It’s Not Looking Good (1 Samuel 25)

Any Star Wars fans? One of the most important characters in the first three movies (Not the originals – best. But chronologically) – Anakin Skywalker. Little boy. Highest raw potential – most powerful jedi. Many thought – He’s the chosen one. The one who was supposed to bring peace to the galaxy and balance to the force. He grew quickly in his training but he was always troubled inside. He wanted to be more. He wanted to be the best. He wanted what he couldn’t have. Long story short – Deceived. – In a twisted effort to save his baby mama, in rage he turns to the dark side, and he slaughters a bunch of people including little kids. And everyone is like – NOOO!!! You’re the chosen one! What are you doing?! You can’t do this! If you failed, if you’re not the one/hero we’ve been waiting for, then who is? (If I’ve ruined the movie for you – Too bad. Over 50yrs late.)

David is still on the run for his life even though he’s been chosen and anointed as Israel’s next king. He’s been faithful in the pasture. He’s taken on Goliath. He’s gained the loyalty of some close friends. He just passed a big test in not taking advantage of a situation and not taking things into his own hands – not killing Saul when he had the chance when Saul was toileting in the cave where he was hiding. David’s training to become king is going well in so many ways…

1 Sam. 25 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.

Significant – The spiritual leader of Israel has died. Not clear at this point who will take his place. Or what will happen to God’s people without a clear spiritual leader. Setting – Will God’s people faithfully follow God? Or live and do what is right in their own eyes…

Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. ² And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. ⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. ⁶ And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. ⁷ I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

So apparently David, as he’s been on the run with his men, has had interactions with Nabal’s shepherds. He’s treated them well. He’s protected them. And now David is humbly asking for help. Lowers himself – Your servants/Your son. Nabal – Daddy.

Sheepshearing season – Celebration. Feast. Major social event marked by generosity and hospitality.

⁹ When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. ¹⁰ And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹ Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” ¹² So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. ¹³ And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

Nabal – He was rich and also greedy. He could have easily spared food and resources. But not only was he stingy – MY, his words were harsh. Sure. – He had the right not to share. But his response was worsened by how he said no. And even worse still – Out of touch with God’s plans. David was the chosen king. David helped out Nabal – Nabal could have returned the favor. Smart – It could have paid off in the future to have someone so important in your debt.

So David – If Nabal wasn’t going to give it freely, he was going to take it by force. Uh oh. Doesn’t sound good does it? Something is off with David. Why so easily offended? Ok – He’s been chosen by God and anointed as king. He’s been on the run for his life, begging for food, hiding in caves, acting like a crazy person to disguise himself. Seems like nothing is beneath him.

Who is Nabal that his words bring out such a big reaction? He’s not even king yet and already we are seeing cracks in David’s character. He’s acting like a fool. He’s willing to kill someone over their stinginess and empty words. – What happened to the restraint we saw just one chapter before? David just referred to himself as a dead dog, a flea. Now he’s raging out of control because a dead dog, a flea, said some words. 

Hits a sore spot? – Who is David? Remember – He wasn’t even invited to his family’s party when Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons. He’s been the unknown, forgotten one. But David all of a sudden, thinks he’s somebody now. What’s changed? He’s taken his eyes off God and is looking at himself in comparison to others. His flesh has gotten the best of him.

1. Taking your eyes off God and putting them on yourself is the quickest way to downfall. 

It’s easy to think more highly of yourself than you ought when comparing yourself to others. You can come up with a million reasons.

-Education/Intellect – Letters behind your name.

-Wealth

-Family/Ethnic Background

-Marital/Family Status

-Physical – better looking, stronger, taller, skinnier

-Position/Career

But when your eyes are fixed on God – two things happen. You see God for who he really is. – He’s God. He’s holy, righteous, all powerful, all knowing, loving, faithful. He is everything that is good. And as a result you see yourself clearly for who you are. – You are broken. You are needy. You are wicked. You need saving. You are no one. And you’re no better than anyone else. And so it becomes impossible to see yourself better than others. So you’re harder to offend. 

You are first sinner. Second sinned against. We’re good at the second. When we are sinned against. – Ready to fight. We’re bad at the first. Admitting that we are sinners just as bad and even worse than the person who has sinned against us and in desperate need of God’s forgiveness ourselves. – We don’t treat our sin with the same kind of intensity/anger/hatred as we do the sin in others.

What makes you filled with wrath?

-Bad drivers. Motos – Pass?

-Disrepects

-Offends

-Wastes your time

What good does it do you? Feels good. But it doesn’t ever accomplish anything good. James 1:19-20 ¹⁹ Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰ for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Slow to anger – God.

Wrath is a sign that you think too highly of yourself because you’ve taken your eyes off God. – Counter. Unnatural. – Putting yourself first – Disaster. But putting God first, fixing your eyes on him, leads to life. – Think and act clearly.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. ¹⁵ Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. ¹⁶ They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷ Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

2. Ruin comes to the fool who doesn’t listen to wise counsel. The fool listens to no one because they think they are always right. Wisdom – Humility – I need help. Wise counsel – They’re going to tell you things you don’t like sometimes. Word of God – Useful for correcting, rebuking, teaching, training. Without – Fool.

¹⁸ Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. ¹⁹ And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. ²¹ Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. ²² God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

David is hot. He’s questioning all the good he did in the past in helping Nabal. His heart is set. He’s ready to wipe out Nabal and all that belongs to him. He even is calling down a curse upon himself. 

