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Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands

1 Samuel 25:1-44

Chapter 24: Don?t let ambition motivate you to move too quickly or to do wrong things for the right motivation, even if it is to accomplish God?s will. Let God determine the timing and the means.

 

Chapter 25: Don?t let anger motivate you to strike out against those you can, even if they deserve it. Let God defend you.

 

1 ? 3

 

So after all he had done and said in Israel, isn?t it odd to you that Samuel?s death and burial is confined to one half of one verse? But all Israel does assemble and mourn for him. I wonder if perhaps the celebration of his life might have been a bit muted based on the grave mistake he warned them about when asking for a king like all the nations. They got what they asked for but not what they wanted in Saul.

 

Abigail and Nabal: Why would such a great woman be with such a bad fellow? Probably an arranged marriage.

 

Note that he was a Calebite. Caleb was one of the spies who went into the land and was very courageous. He fought for the toughest piece of land in all of Israel at the time. He was determined, focused, strong willed, and powerful. These are all good traits, but notice that if left to the flesh, good traits can turn bad. Nabal is now arrogant, stubborn, self-focused, and unbending. He?s also rich, but that doesn?t work in his favor. We need to be careful that the personality traits we possess and God uses don?t end up using us and misusing others.

 

Just to make the contrast even more stark: Abigail means ?My divine father is joy? and Nabal means ?fool?. Abigail intelligent (?discerning?) and beautiful, whereas Nabal was just plain old mean.

 

4 ? 8

 

Some might argue that David was essentially running a ?protection racket.? Saying ?I coulda done you harm but I didn?t so pay up.? I don?t think so. As we saw in the case of Keila, David is interested in protecting God?s people. So here he and his men protect Nabal?s shepherds from thieves and perhaps even wild animals. David is saying ?we are men of good character, not ones to do harm.?

 

David, in a very nice way, just asks for any supplies, mainly food, that Nabal might offer to help out he and his men. They are even coming on a feast day, on which there would be plenty of food to go around so it shouldn?t be a burden to Nabal.

 

9 ? 13

 

But Nabal insults David ?son of Jesse?, and accuses him of insurrection against Saul (and perhaps suggests that David?s servants should break away from him).?

 

Notice David?s response: it is to split up his men and take up arms. David is mad and wants revenge. In God?s continuing training of David as king, God let?s the anger and feeling of being ?wronged? continue, but is going to put a stop to it and provide David with some good lessons about diplomacy, vengeance, and mercy in the process.

 

14 ? 17

 

One of the men who heard Nabal?s rant comes to tell Abigail. He says Nabal ?railed? on David. The Hebrew word ?eek? means to swoop down upon. Nabal?s response was so over the top it was like a bird of prey swooping in for the kill.

 

Here is where we see what David was really for the shepherds: a protection force, like Nabal?s unpaid army.

 

18 ? 22

 

The food that Abigail ?quickly? prepares is better than what David actually asked for and represented some of the delicacies of the day (pressed figs didn?t keep long). This reminds me of Jacob?s present to Essau. David would see the present before the presenter.

 

Was David?s wrath justified? It does seem a little over the top to me. But perhaps what is really happening here is that Nabal is rebelling against more than just paying for the protection of his sheep (that made him even richer), but he is rebelling against God by siding with Saul. I?m reading between the lines here, but it seems from Nabal?s comment earlier that he looks on David as Saul did, rather than the way God does. In a moment, Abigail will make an interesting reference to the fact that David has been anointed king (vs 30). It makes me wonder if Nabal also knew that but was siding with Saul against David and God! And further it makes me wonder that given the opportunity, Nabal would have turned David in (now that he knew where he was). So David may be a little more justified in taking up arms, but it should have been in defense, not offense.

 

Never the less, David would be making a huge mistake to take another?s rebellion into his own hands.

