January 30, 2013
1st Samuel 25:1-44
God Protects David From Himself
I David and Nabal 1st Samuel 25:1- 22
II David and Abigail 1st Samuel 25:23-44
(The famous New York diamond dealer, Harry Winston heard about a wealthy Dutch merchant, who was looking for a certain kind of diamond, to add to his collection. Winston, called the merchant, told him that he thought he had the perfect stone, and invited the collector to come to New York to examine it.
The collector flew to New York, and Winston assigned a salesman to meet him, and show him the diamond.
When the salesman presented the diamond to the merchant, he described the expensive stone, by pointing out, all its fine, technical features. The merchant listened, and he praised the stone, but he turned away and said, "It's a wonderful diamond, but not exactly what I wanted."
Winston, who had been watching the presentation from a distance, stopped the merchant and asked, "Do you mind if I show you that diamond, one more time?" The merchant agreed, and Winston presented him, with the same stone. But instead of talking about the technical features of it, Winston spoke spontaneously, about his own genuine admiration, of the diamond, and what a rare thing of beauty it was. Abruptly, the customer changed his mind and bought the diamond.
While he was waiting for it to be packaged and brought to him, the merchant turned to Winston and asked,"Why did I buy the stone from you, when I had no difficulty saying no to your salesman?"
Winston replied, "The salesman is one of the best men in the business, and he knows more about diamonds than I do. And, I pay him a good salary for what he knows. But I would gladly pay him twice as much, if I could put into him, something that I have, that he lacks. You see, he knows diamonds, but I love them!" )
This story, illustrates one of the single greatest principles of persuasion, as you come along side of someone, with words of wisdom and influence----- People are far more persuaded, by the depths of our beliefs, and emotions, and the sincerity of our words, than they are, any amount of logic or knowledge that we possess. I believe that Abigail believed, with her whole heart, that she was doing the right thing, when she went to see David----or I don't believe that she would have gone. And I believe she knew, that God was leading her, step by step, and I believe that her honesty, in speaking the truth, and her conviction in what she was saying, was what got David's attention. This is a remarkable lesson about persuasion, forgiveness and doing the right thing, even when we don't want to…
I David and Nabal
Samuel's death is briefly mentioned here-----it's marked, with very little fanfare, except for the words, which actually speak volumes, "…and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house in Ramah."
Samuel's death must have been particularly hard on David, who had just said good-bye to Jonathan, for the last time, and had just left his parents in care of the king of Moab, and he was continuing to run, from pillar to post, in order to keep ahead of Saul.
Samuel, had been the man of God, who had anointed David king, because God had told him to---- and Samuel is who David ran to, when Saul first started showing his displeasure with him. And Samuel, was David's only real link, with the promise of his kingship. He must have felt much like we feel, no matter how old we are, when our parents pass away. We feel like orphans----because the last link with our childhood is gone, He must have needed to get away to grieve, because the scripture says, that he went into the wilderness of Maon----which, is the actual wilderness, that the Israelites spent their 40 year wanderings in.
Since it was just outside of the Promised Land, he might have thought that Saul wouldn't follow him there, and he could have some measure of peace for awhile.
Because David was going from place to place, with a following of at least 600 men, they couldn't remain in complete isolation. They were bound to run into various and sundry people ,from time to time. This passage describes one of those encounters. David and his band of men, while they were in the desert, came to know some shepherds, who were in the service of one of David's distant clansmen, from the tribe of Judah, who just happened to be a very rich man, named Nabal. It was sheep-shearing season, which was a joyous time in the life of a shepherd. Taking care of the sheep and protecting them from their predators and living their lives, day and night, in the elements, was really hard, often lonely, work-----they needed some time to refresh themselves----so the shearing time, had become a social outlet for them---- a time of great celebration and well-earned relaxation.
David, sent ten of his young men, to visit Nabal, to let him know, that while their company was camping near the area, where his shepherds were tending his sheep, that they had treated Nabal's shepherds with kindness and respect. And they had provided them protection, from the marauding bandits and outlaws, roaming the wilderness, which was a common practice, of the day. And for that kind of protection, it was customary for the protectors, to receive provisions, from the ones being protected.
