1 Samuel 25

[0:00] Great. All right. Well, today we're going to continue our study in the book of 1 Samuel.! That Saul has been anointed as king of Israel, and he was ordained by Samuel. He was the one whom God said to anoint, but really he was the best of men, if you like.

[0:47] He was man's choice. Very tall, very strong, very handsome, and actually he did prove to be quite capable initially with some early victories. But then we saw him slide into sin and error to the point where God said through Samuel, you're out, I'm going to find someone else.

[1:06] And that someone else is David, the man after God's own heart. But what is interesting is that David is also those things. He is also tall, he is also handsome, he's also strong and a valiant warrior.

[1:18] And very, very capable and very shrewd tactician as well. And those things are great, but God's priority is the heart. And God saw that David was a man of faith.

[1:32] And I've commented, I think, before that we haven't really seen David sin. And that changes today. That changes today.

[1:44] And we're reminded that to be a man after God's own heart isn't to be perfect. It is to understand how to deal with sin and be repentant.

[1:56] And we'll talk about that more later. So anyway, in the narrative, Saul remains king, even though David has been anointed. And David has been very careful to not take the kingdom by force.

[2:10] In fact, we've seen him, he's had opportunities to do it. And he said, no, I'm not doing it. Even though he was being urged to do that last week, last time rather, Tony taught us through that. And he was being counseled.

[2:20] Hey, take this opportunity. And actually, next time as well, in the very next chapter, the same thing happens. David has an opportunity to take the kingdom by his own strength.

[2:31] And he says, no, God is going to do it. God has promised to do it. And I'm going to wait for God. And at the end of last chapter, chapter 24, we really saw Saul just disarmed.

[2:45] Because he's had this narrative in his head. David is my mortal enemy. David wants to kill me. David is the biggest threat this planet has ever seen. And then he is faced with the incontroversible proof that David is not trying to kill him.

[3:00] And he's like, oh, and goes home. So he goes home back to his home in Gibeah. And we read that David goes to the stronghold. So today, then, we're just going to cover chapter 25.

[3:14] It will probably take about 50 minutes. And as I said, we're going to see the heart of David revealed a bit further. And David is going to be, he's coming in hot, let's say, towards this guy, Nabal.

[3:27] And it takes a woman of great wisdom and courage to halt him in his hot wrath. And we're going to see a number of application points as we go through, which we'll cover off at the end.

[3:40] But one of the most prominent that I want to call out up front is, how do we respond when we are insulted? Or how do we respond when we think, man, I deserve that.

[3:53] I deserve that good thing, like that job or whatever it is. Or how do we respond when we feel like we're being mistreated? And in our minds, I can justify why I feel bad about this.

[4:06] How do we respond? Because I think often that's the most hard thing, is when we feel in our hearts justified in being angry. And I'm going to sort this out. Because that's what we're seeing in David.

[4:19] And we see David set off on this wrong path. So anyway, let's pick it up. Let's get into it. Verse 1. 1 Samuel 25. Well, then Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him.

[4:35] And they buried him at this house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the wilderness of Paran. And that brief verse is the death of Samuel.

[4:47] And he really is such a remarkable character. I find it remarkable how little is said here to sort of, you know, honour him. Samuel was the last judge.

[5:00] Samuel is also the one who inaugurates this time of... Well, he brings in this group of people called the prophets. And we've seen how he seems to be running this school or this ministry for developing the prophetic gift.

[5:17] And as we move forward in history, we enter a time of kings when the kings had prophets to guide them. And Samuel is the first of that type. So he's the last of the judges, the first of the prophets.

[5:28] And he's a man who served God from boyhood all the way through to the end of his life. And how old he was is not given.

[5:38] And I've seen estimates ranging from 60 to 90 years, which just goes to show how much uncertainty there is on that. According to the historian Josephus, Samuel had governed and presided over the people for 30 years, which is 12 years prior to Saul's reign and 18 during it, which I think would probably make him quite young, certainly on the youngest end of that scale, when he did die.

[6:07] Now, Samuel, of course, was the author of most of the book of 1 Samuel. And now we're thinking, what about the rest of it? And what about 2 Samuel? Well, if you take a quick look at 1 Chronicles 29, 29, there's no need to turn there.

