson. It seems pretty straight forward, but it really didn't make spiritual sense to me. Here's why: The Lord blessed Samson with great physical strength and was foretold to deliver Israel from their oppressors. His mother dedicated him to the Lord as a Nazarite, with specific covenants and laws to keep to show his dedication (cannot cut hair, cannot drink strong drinks, and cannot be around dead bodies). Samson grew with great strength, spiritually and physically. But then Samson made a choice to break a covenant with the Lord. He married outside of his tribe/faith.

But even though he did this, the scriptures tell us that the Lord was still with Samson and he was able to perform great feats of strength. In fact, every time Samson showed physical strength, it says "and the Lord was with him." In between each strength, Samson did something else that violated covenants or law, yet the Lord was still with him. This does not make any sense to me. The only way this makes sense is that Samson had a purpose to fulfill and the Lord allowed him to maintain his strength until His will was fulfilled. After pondering this and feeling pressure to figure out how to present a lesson that just didn't make sense, here's what makes sense to me:

Samson is an antithetical type of Christ:

Both births were announced by angel

Both given a purpose of deliverance – both spiritual and physical

Both grew up dedicated to God

But when given the chance to keep his covenants and covenants of Israel, Samson chose differently:

Samson killed, Christ helped live

Samson focused on self, Chirst focues outward

Samson gave in the temptation, Christ did not

Samson set aside covenants, Christ live the covenant even though he was to fulfill it

Samson’s motives were revenge, branching from pride (shouldn’t be treated this way)

Christ’s motive were love, even for those who did wrong to him.

It seems to me that Samson's purpose is: To show the world that you can’t deliver a people only physically (Samson), it must be spiritually as well (Christ).

What I Love aAout Ruth

My comment this week isn't a very long one. The book of Ruth is an exception to much of the Old Testament in that it is pretty straight forward. I love this story of integrity, compassion, love, hope, living within the law, charity and trust. But, here is what I love the most this time:

Ruth is from Moab. Isn't that great? At the end of the book of Ruth we find out that she has a son named Obed who is the father of Jesse, who is the father of David. King David. The line in which Christ comes through. The great thing about Ruth being from Moab is that the Moabites worshipped a variety of Gods. When Ruth told Naomi that Naomi's God would be her God, Ruth converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She did not belong to the tribes of Israel - the Lord's "chosen people." I find this incredibly significant!! In the New Testament, the Pharisees and Saducees and it seems the general Jewish population regarded highly only those who were from true lines descending from the tribes of Israel. Christ comes from a line a Moabite becomes part of the tribe of Israel only through conversion/adoption. So, technically he does not come from a pure line. Isn't this great?!? How wonderfully symbolic is it that the Savior of ALL mankind comes from a women of high integrity outside of the tribes of Israel. How truly wonderful that his own ancestry includes those who are open enough to accept Him, who are not as we say these days "born in the covenant." I think it gives hope to all and teaches us to be careful to not create our own expectations or putting limits on the Lord, but to follow the spirit and will of the Lord as it comes. Which means we need to live in a way so we can do that. We need to practice feeling the spirit, create our own opportunities to do that, so that when we are called by the Lord, we will know it. Like Ruth, like the original (and modern) twelve apostles, like a Primary teacher. Whenever and where ever.