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. ²⁵ Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. (That’s a tough name. Mama? Nickname?)

But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. ²⁶ Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. ²⁷ And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. ²⁹ If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, ³¹ my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

Nabal was a fool. Worthless fellow. Harsh and badly behaved. Abigail – Discerning. Wise. Humble. Abigail – Brings offerings. Asks for forgiveness and takes the guilt of her husband upon herself. Why? It’s not her fault. (Come back…)

3. Good counsel points to the faithfulness of God and speaks righteousness into you.

Look at what Abigail says to David – 

1. Recounts the promises of God and his faithfulness to remind David – The Lord will care for you. The Lord will make you king. The Lord will do good. Trust God. 

2. Speaks righteousness into David – Evil shall not be found in you. And you will have a clear conscience – You don’t have to work salvation for yourself. Bloodguilt – Stain on reputation/character. You don’t want that regret later in life.

Powerful – Live today in a way that you will one day be glad when looking back on your life. Girls – Dad – Tell me stories when you were growing up. A lot of stories – I was so bad. – Stole my dad’s car. Stole comic cards and blamed my little brother. Etc. (Wish I had more good stories of when I was younger…)

Great Formula – 1 & 2.

³² And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! ³³ Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! ³⁴ For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” ³⁵ Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

4. God alone is your hope for righteousness. 

Instead of acting like a king – David was acting like a bully. David left to his own strength, his own righteousness – failure. Hopeless. – The Lord restrained. God stepped in to keep David from disaster. (v. 26, 24) How? –

God sends Abigail to David’s rescue. Wait – What? I thought David was the king we were all hoping for? That he would be better than Saul? And yet we see here that even David needed saving by a woman?

Often through unexpected people. Again, you shouldn’t see yourself higher than you ought. The only good things in your life, the only reason you’re not in complete ruin is the grace of God. – Others.

When you have a weak moment – You need people around you to keep you from disaster. – Community Group. Foolish – Prov. 18:1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.

Advice: 

-Single Men – Find yourself a woman like Abigail here. Life to you.

-Single Ladies – Become like Abigail here. Don’t just sit around waiting for a good guy to finally come along. Work on yourself. And don’t marry a fool. – Will save you a lot of heartache.

-Wives – We need you to be like Abigail for us. Cause us men, us husbands, we can act like fools sometimes. All the wives – Amen. 

-Husbands/Men – Don’t be a fool. That’s it.

³⁶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. ³⁷ In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸ And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

Hebrew word play. Nabal – Fool. Nebel – Wineskin. Literary effect – Literally and symbolically empty. The wine is gone. His life is gone.

5. You don’t have to busy or concern yourself with fools because they will cause their own ruin. That’s what fools do. And God will avenge – He will right every wrong. So we can wait. We don’t have to take things into our own hands. Again – God’s purposes cannot be accomplished by the flesh. Only by the power of the Spirit. (PJD)

So what if someone wrongs you or says something bad about you. Shake it off. – TS. Context? Kids – What you say bounces off me and sticks onto you. – Some truth. Says more about the person than you. Don’t let the words of someone you don’t know, someone who doesn’t really know you – affect you deeply. Don’t give them that real estate in your heart/mind. Who cares? – You have the full love and affection of God.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. ⁴⁰ When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” ⁴¹ And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” ⁴² And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. ⁴⁴ Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

End of the story of David and Nabal. But it’s not a good ending. David – Already acting like the kings of the world – Rage/Anger. Restrained. Then by taking multiple wives for himself. Polygamy – A “hero” of the bible. Condoned by God? This was strictly forbidden. – Deut. 17:17

6. Be careful of the smaller tests that follow the big.

David passes a big test in chp. 24 to almost fail in chp. 25 with a fool. And then disobeys God’s laws.

Both the big test and the small test – equally reveal the heart. Be careful of the small test that follows the big one. (Uneven sidewalks – Big – Ok. Small – Lose your ankle/back.) Don’t get lax. Always be ready and attentive.

David – Not a hero to imitate. The best of us are fallen – Shows our need for a better king…

That king is Jesus. Jesus is our only hope. 

Abigail is more like Jesus here than David is – the one chosen and anointed to be king. “Abigail” – “My Father’s joy” – Who had the joy and pleasure of the Father – Jesus. She humbly rides in on a donkey – to save her foolish husband. She takes the blame even though she is innocent. Peace meal – lamb. Because of her deeds and willingness to take on the guilt of another – Saves the lives of many – including those who don’t deserve it. 

Who are we most like in his story? Like David – Quick to anger. Quick to forget the faithfulness of God. Like Nabal – Fools. Thinking we are something/someone. Stingy, ungrateful, and unrecognizing and mocking God’s anointed King Jesus because we think we are. 

But instead of taking his just vengeance out on us, the true King took it upon himself. God – Because of the great love with which he loved us sent Jesus to take our place and died the death we deserved on the cross.

And he set us free – from sin and death – from being imprisoned/enslaved by the wrong of others where we have to seek our own vengeance – when he rose from the grave. – So we can set others free because we’ve been set free. Trusting all is in the loving hands of the Savior.

PJD – Crisis and conflict are opportunities to apply your faith, not to decide your faith. Don’t wait to think you are going to make the right decision in the moment. Decide beforehand. 

God’s will judge and take vengeance on foolishness. Foolishness – irreverence for his king. – Jesus. Can be rich. Can be somebody. You can have it all. And still be a fool. But if you will humble yourself to Jesus – He will lift you up. He is the true king.