[6:20] If this is the question you're pondering, what we read there is that we seem to have a compilation of the works of Samuel and then Nathan and Gad, two other prophets.

[6:32] And their works were completed and edited together to make the book that we know today. And then all Israel assembled to mourn for him, which is, and I thought, hang on, so would that have included Saul and David?

[6:47] Would they have come together to mourn Samuel? And obviously it doesn't say explicitly, but given that in the last verse they were somewhat at peace, it's not impossible, in my mind at least.

[6:58] And he's buried then in his house at Ramah, and there is a traditional location today, which you can Google if you're interested. But one thing, at the end of this verse, we read that David went down to the wilderness of Paran, and we're thinking, cool, and we move on to the next verse.

[7:18] Unless you're like me, and you think, okay, where's the wilderness of Paran? And the answer is, a very, very, very long way away. So this is a map here of the Exodus, and the reason it's a map of the Exodus is because maps that look more at Israel don't have the wilderness of Paran on them.

[7:34] I don't know if you can see it there, just in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula, the wilderness of Paran. So are we to believe that David toddled all the way down there?

[7:47] Yeah. I've written down here, that's at least 100 miles. I'm thinking now it's probably more than that. And then in the very next verse, we'll see him interacting in a place called Maon.

[8:00] And that has led some interpreters to think that there's an error there, and it should be the wilderness of Maon. In fact, that is what the Septuagint version says, the Septuagint being a very ancient Greek translation that was done before Jesus Christ.

[8:13] And often, if you look at a map in your Bible like this one, this is from the Holman Bible Atlas, and you say, give me a map of the journeys of David.

[8:25] It doesn't have a huge, long excursion down into the Sinai Peninsula, because a lot of the time we assume, now he must have just stayed in the region, the wilderness of Judah, the wilderness of Zeath, and there below it, the wilderness of Maon.

[8:39] So it's a small point, and I think truthfully either is possible. It could be that he went down there for a period to mourn for Samuel, and then came back up.

[8:49] But anyway, for what it's worth, I point that out. So on to verse 2. Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich, and he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats.

[9:05] And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the man's name was Nabal, or Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail, and the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was a Calebite.

[9:22] But David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So Maon and Carmel are very close, probably just a mile or two. I think you can see them on the map if you squint a bit.

[9:36] And you can find these locations today if you're interested. You can just Google them, as I say. But the joke that we miss in this text, and the reason why, you know, quite often when you read an introduction, now there was a man in Maon whose name was.

[9:51] And it doesn't say that. It introduces him his location, where his business is, his assets, and then says, and his name was Nabal. And the reason is because Nabal means foolish or stupid.

[10:06] In fact, I thought I would share with you the slide just to show you some of the meanings of this word Nabal in Hebrew. A primitive or primary root that means to be senseless or foolish.

[10:19] And like, wow, and that's the guy's name. Wow, I mean, there it is. But he is rich, which reminded me of the proverb in Proverbs 19 and verse 10, where it says that luxury, i.e. riches, is not fitting for a fool, for a Nabal, much less for a slave to rule over princes.

[10:43] It's not normal for someone who is foolish to be shrewd enough to acquire a strong business and acquire wealth. Somehow he's done it. I find us in thinking, he must have inherited it rather than earned it.

[10:56] But who knows? And we see that he is in the sheep trade. 3,000 sheep, 1,000 goats. And he's shearing his sheep in Carmel.

[11:08] What we don't realize is that means it's a time, I think that happened twice a year, and that is a time of great celebration, kind of like the harvest festival, because the wool is the wealth, and so there would be a great celebration, which we'll see as we go through.

[11:23] And we are introduced to Abigail. Abigail. And her name means, my father's joy.

[11:34] My father's joy. And she's described intelligent, which more literally means that she has good, a good perception or good understanding. She's got good insight.

[11:45] And she's beautiful in appearance, which is what it literally says. And then she's contrasted with Nabal, who in his foolishness is harsh and evil in his dealings.