(In Deuteronomy 15:7-11, it says, "But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan, because the year for counseling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin. Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some in the land who are poor. That's why I'm commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.") So it wasn't crazy or rude or presumptuous for David to make his request to Nabal, to give them, any provisions, that Nabal could spare.
Nabal, on the other hand, was totally rude to David, and, he was thumbing his nose at God, because, he would have known, from the Deuteronomy passage, what God had outlined, as the correct way, for his people, to treat each other, and, for how to offer hospitality, to anyone else who needed it. Nabal refused to acknowledge that David's men had helped to protect his shepherds and their flocks. He didn't even send a token gift---- instead, he insulted David, inferring that he was no better than a runaway slave, who was being insubordinate to his master---- and he sent the messengers back empty-handed.
In David's day, as well as ours, simple hospitality demanded that travelers---ever how many there were----be fed. Nabal was very rich and could have easily afford to meet David's request. David wasn't asking for a hand-out---he and his men had been protecting Nabal's workforce--- and, part of Nabal's prosperity, was because of David's good-natured vigilance. We should be generous with the people who protect us and keep us safe and help us prosper----even if our government doesn't have laws that make us---we should do it, because it pleases the Lord.
( Just a few days before Christmas, a postal worker, at the main sorting office found an unstamped, handwritten, messy envelope addressed to God. Curious, he opened it and discovered that it was from an elderly woman, who was in great distress because all her savings----$200---had been stolen. As a result, she wouldn't have anything to eat for Christmas.
The man went to his faithful postal workers and took up a collection for the women. They all dug deep and came up with $180. Putting the money in a plain envelope, with no note or anything, the postal workers sent it by special courier to the woman, that very day.
A week later, the same postal worker noticed another unstamped letter that had been addressed to God in the same handwriting. In it, he found a brief note which said: Dear God, Thank you for the $180 that you sent me for Christmas, which would have been so bleak otherwise.
P.S. It was $20 short, but that was probably because of those thieving workers at the post office.)
How many of us have been criticized for trying to do the right thing? How many of us have been blamed for doing something we didn't do? It sorta makes you want to give up, doesn't it? It makes you think, "why knock yourself out, when all you get is a slap in the face?"
That feeling is understandable-----that's why we should be affirming and encouraging to each other. When we see someone doing the best they can, we need to let them know, just how much we appreciate their effort----we shouldn't blame them or give them a hard time, for what they weren't able to do. On the other hand, if we're the one expecting to get affirmation and praise---we shouldn't hold our breath, we shouldn't expect it. We should do what we do, because its the right thing to do, not because we're going to get something in return. We should take comfort in the fact that we're in good company---In 1st Peter 2:20-21, Peter says, "If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."
People will criticize us, and it will hurt, but we have to remember what Paul says in Galations 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up.")
When David was told about what had transpired with Nabal, and the things that Nabal had said, he became irate. David had acted honorably. His men could easily have taken whatever they needed, from Nabal's flocks, but they hadn't. David expected Nabal to honor God's command, and he expected a positive response, in return for his positive actions. When David realized that Nabal could care less, how unjustly he was treating him, David was determined to achieve justice for himself. He ordered his men to to arm themselves, and he did the same thing---- and then, they set out to kill Nabal and every male, in his household.
David had regretted and repented, the cutting off, of a sliver of Saul's robe, because he knew that he had insulted God's anointed one----but Nabal was a different story.
David had tolerated Saul's mistreatment, because Saul, was the anointed king of Israel. David considered himself Saul's servant, in spite of Saul's wicked and vindictive behavior.
Nabal, was a different story, though. He was not David's superior. He was not God's anointed king, and David didn't appreciate the demeaning treatment, that he had received at Nabal's hand.
David was not thinking or behaving as a man of faith, when he set out to kill Nabal, and the men in his household. He was just intent on taking action, in response, to how he was feeling. Nabal would have suffered dire consequences, if it hadn't been for the wisdom of his beautiful and intelligent wife, Abigail.
