Tag Genesis

God Overcomes the Green-Eyed Monster

Todd R 1 Comment

In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the evil Iago says the line: “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.”[1]

Jealousy can be a monster that takes control of us if we aren’t careful, so since at least 1603, people have been describing this powerful emotion as being taken over by the “green-eyed monster.”  What is this emotion?  Merriam-Webster says we are jealous when we feel “hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage.”[2]  Even though jealousy is a hostile emotion, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,”[3] so He must be able to work through the green-eyed monster.

The first mention of jealousy in the Bible comes from Genesis 37:11, which begins with: “And [Joseph’s] brothers were jealous of him.”   This jealousy came from the favoritism Joseph’s father Jacob showed toward Joseph over his 11 brothers, but also the dreams Joseph shared where his family was bowing to him.  So, in Genesis 37:19-20, the brothers “said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer.  Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.’”  But Joseph was rescued and ended up in charge of Egypt’s food supply during a famine, enabling him, through God’s providence, to feed and save the rest of his family.  Therefore, what started as jealousy resulted in Israel’s deliverance from famine.  Joseph tells his brothers: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”  (Genesis 50:20)

Later, in the New Testament, jealousy was a cause of the persecution of the early Christian church.  Acts 13:44-45 says “The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.  But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” and Acts 17:4-5 says “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.  But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.” (Emphases added)

The apostle Paul was quite aware of this fierce jealousy, but instead of getting upset and annoyed about it, he knew that God would use it for the good of His people.  In fact, while Paul knew his ministry to the Gentiles provoked jealous feelings among Jews, he also hoped jealousy would bring some Jews to faith in Christ: “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.” (Romans 11:13-14)

But the biggest example of God working through jealousy and its relative, envy, can be found at the cross.  Pharisees and other religious leaders of Jesus’ day were jealous of the crowds that followed Him, of the authority He wielded, and of the miracles He performed.  Therefore, they plotted against Jesus to silence Him, and when they finally seized Him and turned Him over to Pilate, the Roman governor of the region, Matthew 27:18 records that Pilate “knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.”  What began as jealousy led to the cross and the only way our sins could be paid for was fulfilled!

Jealousy remains a harmful emotion, and God never creates evil in us, but jealous feelings not only resulted in the temporal salvation of Israel from famine and eternal salvation for some Jews in the New Testament, but jealousy also contributed to the crucifixion of Jesus, which made all salvation possible. When Paul wrote “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,” it included God overcoming “all things.”  Even jealousy, the green-eyed monster.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/top-10-phrases-from-shakespeare
[2] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jealous
[3] Romans 8:28

Bible in a Year: Week of February 5 – February 11

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!

Monday, February 5
Morning: Psalm 36, 2 Samuel 15
Evening: Genesis 36

Tuesday, February 6
Morning: Psalm 37, 2 Samuel 16
Evening: Genesis 37

Wednesday, February 7
Morning: Psalm 38, 2 Samuel 17
Evening: Genesis 38

Thursday, February 8
Morning: Psalm 39, 2 Samuel 18
Evening: Genesis 39

Friday, February 9
Morning: Psalm 40, 2 Samuel 19
Evening: Genesis 40

Saturday, February 10
Morning: Psalm 41, 2 Samuel 20-21
Evening: Genesis 41

Sunday, February 11
Morning: Psalm 42, 2 Samuel 22-23
Evening: Genesis 42

Bible in a Year: Week of January 29 – February 2

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!

Monday, January 29
Morning: Psalm 29, 2 Samuel 6
Evening: Genesis 29

Tuesday, January 30
Morning: Psalm 30, 2 Samuel 7
Evening: Genesis 30

Wednesday, January 31
Morning: Psalm 31, 2 Samuel 8
Evening: Genesis 31

Thursday, February 1
Morning: Psalm 32, 2 Samuel 9
Evening: Genesis 32

Friday, February 2
Morning: Psalm 33, 2 Samuel 10
Evening: Genesis 33

Saturday, February 3
Morning: Psalm 34, 2 Samuel 11-12
Evening: Genesis 34

Sunday, February 4
Morning: Psalm 35, 2 Samuel 13-14
Evening: Genesis 35

Bible in a Year: Week of January 22-28

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  This week, we’ll finish our first book – 1 Samuel – and start 2 Samuel.

Monday, January 22
Morning: Psalm 22, 1 Samuel 28
Evening: Genesis 22

Tuesday, January 23
Morning: Psalm 23, 1 Samuel 29
Evening: Genesis 23

Wednesday, January 24
Morning: Psalm 24, 1 Samuel 30
Evening: Genesis 24

Thursday, January 25
Morning: Psalm 25, 1 Samuel 31
Evening: Genesis 25

Friday, January 26
Morning: Psalm 26, 2 Samuel 1
Evening: Genesis 26

Saturday, January 27
Morning: Psalm 27, 2 Samuel 2-3
Evening: Genesis 27

Sunday, January 28
Morning: Psalm 28, 2 Samuel 4-5
Evening: Genesis 28

Sodom and Gomorrah’s Selfishness

Todd R 1 Comment

Fellow travelers,

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the book of Genesis is well-known even to many who aren’t religious.  Genesis 18 and 19 describe the two cities as extremely wicked, specifically mentioning homosexuality and rape.  The English term “sodomy” even comes from the name of the city of Sodom.  In the Genesis story, Lot and some of his family escape based on Abraham pleading with God for them, “Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.  And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”  (Genesis 19:24-25).  This is the most well-known part of the story, and some explanations of why the cities were destroyed found on the internet and elsewhere say Genesis has the “full account” of the story.  Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their excessive sexual sins.

However, there is more.

Ezekiel, a prophet to Jews captive in Babylon centuries after Sodom was destroyed, said: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.  They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”  (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Ezekiel was describing the sins of Judah to explain why they had been sent into exile from their Promised Land and said they don’t compare favorably even to Sodom.  Surprisingly, Ezekiel doesn’t even mention any sexual sins in this description.  Not that these sins were irrelevant, but in Ezekiel’s view, Sodom would have been destroyed even without them.  Sodom’s other sins were also abominations.

What’s the point?  I can’t say it any better than the Life Application Study Bible, which notes on Ezekiel 16:49: “Sodom was destroyed because of its pride, laziness, gluttony, and unconcern for the poor and needy. It is easy to be selective in what we consider gross sin. If we do not commit such horrible sins as adultery, homosexuality, stealing, and murder, we may think we are living good enough lives.”

We can’t pick and choose which sins are more or less deserving of God’s judgement, because in His holiness and justice, He must and will judge all sin.  While “lifestyle” sins without repentance may be more dangerous to a church or congregation, even sins we may not consider extreme are dangerous as well.  Ezekiel’s point is that selfishness and a disregard for those in need should be repented of as much as any other sin.  Ezekiel wrote, “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.  They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it,” but he also wrote that Judah would be restored by a coming Messiah, the Christ.

That restoration comes through Christ’s sacrifice for all sins, and anyone can have salvation through faith, which drives us to confession and repentance.  As John wrote in 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

At the end of our journey, all of God’s people will be cleansed of all of their sins, not just the most noticeable ones, because “he is faithful.”  Not because any of us are less sinful than others.