[11:57] Not a good guy. And there's another detail, that he is a Calebite. And I found it quite interesting to discover that there's actually three different ways that this word can be understood.

[12:14] And it may well be, the Bible is quite often fond of using word plays and puns. So it could be that all three of these are in view. So how do we understand it? He was a Calebite. Well, it could mean that he's descended from Caleb.

[12:29] Caleb, as you may recall, is one of the spies of the Exodus, Numbers 13 or 14. We read about his bravery and going in to spy out the land and then coming back and saying, it's good guys, let's go in.

[12:42] Ultimately, he inherited land in this region after they went in. Under Joshua. He inherited in this region.

[12:52] So entirely possible and likely that Nabal is his descendant. But Caleb, secondly, that word means dog or dog-like.

[13:04] And in actual fact, again, the Septuagint version for this verse says that Nabal was dog-like. And when I say that, you want not to think, ah, puppy.

[13:15] You should think vicious, feral, scavenger. Caleb. And here's an interesting, the third understanding is that those same consonants, and you may remember the original Hebrew lacked the vowels and it was just the consonants.

[13:34] The same consonants can be understood to say as his heart or at his heart. And so, what it would be saying then is that the harshness and the evil dealings of Caleb are just coming from his heart.

[13:46] Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth is speaking. And I would, all three of those seem to be completely valid when describing this guy. One other thing just before we move on.

[13:58] in the previous chapter, chapter 23, we read that the Ziphites betrayed David to Saul. Turns out the neighbor was a Ziphite.

[14:10] And I wondered, and I found myself thinking, I bet you that guy, being prominent and rich, was probably amongst them betraying David to Saul. Interesting. Verse 5.

[14:23] As I say, it's a time of celebration, a time of riches. And David sent ten young men and David said to the young men, go up to Carmel and visit Nabal and greet him in my name.

[14:34] And this is what you shall say, have a long life, peace to you and peace to your house and peace to all that you have. Now then, I have heard that you have shearers.

[14:45] Now, your shepherds have been with us, we have not harmed them, nor has anything of theirs gone missing all the days they were in Carmel. Ask your young men and they will tell you.

[14:56] Therefore, let my young men find favour in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son, David. So, as I said, a time of celebration, a festive day, a time of gathering in the wealth that has literally grown on the sheep.

[15:17] And so David sends these ten men in the hope to receive a share. And I wonder if you read that and you think, hang on, so David is saying, I didn't rob you, so now you owe me.

[15:30] And it almost seems that way. But what, if you'll note, David says, ask your young men and they will tell you. And unfortunately, Nabal doesn't do that, but the men do speak and they say that David did a lot more than just not rip them off.

[15:45] And what David is doing is he's downplaying the good that he has done. He's downplaying his role. And he is simply saying, we did you no harm, when the reality is they were protectors and they kept them safe.

[15:59] I also observe in David's speech there that he's being very cordial, very respectful. Four times, he actually, he uses the word shalom for peace.

[16:10] It's only translated as peace three times, but it is there four times. And he calls himself your son, David, which is to put himself in the role, the humble role, before Nabal and allowing him to be the father or the senior.

[16:26] So I say very, very, it is a reasonable request and I think what David would expect it to happen is Nabal would have validated it and thought, yeah, David, that's a good thing and paid him back.

[16:38] Let's see what happens. So we're on verse nine. When David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal in accordance with all these words in David's name.

[16:50] Then they waited. But Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.

[17:03] Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men whose origin I do not know? So David's young men made their way back and returned and they came and informed him in accordance with all these words.

[17:22] So there is a rejection. Nabal rejects David's greeting and rejects his request. And in addition to that rejection, there was also great insult.

[17:34] Nabal is likening David to a common runaway slave. I mean, and even if you just have a, even if you just take a political standpoint, David is far more than a slave.

[17:48] He is the warrior who saved all Israel from Goliath, from the Philistines, right? You remember that. All Israel was singing, David has slain his 10,000s. He led all of these successful military campaigns for Saul.

[18:02] And he was son-in-law to King Saul. So he's not a slave. He's not just a slave. And moreover, clearly Nabal knows who he is because he knows he is the son of Jesse.