One of Nabal's servants had gone to her with an account of what had happened, including a warning, that David was likely to retaliate. She wasted no time in gathering generous portions of food (bread, wine, grain, raisins, figs and sheep). She packed everything portable, on donkeys, and sent the bounty on to David.
You can't help but wonder, would she have been able to gather so much food, so quickly, if Nabal hadn't been giving a party-----but as it always is---- it was God's provision----the timing was perfect----Nabal had planned a fit-for-a-king banquet----if Abigail hadn't told him about it, the next morning ---Nabal wouldn't even have missed what she gave to David.
II David and Abigail
Abigail worked her way down the mountain, out of sight of David, and his men. David was grumbling and complaining about Nabal's insults, when he and Abigail, suddenly came face to face, on the path. She dismounted from her donkey, and prostrated herself in front of David, in absolute deference to his status. She knew who he was and so did Nabal-----but the difference was, she trusted his reputation, and Nabal could have cared less about it. God, must have been important to her, and must not have been, to Nabal.
(Its not always easy to do the right thing----knowing Nabal's reputation, and seeing how he treated David and his men, you can guess how he must have treated Abigail----she was brave to go against him, even if it was secretly at first---and even more brave, to tell him about it the next morning. Nabal was drunk, and would never have missed what she took to David----so, for Abigail to tell him about it, shows us the purity of her motives, and her integrity---she wasn't a thief or a liar---she wanted to please God, more than she wanted to look out for herself.
And that doesn't even count how brave she was to go out to meet David, who sounded, at that point, like a wild man on a rampage-----David needed someone to remind him who he was, and to encourage him to let go of his anger, and to talk some sense into him-----How often do we hesitate to go to someone to encourage them to do what is right? Are we afraid that we might make them angry with us, or that they'll think, that we're self-righteous? Do we think, that they already know what the right thing to do is, so they don't need us to tell them?
Sometimes, the Lord will lay something on our hearts that needs to be told to another person, and we need to pray about it, and then we need to go to that person, in love and humility and gentleness, and tell them the truth about what the Lord's laid on our hearts, so that they can step away from themselves and behave the way God would want them to.
The truth is, there are times, when we all need to be encouraged to do something, that we know in our hearts is the right thing, and we just don't want it to be.
We're like David was, when he set out for Nabal's property, he was in no mood to listen. But thank goodness, he stopped to hear what Abigail had to say. If he had ignored her, he would have been guilty of offending God----this makes us realize, that no matter how right we think we are, when somebody we trust with spiritual things, comes to us, to share wisdom with us,we must always be careful to stop and listen to them. The extra time and effort and willingness to hear, can safe us pain and trouble, in the long run.)
Abigail was everything that Nabal was not. She was beautiful and she was polite, well-spoken, submissive, honest, and ready to take on, all the responsibility and blame, for her husband's nasty attitude and his wicked behavior. She referred to herself, 6 times, as David's maidservant, and she called him her lord, 14 times. She didn't even try to cover up for Nabal----and even though she called him a fool, she risked her life to save his.
David knew from experience, and because of his character and integrity and his spiritual insight, that there was no honor or status, in killing fools. Abigail wasn't making fun of Nabal, when she called him a fool--- and she wasn't attempting to make light of, or exaggerate, his faults----she was just being truthful, about how foolish she knew that his behavior was. And at that point, it hadn't been very long, since David himself, had pretended to be insane, so that he wouldn't be killed by the Philistines. Perhaps that's what calmed him down, and softened his heart enough, to be able to listen and hear, what Abigail desperately needed to tell him----in order to protect the innocent people in her household.
Abigail tactfully, pointed out how vengeance, would be detrimental to David. Through her, God made David see, that shedding blood, for personal revenge, was a grievious sin. Abigail acknowledged God's hand on David, and she exhorted him to avoid wrongdoing, at any cost, for her sake and the sake of her household--- but more for David's sake.
She summed up the central theme of David's trials in the wilderness. She was basically reminding him, that he was out in the wilderness, to find out what God was doing, and who he was before God. Unlike Saul, David was going to be given a lasting dynasty, because the battles that he fought, were the Lord's, not his own, and not the world's. But in order to fight the Lord's battles, David had to be pure and free from wrongdoing or unrighteousness, for as long as he lived (no regrets).
