There’s a saying that goes, “A smart person knows what to say; a wise person knows when to say it.” In marriage, you could say it like this, “A new husband knows what to say; a seasoned husband knows when to say it.”
The topic of wisdom in the Bible takes up about 1/3 of the Old Testament content. Godly wisdom is knowledge + experience honed by God’s direction, applied to our lives. And today, we’re going to see godly wisdom, in action.
Let’s jump back into First Samuel chapter 25, verse 1, as today we have three chapters to cover. As we open up to First Samuel 25:1, lets quickly review the past several weeks.
We were introduced to David, as a person who eagerly wanted to follow God, who carried God’s peace to others, who exercised confident faith, and who loved those that sought to hurt him. We saw how these characteristics that David had, is why God called him to be king and what God calls us to as well.
Then we saw how Saul continued his descent into sin and we talked about how we need to be able to recognize when we are on our own descent into sin and we need those around us that will call us back to God when they see that spiral .
Following that, we saw the cracks in David’s own faith as he engaged in sin when his lie lead to the death of an entire town, and he did not trust God to protect him as he acted like a madman in front of the Philistines to save his life. Yet, the difference between Saul and David comes down to how David recognized and took ownership of his sin; Saul never did such a thing. And so we saw how God calls us to recognize our faults and be humble in accepting our part in sin.
Then we saw how it’s easy for us to allow the pressures around us to dictate our actions. Yet what we saw in David’s life is that he sought God because he knew God knows what happens when we choose to go a certain way. But what we learned was that God not only knows what will happen, he also knows what could happen if we were given different circumstances. So we talked about how we need to trust God because he knows the outcomes, and therefore we need to let him guide us through the pressures of this life.
Finally, last week, we looked at the situation of David having the opportunity to take Saul’s life. Yet David didn’t because he did not feel like God had given him the right to do it. In that moment, we saw how, it is God’s prerogative to take vengeance and bring about justice. And we need to put ourselves in a place where we allow that to happen, so that we can love as Jesus calls us to love.
With that in our minds, we can now turn back to our study in First Samuel as we start reading in verse 1 of chapter 25. Now as we get into First Samuel 25:1, we need to recognize that the thought of the Scripture spans from chapter 23 all the way through chapter 27. So we’re going to look at three chapters today, as we make our way through 25, 26, and 27.
Let’s begin to read in chapter 25:1
25:1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.
Let’s stop right there. Samuel’s death is merely mentioned in the course of the events we’re following. It is not as important for the bigger thought that Scripture is focused on, but his death needs to be understood for chapter 28, which we will come to next week.
Let’s keep reading.
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.’”
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.
Let’s stop there. In this situation we might think that David is overreacting, and as we’ll see he is. However, in the culture there is an expectation to receive visitors and to help those who have helped you. Nabal has rejected both customs in this moment and so David seeks to take his revenge on the insult.
It is here that we have another moment where we see a break in David’s faith. We just saw him realize that it was God’s duty to take vengeance on his enemies, yet David detaches that theological epiphany from other circumstance, and only applies it to one, Saul. There’s is no mention of God in this passage, instead David is acting out of his own desire, rather than the will of God.
This will be brought up in a few paragraphs. Let’s keep reading.
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.”
Let’s stop, there’s that word again, worthless. Nabal is a worthless man. He is a man seeking, not after the things of God, but after the things of Satan. So this gives credibility to David taking him out. However, there are others to be considered here. It’s not just Nabal, but his family and servants who are at risk. And here’s the reality, sometimes the sin of others puts the people around them at risk of their repercussions.
Yet, Abigail, the wife of Nabal is willing to take action to protect, everyone, even her worthless husband. Verses 18-23 tell us that she gathers a large assortment of goods to offer David to apologize for her husband’s sinful actions, but without Nabal’s knowledge.
Dropping down to verse 24, we keep reading.
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. 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.”
We see in verse 26, that Abigail appeals to David because she knows that he is someone who is not out to get vengeance. It’s here that she references his sparing Saul’s life, which was news that probably spread pretty quickly throughout the area.
She then follows this up by reminding David of several things: First, that God is establishing David’s house. Everywhere David goes, God uses people to remind him that he will be established as king over Israel. This is a greater encouragement because David’s been out on the run for a long time now. Second, this is done because David fights the Lord’s battles. David usually seeks God as he moves, yet in this moment he has not sought the Lord in what he should do. This is a reminder that David is acting in his own purposes, rather than in the purposes of God. Thirdly, Abigail reminds David that God holds tight those who honor him, but flings his enemies away like a stone in a sling. This is a reference to David’s battle with Goliath. Abigail is reminding David that God honors David because he seeks after God’s will, but make no mistake, God also will punish David when he goes outside of that will. The fourth reminder is that David will be a prince under God and king over Israel. It’s a reminder that God is the ultimate king and David is his under-king. God leads and David is to follow. The question hangs in the air, “David are you trying to be the king instead of God?” Finally, Abigail concludes with a statement to look pass the now and think about how David will view this moment after he becomes king. Her implication is that he shouldn’t want to look back at his ascent to the throne and have grief that he shed the blood of the innocent in an act of vengeance.