[18:15] So he is being insulting and disingenuous in what he is saying there. So let's see what happens. Nothing good. Verse 13, Then David said to his men, Each of you strap on his sword.

[18:29] So each man strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. And about 400 men went up behind David while 200 stayed with the baggage. That's the response.

[18:40] Get ready for war, which it is surprising given what we know about David, I think. This is the David who would not strike Saul, even though Saul clearly wanted him dead.

[18:51] He's now going to war against Nabal for an insult. Well, let's read on. Now, one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he spoke to them in anger.

[19:07] Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did anything go missing as long as we went with them while we were in the fields. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep.

[19:22] Now then, be aware and consider what you should do, because harm is plotted against our master and against all his household, and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.

[19:34] I won't ask if you know anyone like that. A very interesting discussion, isn't it? And I think we only have this record because Abigail must have subsequently told David about it and the words that were shared.

[19:48] So, what do we observe here? Well, first, the young men heard the conversation between David David's men and Nabal and they are disturbed by the outcome.

[20:00] And they are, they expect that the result is going to be harm. The young men didn't go away saying, I'm going to get you for this. They just left.

[20:11] But the young men of Nabal understand the depth of the insult and I guess the kind of guy David is, maybe.

[20:23] But certainly the cultural expectation that has not been met is a great insult. And I think we can take from that then that this does give us insight into the culture that what David was asking is very reasonable, very acceptable and normal and to fulfil that request would have been the normal and right thing to do.

[20:45] It was expected and to not do so was dishonouring and dishonourable. So we observe that. And again, the second observation we make is how David is described.

[21:00] Again, as I said, David didn't go into this kind of detail but from this servant it's clear David was doing a lot more than just not robbing them. David's men were protecting them.

[21:12] David's men were keeping them safe, providing security for them. And so we can reasonably say that Nabal has profited greatly from David and from his men.

[21:24] Third observation, Nabal is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him. And that speaks to the stubbornness and the harshness that we have previously discussed.

[21:38] Stiff-necked. No one can speak to him. He just will not listen to reason. Last time Antony was sharing on the importance of counsellors and how we need counsellors and that is often where wisdom and good decisions are found and made.

[21:56] And a big aspect of Nabal's foolishness is that he won't accept counsel to the extent that his closest men are like, there's no point. There's just no point having the conversation.

[22:09] And yes, we need counsellors, don't we? We need counsellors. We need different backgrounds, we need different perspectives to make good decisions. Proverbs 12, 15 says that the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a person who listens to advice is wise.

[22:27] So, verse 18. Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs and she loaded them on donkeys.

[22:48] Then she said to her young men, go on ahead of me, behold, I'm coming after you. But she did not tell her husband, Nabal. And it happened as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her.

[23:06] Remember, coming in hot with swords. So she met them. Now David had said, it is certainly for nothing that I have guarded everything that this man has in the wilderness so that nothing has gone missing of all that belong to him.

[23:19] For he has returned me evil for good. May God do so to the enemies of David and more so if by morning I leave alive as much as one male of all who belong to him.

[23:30] Butter, butter, butter. So observe what Abigail has at hand to hurriedly prepare and dispatch. So it's a feast time and all these goods, this picnic, is there ready to go.

[23:45] Secondly, observe, David sent 10 men which gives you a view of I guess the volume of goods he was expecting and I think Abigail was going beyond that by saying, load up the donkeys, let's bring it 200 loaves of bread and all this good stuff.

[24:02] So this is a good feast. And we see there David as I said, muttering as he goes along and every Bible version I check puts something like David is saying I did this in vain or I did this for nothing and I cannot figure out for the life of me why because that's not what it says.

[24:22] Actually, the Hebrew word is not the word for vanity it is a word which means to lie or a breach of faith. It's a breach of faith and that I think is strengthening the depth of the insult.

[24:37] the root of the offense seems to be that there was an implied contract of some kind. Again, I don't know the culture well enough to understand how it works but the language there that word sakur lie or breach of faith it implies that to David there was a verbal contract made between his men and the men of Nabal and that has not been fulfilled and it is a breach.