Because David was faithful to seek after the Lord, especially when he messed up, the Lord God Himself had promised to make David's life secure. Even if someone was pursuing David with the intent to take his life, they would be flung away from him, like a stone in a slingshot, by God Himself. God had made him king, over Israel----David didn't need to have Nabal's bloodshed on his conscience----and he didn't need to seek his own personal revenge----he needed to trust the fact, that God, would take care of his enemies----the truth is, David needed to come to the end of himself.
(We need to remember that the wilderness is not a random place, where we test ourselves, to find out how strong and resilient we are; its the place where we discover the strength of God, and God's faithful ways of working in and through our lives. And we need to remember, that in the middle of adversity, God still expects us to behave righteously---like we're children of the King. In Matt 5: 38-48, Jesus taught the disciples to go beyond the Old Testament command of an "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". He expects us to love our enemies, instead. God expects us to behave with pure motives and right behavior, especially in the middle of hardships and trials----because that's when people are watching us and they can get the clearest picture from us, of who Jesus is, and what we have in Him.)
Abigail pled with David, to accept the gifts that she had brought, and she asked him to forgive her transgression----she don't mention Nabal again, after that.
Her words stopped David in his tracks. He knew she was right, and he praised her in front of his men. She literally, had been a godsend----she had been used by God, to prevent David, from taking vengeance on Nabal, by killing him, and then being guilty, of shedding other innocent blood, by murdering his whole household. And, her timely arrival and wisdom, kept David, from playing like he was God,which was what he would have been doing if he had taken matters into his own hands, without consulting God first, and what he would have been doing, if he had taken a life, that God hadn't told him to----
If Abigail had not acted so quickly, David would have carried out his plan----which, was the furtherest thing, from God's plan.
With some measure of relief and thankfulness, David must have gratefully accepted Abigail's gifts and sent her home in peace.
David left vengeance in God's hands----and it came quickly-----When Abigail got home from her meeting with David, Nabal was drunk from the huge party he had thrown that night. She bided her time and waited until he was sober, the next morning, before she told him about her encounter with David. (When we have to discuss difficult matters with people, especially with family members, timing is everything. We need to ask the Lord for the wisdom to know the best time for confrontation and for bringing up touchy subjects.) When he heard the news, it looks like, that he either had a heart attack, or a stroke, and then,10 days later, God took his life.
Scripture says, that David rejoiced at the news, not so much that Nabal was dead, but that God had sent Abigail to pull him up short, so that he didn't do something in haste, that he would have regretted for the rest of his life.
David wasted no time in asking Abigail to marry him----her behavior had been selfless and wise and brave, and David wanted to reward her, for her loyalty to her household, and to him. Abigail didn't even hesitate----she agreed to marry him immediately.
David's marriage to Abigail, counteracted Saul's continued betrayal. Whatever Saul attempted to deny David, God more than made up for.
During that time, for some reason, that we aren't given, Saul had another change of heart about David and he started pursuing him again----- and He also gave Michal away to another man, while she was still married to David----although, we will see later, that David did take her back again, when he could-----
In this chapter, in the back story, before David was king, we've gotten a glimpse of a remarkable aspect, of his character---- and we've seen, through his behavior, just why he was a man, after God's own heart. He was able to forgive his enemy. The fact that it happened, under the influence of Abigail's God-guided wisdom, just underlines the fact, that for a man to be stopped in his tracks, by a woman, was not normal, especially in that ancient world. This clearly proves, that David was different---- he was marching to the sound of a different voice, from the other powerful men of his day.
William Arthur Ward said, "We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge and we are most like God when we forgive."
This remarkable aspect of David's behavior, is strikingly similar, to the behavior of Jesus-----who didn't come, in His first coming, to condemn us---He came to save us, through forgiveness. When Jesus comes again, that will be the time for judgement---but in the meantime, this is the time for forgiveness----and we believers, need to take a lesson from David, and practice forgiveness, more than we do judgement.
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