Jealousy in the Bible

When we look at jealousy it is good to look at the first known example of jealousy in the Bible. There are quite a few lessons in reading this short account from Genesis 4:1-8 where we read:

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."

Today, some would say: "But why wouldn't a tenth of the fruit of the ground be good enough, when he was a farmer?" Without going into the details of the Law, an offering requires blood, and the attitude of Abel was one of appreciaton in giving of his firstlings. It wasn't the ugliest firstling, but very probably one of the best. Much like when we have guests in our home, a good host will provide a good bottle of wine rather than the cheapest bag in a box wine.

Similarly, Cain could have chosen to repent, and exchange his corn (or whatever other "fruit of the ground") into an animal for an offering. He could have chosen to obey, but would not do so. He just followed the natural human reaction of getting envious - and ultimately he ended up killing his own brother.

From this story, we have now learned:

Jealousy is such a deep emotion that it can cause murder
Jealousy can also exist between family members
Jealousy was a short-cut for obedience - Cain could have chosen to respect his family
Jealousy is not only related to sexual unfaithfulness

Furthermore, jealousy is a human trait - so natural we are in fact warned of ever letting it grab a hold of us. We read in Exodus 20:17: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour's." Likewise, adultery is also the result of coveting another person's partner, and this is warned against in Exodus 20:14: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Exodus 20:15: "Thou shalt not steal."

So we should be happy with the blessings we have, and you will see your life is greatly enriched when you learn the lesson of jealousy being a dangerous virus, as we have just seen.