[25:03] So, and I'm not trying to say that what David was doing is right. It was extreme. Coming to put all the men to death is extreme and I think it's clearly wrong but what I think that does show is where that may have come from.

[25:18] There may have been in the natural sense in the cultural sense some justification for what he was doing but as a man of God no, none. And then David makes this unusual vow may God do so to the enemies of David and more so if I don't do this thing.

[25:35] And as we've been going through the Old Testament you'll probably know that the normal expression when someone is making a vow is may God do so to me and more also.

[25:46] And the sense of that vow is if I don't do the thing I'm vowing to do may I receive it may I be punished by God. Now the thing is is that David doesn't go through with it and I suspect that what's happened here is that some scribe has felt extremely uncomfortable writing that David was putting a curse on his head and therefore inserted that word enemies.

[26:09] Again the ancient Septuagint version which is it is the I think it is the most ancient version that we have which is not to say it's the most accurate but it is the most ancient does have the more typical God do so to me and more also.

[26:24] So just for interest on that because that just piqued my interest. So but David makes this oath he makes a vow. Numbers 30 says if you take an oath if you take a vow if you put yourself under a binding obligation you better not break your word.

[26:44] Do everything that you said you would do. And so we read and we read in Judges 11 about this guy Jephthah who made the vow didn't he about I'm going to sacrifice the first thing that comes out of my house if I return in victory.

[26:57] I don't know what he thought was going to come out but it was his daughter. Foolish vow and he went through with it. And then we read more recently of Saul's oath didn't he?

[27:09] Cursed be anyone who eats food or drinks this day before we finished wiping out the Philistines and so the army is weakened and then Jonathan eats the honey because he didn't know and then Saul's like right off with his head and you're like dude it's just foolish.

[27:26] David doesn't follow through so is he then violating Numbers 30? Well David didn't fulfill the vow and he was right not to because it was a rash and stupid vow and Leviticus 5 verses 4 to 6 shows you the very clear provision that God made to deal with the guilt of a thoughtless vow.

[27:48] If a man if somebody makes a vow that is dumb then there is guilt occurred and there is an offering that's required a guilt offering that's required and then one is absolved.

[28:01] So David did make a stupid vow he didn't need a scribe to come along and change his words as is what appears to have happened he just needed to repent and offer the guilt offering which I'm sure he did.

[28:14] So now we come to Abigail's speech and this really is quite a thing so let's take a look at it reading from verse 23 so when Abigail saw David she hurried and dismounted from her donkey and fell on her face in front of David and bowed herself to the ground.

[28:35] She fell at his feet and said on me alone my lord be the blame and please let your slave speak to you and listen to the words of your slave please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man Nabal for as his name is so he is Nabal is his name and stupidity is with him but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent now then my lord as the lord lives and as your soul lives since the lord has restrained you from shedding blood and from avenging yourself by your own hand now then may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord be like Nabal and now let this gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany my lord please forgive the offense of your slave for the lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house because my lord is fighting the battles of the lord and evil will not be found in you all your days should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the lord your god but the lives of your enemies he will sling out as from the hollow of a sling and when the lord does for my lord in accordance with all the good that he has spoken concerning you and appoints you ruler over israel this will not become an obstacle to you or a troubled heart to my lord both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself when the lord deals well with my lord then remember your slave well that's quite a lot that is quite a lot quite a speech and um i think as i was analyzing what she said i came away struck by four aspects to it and i'll chuck them up on the screen for you four different aspects of the speech which are great humility she demonstrates great humility she demonstrates great faith she demonstrates great wisdom and she demonstrates great courage great humility so three times she calls herself slave her she puts herself in the role of a slave before david and fourteen times she calls david my lord adoni fourteen times and she also accepts responsibility for the collective failure to show david and his men the respect and hospitality that they were due you know she could have said well it's not my fault i didn't didn't see i wasn't there but she says on me be the blame she great humility and she accepts that and she also declares that the lord has restrained david from shedding blood that is to say she's not taking any credit for for what is happening here she's saying the lord is stopping you not me so great humility we see great faith and there are two aspects to this first is that she she knows the lord she names the name of yahweh seven times it's a good number seven times she calls on the name of the lord yahweh clearly a godly woman but also and secondly she explicitly believes in the promises that god has made concerning david it's just to her it's just matter of fact david is going to make sorry god is going to make david an enduring house it's just going to happen god is going to appoint you ruler over israel you're going to be king it's going to happen now quite how she has this great understanding of god's plans and purposes i have no idea but she believes