Verse 32-39 let us know that Abigail’s appeal works and David praises her. He takes her offering and her council and leaves.
This leads to a confrontation between Nabal and Abigail about the whole situation. Following this, Nabal dies a week and a half later. In this we see that God was going to bring judgment upon Nabal, and if David would have taken it, he would have gotten himself into a bad place in his faith.
The chapter ends with David reaching out to Abigail and asking her to be his wife. David can do this because his own wife was given away by Saul to another man, and Abigail’s husband has died. And, as far as all the women that we have seen in David’s life, Abigail seems to be the best choice for a wife.
Yet, we’re also told in verse 43, “David also took Ahinoam (A-hin-o-om) of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives.”
Well shoot David, you almost had it good. It’s seems so out of place, but out of the blue, David takes another wife alongside Abigail. This isn’t good, because the cracks in David’s faith are multiplying. First, he lied which led to the inhabitants of a town being killed. Then he acted like a madman in front of a Philistine king, to save himself instead of letting God do it. After that, he sought vengeance against Nabal, and had to be talked down. Now, David is multiplying wives. Taking Abigail as a wife makes sense. His first wife Michal was given away to another, so he’s basically free from that commitment, and Abigail is a good catch, beautiful and wise. So why does he take Ahinoam (A-hin-o-om)?
I joked with my wife that she must have been really pretty. Abigail had the brains, and the godliness and what does Ahinoam have? Trouble, as we’ll eventually see, and that usually comes in the form of a beautiful women.
In this moment, David is breaking God’s command to Israel’s kings. In Deuteronomy 17:17 kings are told, “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away …”
David’s not doing well as he continues to slowly stray from the path of God. It’s here though that we get a second opportunity for David to take Saul’s life.
Chapter 26, the Ziphites are back and they let Saul know where David is, just like Saul wanted them to do. And even though David has show Saul no hostility, even sparring his life, Saul still is hell bent on killing David.
So the whole of the situation plays out very similar to the first time David spared Saul’s life. Saul comes down, except this time David and another are able to sneak into Saul’s camp while he’s sleeping. This time, instead of taking a piece of his clothing, he takes Saul’s spear and water jug to show that he had the means to kill the king while he slept.
A similar exchange of words happens between David and Saul, except this time, in verse 21, Saul’s words ring hollow. He again believes he has sinned, but simply acknowledging our sin is not what God wants. God desires repentance, which is acknowledgement and turning away from that sin.
Saul keeps doing the same thing again and again, he’s not going to change. And once Saul leaves, we’re told this in chapter 27:1, “Then David said in his heart, ‘Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”
David sees that Saul isn’t going to change, that the small glimpses of acknowledgment of sin are not lasting, so he takes off to the land of the Philistines where another crack in his faith occurs.
We’re told that he is allowed by Achish, king of Gath, to move his entire family to the city. From there and eventually, a new city, David begins raiding parties on the Canaanite people. He doesn’t leave anyone alive when he attacks these settlements and when asked about it, David tells Achish that he is attacking Israelite encampments. And the chapter ends with David doing well in the land of the Philistines, and Achish thinking David has turned on the Israelite people.
However, I want us to recognize that nowhere in the last three chapters has anyone sought the Lord. Nabal didn’t when David asked for help. David didn’t when he sought to kill Nabal. Saul didn’t when he again tried to kill David. And David didn’t when he escaped to Gath, and began raiding the Canaanites and lying about it. Also, just to add a little to this whole situation, in verse 3 of chapter 27, Abigail has been regulated to second in importance as she is named after Ahinoam ( A-hin-o-om).
Throughout these three chapters we see how quickly and prevalently sin can spread. Every man, whether it be Nabal, David, or Saul is shown to be in the wrong. They each, in their own way, have sinned. They have sinned in not speaking with God, and they have sinned in following their own desires.
Yet through it all, Abigail is held up as a righteous voice among the sin. She stands up against her husband’s folly, and she pleads with David for mercy. It’s her desire for mercy that seems to influence David from carrying out his second opportunity to kill Saul. And within these three chapters, she is the only one who acts in righteousness, whereas everyone else doesn’t.
And it’s on the path of the likes of Abigail that God is calling to walk. To be those who are willing to put our lives on the line, even when sinful people are doing sinful things. She stood up to Nabal which could have gotten her killed, and she stood up against David, which could have gotten her killed. Yet she stood for righteousness and goes down as one of the best examples of applying godly wisdom to a tense situation.
It’s in her example that we see God’s call to us in applying his wisdom to the various situations that come up. This is why it’s important to understand the wisdom literature of the Bible. There are three streams of thought in the Old Testament: Law, Prophetic, and Wisdom. Books like Proverbs challenge us to turn away from sin and embrace godly wisdom. My challenge to you this week, is to walk in the wisdom of God and apply his wisdom to the situations you encounter. To aid in this, take some time and read chapter six of Proverbs. It covers a multitude of challenges that come up in our lives ans gives encouragement to avoid sin.
Let us be a people of God who are not merely saying we follow God, but who apply his wisdom to our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
