Secure in the Lord

Click here for the audio message of 1 Samuel 25:10-19.

We see something interesting occurring here in chapter 25 this morning. If you recall from last week in chapter 24 we have David hiding out in a cave from Saul. Saul goes into the cave and David cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe.

David is filled with guilt because he attacked God’s anointed one that he exits the cave and confesses to Saul what he has done. David knew that God chose Saul and he knew that it would be clear when the time was right for David to assume the throne.

Again, David had lessons to learn and that is what we find again in our Scripture this morning. As I mentioned in chapter 24 David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he didn’t. In Chapter 26 David again has the opportunity to kill Saul, but doesn’t. But here in chapter 25 we have David being the aggressive one, ready to kill another man over an insult.

At some point in our lives we have all said or at least thought something like this: “I’ll get you for that.” Or “You’ll regret the day you did that to me.” Or “I don’t get mad, I get even.” When people mistreat us our human sinful nature takes over and we seek revenge.

We want to give them a taste of their own medicine. Although usually we don’t just give them a taste, we give them a mouthful. We don’t just get even, we like to kick it up a notch and get even plus a little something extra. That’s our human sinful nature. And that’s exactly what we see David about to do this morning.

David is insulted by Nabal and is ready to seek vengeance. See David and his men looked after Nabal’s men while they were out watching the sheep. No harm came to them. When it was time to celebrate the sheering of the sheep, David asked Nabal if they could be part of the festival.

Nabal insulted David and would not give him any food or let them participate in the fun. David gets very mad at Nabal and tells his men, “Strap on your swords.” Here David is, a man of God, ready to go a kill another man and not just the man, but all the males of the household.

See what I mean. We don’t just get even. We kick it up a notch to show that we really mean business and you messed with the wrong guy. David did the same thing. Thankfully, there is a beautiful woman that steps up to the plate and averts disaster.

Nabal is a rough, tough looking man, and apparently he wasn’t too swift. His name actually means fool and judging from his actions he was. His wife, Abigail on the other hand was very beautiful and intelligent.

Some of Nabal’s servants saw how Nabal treated David and they came to Abigail and told her the story. She immediately raced into action, getting food and supplies ready to repay David for his kindness to the shepherds watching over the flock.

She meets David as he is in route to kill Nabal. See, she knew, as most people did, who David was. She knew he was God’s choice to be the next King of Israel. She obviously knew her husband as well and what a fool he was.

Abigail humbly comes before David and asks for mercy. David blesses her for her discretion and her wisdom and bravery. David lets her return in peace and does not attack Nabal.

When Abigail returned to her house, she found Nabal drunk out of his mind. So she decided to let him sleep this one off. The next morning when Nabal got up, Abigail told him what she did. He had a heart attack and stroke which left him paralyzed for a few days before he died.

When David finds out that Nabal died, he goes and marries Abigail. Again, I would like to end the story by saying and they all lived happily ever after, but that isn’t the case.

Well, this is quite a story, but there were lessons that David needed to learn. And there are lessons that we need to learn as well.

First of all lets look at verses 12 and 13. “So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. And David said to his men, ‘Every man strap on his sword.’”

So David gets insulted and what does he do? He prepares to fight. He doesn’t think about the situation, he doesn’t ask his friends or his advisors for their thoughts or opinions. He doesn’t show mercy to this fool Nabal. Worst of all, he doesn’t go to God and ask Him what He wants done.

None of that, David simply says strap on your sword and lets go kill them all. How many times have we done that. We react to the situation without seeking the counsel of others and for sure not God.

That is a lesson we all need to learn. Think before you do something. Check in with God on the matter and see what it is that He wants done. There is a reason why you are in the situation you are in. See what God wants you to learn from the experience.

I think the main lesson of this episode in David’s life is to once again trust God. He knows what He is doing. He has a plan and He actively pursues that plan. His will shall be done.

Vengeance is mine says the Lord. We need to leave things up to God to take care of. Now that doesn’t mean we just sit at home in our recliner watching television. We need to take an active part in God’s plan. We just need to be sure that we are participating in God’s plan. God will take care of things on His timetable and in His way.

Many Christians today take a very active role in the protest of abortion clinics. Unfortunately, they are often times not carrying out God’s will with the things that they do and say. They are following their plan, not God’s plan. In fact, no doubt some of them are being used by Satan to continue his plan of making the name of God look bad.

Looking back at our story this morning, in the end how did things turn out? Nabal died. Nabal insulted God’s anointed one and he died. Now I don’t want to ruin the ending for you, but the same thing happens to Saul.

See Nabal and Saul did not respect David, God’s chosen one, and both men die.

The issue for us to think about this morning and this week is to look at the way we treat others when they mistreat us. Think about how trusting the situation to God can change your attitude and action involving that person.

If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If your enemy is thirsty, give him something drink. Love your enemies. That is what Jesus tells us. I know it is hard to do in this world today. But it is what God wants. It is what Christ did.

Closing prayer.

Lord, we ask for forgiveness this morning for those that we have wronged. We ask for the strength and courage and grace to show love and mercy to those that wrong us. Help us to better trust you with our lives.

Amen.