[32:35] it and so great faith is shown thirdly great wisdom is shown and this is i think is seen in how she influences david she reminds him that god keeps him bound in the bundle of the living which is i don't know if that's a hebrew idiom it's a great turn of phrase but the point is that god is watching over david's life he doesn't need to go and avenge himself or save himself he simply needs to trust in the lord and she argues when god has appointed you king you don't you won't have to deal with this troubled conscience that you've shed blood without cause or that you've avenged yourself so very very astute very very wise in the way that she approaches it and then finally great courage and this i was just thinking just in sum because she she didn't have to go and face 400 men with drawn swords she could have done nothing because david as we know was only after the men or she could have run away she could have fled but instead she went to david to intercede for her husband and her household so i think great courage has been shown as well now before we move on though there was one thing that bothered me here and i wonder if it bothered you as well abigail! is calling her husband a fool this worthless man neighbor by name neighbor by nature and now matthew 5 22 says this i jesus speaking i say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the courts and whoever says to his brother you good for nothing shall be answerable to the supreme cause and whoever says you fool shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell so is abigail guilty here?

[34:31] she's calling him a fool and is she failing to show the respect that a husband is due now we could consider this and conclude that abigail did fall short we could but we do need to remember that in matthew 5 in the beatitudes what jesus is doing is he is establishing that there is a perfect standard that no one has and can attain abigail wasn't perfect nor was david nor am i no one is perfect there is none good no not one so that's fine and that's why jesus came right that's why jesus came to live the perfect life of perfect righteousness to die on the cross and make perfection available so abigail!

[35:20] wasn't perfect sure but i think the bigger point i want to make on this is the context in which these things are said because in matthew 5 jesus is talking about interactions with our brothers and sisters and the word for fool there is moros from where we get our word moron and it's a very it's a derogatory word that has probably lost some of that in modern verbiage but maybe don't use it bearing in mind what jesus says it's a derogatory word that means in effect that this is a morally and spiritually ignorant person and we shouldn't tear down our brothers and sisters and say such things we shouldn't now abigail is talking about her husband and i think that actually she's just making an observation she isn't tearing him down for moral or spiritual failure what she's saying is and it's a different word in the greek septuagint and it's a word that means he doesn't have a good sense he doesn't have the wisdom to do what is right he doesn't know he's ignorant of god's plans to make you king he is ignorant and doesn't know how to do what is right and wrong and that is simply to observe what we have seen he doesn't understand these things so i think that what abigail is!

[36:47] is doing is different maybe subtly so but i think it is different so anyway let's move on to verse 32 david's reply then david said to abigail blessed be the lord god of israel who sent you this day to meet me and blessed be your discernment and blessed be you who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hands nevertheless as the lord god of israel lives who has restrained me from harming you if you would not come quickly to meet you there certainly would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male and observe then that david is repeating back abigail's own language again great influence does she have over him blessed be you who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself that's exactly what abigail!

[37:36] said the lord had done or was doing and so it lands david was indeed planning to avenge himself and god has always been clear that it is his role to avenge example deuteronomy 32 35 god says vengeance is mine and retribution in due time their foot will slip for the day of their disaster is near and the impending things are hurrying to them god's role is to avenge now as an old man in 2nd samuel 22 48 49 we read of david speaking and he says the god who executes vengeance for me and brings down peoples under me who also brings me out from my enemies you also raise me above those who rise up against me you rescue me from the violent person and i think that david is able to declare this and celebrate the goodness of god and god's vindication because he was turned from avenging himself here this is an example where he could have gone wrong and abigail in her wisdom steered him straight and i argue that that wisdom that she brought was a greater gift than all those provisions that she brought on those donkeys verse 35 so david accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said to her go up to your house in peace see i have listened to you and granted your request then abigail!

