Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday
January 5, 2018
Pastor Rick Kabrick
1 SA 8:7, They are not rejecting us, They are rejecting God. That’s between them and the Lord.
PRO 12:15, The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
“My Father, My GOD is the source of all Joy.”
Among them is Racheal, Rahab, yes Rahab, Ester, and Sarai who became Sarah. Probably more, but you get the picture.
Wisdom and being able to discern the situation and seeing the direction God wants you to go, and then having the determination to do it, That’s the key to a successful outcome.
PRO 17:28, Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted as wise: and he that shuts up his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
PRO 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger”.
Standing between them is a woman who has the Divine ability to fully understand the situation.
“Think twice before speaking once”.
Is wise advice.
2 ears 1 mouth, listen twice as much as you talk.
Watch how your man treats his mother…not just when your around and watching, but overall, because believe it or not, that has a lot to do with how he will treat you.
The Calebites were attached to the tribe of Judah; and since Judah would be the tribe most loyal to David.
If David had indeed done such a thing, it could have alienated the whole tribe of Judah. Another reason why Abigail and her involvement helped save David from that terrible mistake.
It might seem like David was operating like the mob, but David asking for supplies from Nabal were very much a part of the customs and standards of that time.
Without David’s wall of protection around Nabal’s flocks, there can be little doubt that Nabal’s flocks would have been taken away from him.
Nabal’s response infuriates David. He immediately orders two-thirds of his army (400 men) to strap on their swords and prepare for battle.
And Saul was David's bitter enemy; from Saul, David expected nothing except hatred, or even death; and now, because of a few hard, ugly words,
David felt that nothing but the blood of a whole family could pay for the insult.
Remember David was a warrior, and those 600 men with him were the special forces of the day.
Power only succumbs to power and even then reluctantly.
David’s thought process becomes very evident. He realizes how worthless all his good deeds to Nabal really were.
The thing is that David and his men could have easily done so. They were a powerful force.
The situation with Nabal did not warrant David killing him. He was Jew as well and taking vengeance upon him; as Abigail pointed out, was contrary to God’s law for David so to do.
Nabal was also a descendent of Caleb, so David killing him over this matter would have caused huge issues between the tribes.
In an attempt to ward off the bloodshed and save innocent lives, she asks for the blame to be hers.
What a contrast between Abigail’s wise humility and discernment and Nabal’s foolish pride.
Abigail’s skillful plea for mercy worked.
It was a sling that brought David to the attention of all Israel in his triumph over Goliath.
And she knew the story of David and the giant named Goliath.
Abigail’s wisdom here was surely inspired of God, because, David’s shedding the blood of Nabal would have started a blood feud among the clans.
David humbly received the rebuke of this woman, thanked her and thanked God that she had come to meet him with such a plea.
Nabal was dead wrong, dead drunk, and now dead physically!
Regardless, David remained a man after God’s heart despite all of his failures, and of course that is a lesson we can all learn.