 

23 ? 31

 

Abigail takes on the role of peacemaker. She shows a humble heart (she ?fell on her face? vs 23), a faithful heart (6 times she uses Yahweh in this paragraph), a penitent heart (?forgive? vs 28), and a gracious heart (?this present? vs 27).

 

Abigail very skillfully says to David: God?s king should let God guide his actions. Just because Nabal is a jerk does not mean that you should take matters into your own hands. What we did was wrong, but leave it up to the Lord to repay. No matter what anyone tries to do to you God will protect you. Don?t make a mistake now that you will feel bad about later.

 

32 ? 35

 

I love this paragraph. David is blessed by the ?discretion? of Abigail ? and of Abigail herself. ?Discretion? comes from that Hebrew word that means ?to taste? and the idea here is of perception. Most of all he is impressed by God, who he recognizes as having sent Abigail. David is not afraid of receiving good advice from a woman and recognizing that the wisdom came from God.

 

David knew good advice when he saw it and it didn?t matter the source. Good advice for us as well. The advice 1) was from God?he witnessed to the Lord being the source. 2) It kept him from doing something that wasn?t godly ?bloodguilt?. 3) It kept him from taking God?s matters into his hands (like in 24 with Saul in the cave).

 

This time David doesn?t have to cut off a portion of the robe, or cut off the ear or two of Nabal?s servants to learn to listen to the discernment of the Lord. This is progress.

 

36 ? 38

 

Abigail is wise to wait until Nabal is sober, but Nabal is so upset by what his wife tells him that he has a stroke or heart attach, falls into a coma and dies ten days later. When your heart is in your stuff and your pride, taking it away can be fatal!

 

39

 

Waiting proved to be the wise course, as it often is with us. If we would wait instead of speaking that word in anger, wait instead of striking back, wait instead of giving in to that temptation.

 

David wrote this Psalm:

 

Psalms 27:14 ?Wait for the Lord; ?be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! ?ESV

 

40 ? 44

 

Abigail is overjoyed at becoming David?s wife but continues in the attitude of a servant. Great character.

 

Ahinoam could possibly be Saul?s wife (14:50). If this is the case then David has asserted his rights over the throne by marrying Queen Ahinoam. Michal, David?s first wife, had been given to Paltiel. In 2 Samuel 3, David demands Michal back as his wife, and gets her.

 

Lessons

 

1. One of the things we see in this chapter is that David?s training has brought him to a point where he no longer needs Samuel as a spiritual guide. Saul constantly needed Samuel to remind him he was not following God. David needed some encouragement but once set on the right course he learned what he needed from God about how live a life that brings Him glory.

 

It is a sign of maturity when we find ourselves progressing beyond the basic doctrines of Christ to maturity.

 

Hebrews 5:11-14 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. ESV

 

David had a relationship with God and the Lord brought him into situations where he had the chance to use and learn discernment. He did, and the result was God moving in a way that was far greater than if David had done it on his own. David could have been known as a ruthless man (?don?t get on his bad side?). But instead he got revenge and the girl without lifting a finger.

 

2 Peter 1:3-8 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,?? 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ESV

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2. It?s good to do good. Notice how David automatically protected those around him. He probably didn?t know what Nabal was like. If he did then it was even better what he did.

 

Romans 12:14-21 ?Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15? Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16? Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.? Never be conceited. 17? Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, \"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.\" 20 To the contrary, \"if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.\" 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. ESV

 

 

4. Of course one of the obvious lessons here is to wait on God to move on your behalf rather than taking matters into your own hands. David had to continually learn this lesson. Later in 2 Samuel 24 David does a census, determining Israel?s strength instead of relying on God. He learns a tough lesson there and many die because of it. But also God in his mercy brings about a beautiful thing as well in creating a place for the Temple at the place where the Angel of the Lord stopped striking Jerusalem.

 

3. Look for godly people to bring godly advice. Don?t worry about the source. It could be a young person or someone you would not expect to receive from. I think God sometimes purposefully brings people to us to see if we recognize Him no matter the voice.