[39:15] came to nabal and behold he was having a feast in his house like the feast of a king and nabal's heart was cheerful within him for he was very drunk so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light but in the morning when the wine had gone out of nabal his wife told him these things and his heart died within him so that he became like a stone about ten days later the lord struck nabal and he died so nabal is feasting as if he is a king i thought that was an interesting little phrase to put in there feasting like a king it reminded!

[39:55] me of a parable in Luke 12 which i just want to read in Luke 12 from verse 16 jesus told them a parable saying the land of a rich man was very productive and he began thinking to himself saying what shall i do since i have no place to store my crops and he said this is what i will do i will tear down my barns and build larger ones and i will store all my grain and my goods there and i will say to myself you have many goods stored up for many years to come relax eat drink and enjoy yourself much like Nabal but god said to him you you you fool this very night your soul is demanded of you and as for all that you have prepared who will own it now such is the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich in relation to god and the word there for fool is athron which is the exact same greek term used in the septuagint to describe

[40:55] Nabal exact same so i do wonder if in some sense jesus had this episode of Nabal! in mind when he gave that parable someone rich in wealth but a pauper in relation!

[41:13] and so we see the speed of his down for one minute his heart is cheerful and the next minute his heart is dead it's unclear exactly what it means that his heart died within him maybe heart attack maybe stroke but I think that the phrase is used as an ironic parallel the rejoicing feasting heart is in the next minute dead well let us read on and close the chapter verse 39 when David heard that Nabal was dead he said blessed be the Lord who has pleaded the cause of the shame or reproach or scorn inflicted on me by the hand of Nabal and he has kept back his servant from evil the Lord has also returned the evil doing of Nabal on his own head then David sent a proposal to Abigail to take her as his wife when the servants of David came to Abigail in Carmel they spoke to her saying

[42:14] David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife and she got up and bowed with her face to the ground and said behold your slave is a servant to wash the feet of my Lord's servants and then Abigail got up quickly and rode on a donkey with her five female attendants who accompanied her and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife David also had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel and they both became his wives but Saul had given his daughter Michal David's wife to Palti the son of Leish who was from Galim and so David recognizes and observes that God has kept him back from committing evil it was baffling to me when I heard one commentator trying to say that what David was doing may not necessarily have been evil and I get it from a cultural standpoint as I shared but he himself says if

[43:16] I had done this thing it would have been bad so and then he takes Abigail as wife so now we have to pause don't we and talk about polygamy thanks David for slipping that in so I think we need to be clear that what David is doing is wrong David was formerly married to Michal as we know we've learned here that she had been given away the last we saw of Michal must have been when she let David out the window I guess and put that little totem or whatever it was in the bed and she been given away so maybe it was okay for him to remarry if that was considered an adulterous thing but it certainly wouldn't have been to take another wife what can we say about this aside from the fact it was wrong well I think one thing to bear in mind though is that it appears that Abigail has been widowed without a child and for those of us who are with us in the!

[44:17] Ruth will know that there is the concept of the Leverite marriage and the kinsman redeemer when a wife is widowed and there has been no offspring then there is an obligation on the nearest kinsman to marry her and give her a child if you missed the studies you can find them on the podcast on Spotify and you can also read Deuteronomy 25 and interestingly that is the one!

[44:45] situation where having more than one wife is not necessarily wrong in that instance where God has made a provision for the dead husband it may well be the case that the nearest kinsman is already married it's not the case for David there's no way that David is the kinsman redeemer they are both of Judah David and Caleb but that's generations ago so I think we can say that David taking Abigail is an act of kindness towards her it saves her from destitution it saves her from having to try and find out if there was anyone who was prepared to fulfill that obligation but I do think it was wrong because it's not in keeping with the law and that's where we leave off so let us take a moment to consider some points of application I've got three plus one bonus one so the first one is simple it is do not boast except in the

[45:52] Lord this is what we derive from David's example where when he goes to Nabal he doesn't take pains to say oh man you should have seen how awesome we were in keeping your men safe man there was bears and lions and we fought them all off no he's just you guys did right Proverbs 27 verse 2 says let another praise you and not your own mouth a stranger and not your own lips which is exactly what happens here another verse that I'll skip for the sake of time is Jeremiah 9 23 where it says that we are not to boast in wisdom or riches or strength or any other thing that we may possess rather we boast that we know the Lord we know the Lord so do not boast except in the Lord second one was to receive counsel from others David had plotted a course of action that seemed right in his own eyes it made sense from a cultural perspective from a worldly perspective it made sense and then he is approached by someone who is against him adversarial to that plan let's say and a woman no!

[47:09] less she stands against his planned course of action how do you respond when someone stands against your plans how do you respond when someone comes along with some unsolicited advice well again we spoke a bit about counsels last week so I won't belabor it but I think that is again a point from here we are called to give and receive counsel to one another as brothers and sisters and then the third one which I've got a little more we should repay evil with good how do we respond when we are insulted when we're angry and upset when we didn't get the thing that we think we deserve when we feel I am justified in being angry about this again it may have been culturally acceptable to justify returning harm for insult let's just look at this

[48:10] Jesus said in Matthew 5 43 you've heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy that's what David was doing right he was hating his enemy but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may prove yourselves to be the sons of your father who is in heaven for he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous and I think there's a word because sometimes we may feel that we could reasonably take some culturally acceptable action to get what we think we rightly deserve whatever that may be a formal complaint or maybe we'll even go to law whatever it is but God's heart is that we repay evil with good this is the gospel this is what the gospel is that we who were doing evil to God he repaid us the ultimate good by blessing us beyond measure while we were still at enmity with him you might read 1st corinthians 6 where Paul has to deal with the fact that the brothers in the church are going to law against one another before the secular courts which I think is exactly this kind of thing

[49:28] I deserve something and going you know culturally that's okay you go to the law you go to secular law but Paul says not in the church you should be able to go to one another and then he goes on to say this incredibly he says it is better to suffer wrong and be defrauded than to end up defrauding others and being greedy and covetous and we need to remember that we have a God who has given us far more than we deserve already and I think that my prescription to you would be if you ever feel slighted or hard done by or deserving of better then open your Bible to Ephesians 1 and have a read verse 3 says blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ verse 5 says he's predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters verse 11 says that in him we have obtained an inheritance how can anyone how can any of us feel hard done by or feel like we deserve better in view of these things now here's a final thought and this is a little bit of a just a little bit of a meditation for us as we close we have

[50:43] Nabal we have Abigail we have the fool we have the father's joy now who is the fool Psalm 14 says the fool is the one who has said in his heart that there is no God the fool has said in his heart there is no God now of course that is atheism but it is also living our lives as if there is no God so it is prayerlessness it is selfishness and self seeking it is when we deprioritize God and set up our own priorities and plans that is to be a fool who is saying in his heart there is no God if with our mouth we say we love God but in our heart we say there is none this is us that is the fool Proverbs 15 5 who is the fool the fool is the one who rejects the father's wisdom it is the one who chooses to ignore the word of God and the wisdom contained therein the fool is the one who knows the good that they should do and doesn't do it that is the fool who is the one who brings the father joy in Luke 15 7 it is the lost sheep there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance who is it that brings the father joy it is that prodigal son the one who has been wasteful and foolish who repents and returns to the father again who brings the father joy in Hebrews 13 verse 15 and 16 it is the one who offers up a sacrifice of praise to God it is lips to give thanks and when we do not neglect to do good and share when we do these things we are

[52:39] Abigail we are the father's joy amen father praise you for these things praise you lord for these things praise you lord god that we are able to bring you joy lord i ask and pray in the name of jesus that you would steer us away from foolishness steer us away from doing things that may seem right in our own eyes i pray oh god i thank you for counsellors i thank you lord that you've given us each one to another so that we may offer to one another wisdom and counsel and i pray god that we would be a church that we we love and we trust and we honour one another through faithfully sharing our perception i pray that we would be wise to hear your voice in the voices of our brothers and sisters and i pray that we would be wise to hear your voice through the scriptures as well and lord may we bring you joy by offering up a sacrifice of praise oh god i pray in jesus name amen