I Samuel 24:8-25

“Keep An Eye On That Side Too!” • 12.4.07 • Autonomy, Authority And The Man Of God, Session ^#13

Intro.

- Saul has finished attending to his needs in a cave in the wilderness of En Gedi. He has put his robe back on, not realizing that a piece of it was missing.

- He walks out of the cave, only to hear a loud voice crying out behind him.

• I Samuel 24:8-10 : “David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, ‘My lord the king!’ And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. And David said to Saul: ‘Why do you listen to the words of men who say, 'Indeed David seeks your harm'? Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.'”

- David pleads his case with Saul, publicly, in the hearing of all of Saul’s men.

- Saul is cornered and confesses his sin publicly, with the usual pomp and circumstance.

• I Samuel 24:16,17 : “So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, ‘Is this your voice, my son David?’ And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Then he said to David: ‘You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.”

- Saul says all the right things, including that David will be King. David swears an oath to Saul and they both go their separate ways.

• I Samuel 24:22 : “So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.”

- David knew that Saul’s words meant very little, so he kept his distance.

- But life gets difficult out in the wilderness and it’s good to have good relationships with other nearby neighbors.

- David and his men had encountered some shepherds, employed by an extremely wealthy man named Nabal during his stay in the wilderness.

- David, wanting to get a feast together for his men, decides to call in a favor on this neighbor.

• I Samuel 25:7,8 : “'Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. '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 comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.'”

- David is asking a very simple thing for such a rich man. The reply must have shocked him.

• I Samuel 25:10,11 : “Then Nabal answered David's servants, and said, ‘Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?’”

- Nabal’s response is not only a “no,” but it’s impugning the character of David as well, suggesting in his reply that he believed that David was a rebel.

- Now, this is fresh off of David’s confrontation of Saul. How does David respond?

• I Samuel 25:13 : “Then David said to his men, ‘Every man gird on his sword.’ So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.”

- David is about to annihilate Nabal’s entire estate! 400 men seems a bit overkill...literally!

- Thankfully, Nabal’s wife Abigail got word of what had taken place and intercepted David’s raiders on their way in.

• I Samuel 25:25 : “Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.”

- Abigail wonderfully intercedes on her husband’s behalf and David’s anger is averted.

- 10 days later, Nabal is having a party.

• I Samuel 25:36-38 : “Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there 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; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. Then it happened, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.”

- What do we make about what this section holds for us? Look at how it plays out naturally.

I. Acts Of Grace And Disgrace, David (24:8-10 & 25:13)

II. Act Of Kindness, Abigail (25:25)

III. Act Of Vindication, God (25:38)

Text

I. Acts Of Grace And Disgrace, David (24:8-10 & 25:13)

- The amazing truth of God’s word is that it never hides the ugly details of His man’s life.

- David shines brightly when dealing with Saul. He says the right things, he believes correctly.

• I Samuel 24:12 : “Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.”

• I Samuel 24:15 : “Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

- This is textbook, beautiful, righteous. It takes a man of God to respond that way under such phenomenal pressure and to not take the easy way out.

- But then, not too long from this incident, David takes a much lower road.

- Nabal spoke harshly with David and the proverbial straw broke the camel’s back.

- David’s actions show a man that truly was fighting against his own nature. He finally blows up and will avenge himself on someone, Nabal being a perfect target.

- There are three lessons within this section. First, doing a thing right once does not mean that you have it mastered and will not face it again!

- Continued, daily vigilance is necessary if we are to be victorious in our walks with Christ.

- Paul, writing the Corinthians, spoke about the example of the people of the Old Testament, how they fell in the wilderness and were left in the desert because of their sin. Then he warns them:

• I Corinthians 10:12 : “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

- Second, always look for the enemy to bring temptation after a victory, when we are most susceptible and the least prepared!

- David must have felt pretty good about himself, knowing that he passed the test with Saul.

- He did not know that Saul was the review. The test was whether David would trust the Lord to avenge him. David was about to fail that test miserably with Nabal.

- Third, our anger when expressed this way will never bring about any good thing.

- David was impetuous, over-reactive and his wrath was astounding.

• James 1:19,20 : “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

- This section is an incredible warning to every godly man, knowing that in this life, we are ever prone to fall.

• I Peter 5:8 : “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

II. Act Of Kindness, Abigail (25:25)

- David is rushing toward death; Abigail is rushing toward life.

- We know very little about Abigail at this point in the story, except that she is an exceptional woman who married an exceptional fool!

- We learn of her that she is first willing to put herself between the offended and the offender.

- She hears of Nabal’s foolishness and goes herself to meet David.

- Upon reaching David, she came in true humility.

• I Samuel 25:23 : “Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground.”

- If the Lord entrusts you to be an intercessor, first, come in humility. Abigail could have come with words like, “You big bully! I thought you were a godly man!?” Instead, she bowed herself.

- Second, she acknowledges Nabal’s sinful offense against David. (25:25a)

- Abigail says “Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him.”

- She asks for forgiveness on Nabal’s behalf and then turns David attention back to the Lord, wisely reminding David of his future and what God intends for him.

• I Samuel 25:28-31 : “For the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.’”

- Abigail runs interference, humbly asking for reprieve and then reminding David of what he has forgotten in the heat of the moment, namely the future that God has provided him with.

- Abigail is a wonderful intercessor, who comes with a humble, understanding heart.

- She is not a man, but how we need men like her, who are willing to stand in the gap for their brothers, willing to interject themselves into the line of fire.

- You might say, “Hey, I don’t want to get into other people’s business.” That may be alright in the “BUSINESS” world, but in the FAMILY of God, there is no such abdication of responsibility.

• Galatians 6:1,2 : “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

• James 5:19,20 : “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

III. Act Of Vindication, God (25:38)

- This is my favorite part of the story. Nabal has been spared, but what a Nabal he has been.

- He does not know what he has been spared until during the party when he was fully drunk.

• I Samuel 25:36-38 : “Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there 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; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. Then it came about, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.”

- God took care of the offense and vindicated David. The Lord struck Nabal.

• I Samuel 25:39 : “So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.’ And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.”

- David did not have to raise a finger; He just had to swallow his pride and wait on the Lord.

- What is this teaching? That God will deal with those who wrong us in this life.

- Men, women, and children of all ages, deal daily with hurts and abuse inflicted by others.

- In so many cases, the abuse and the victimization goes on for indefinite periods of time.

- Their cries go up to anyone that would hear them and in this life, some will never see closure.

• Psalm 72:12-14 : “For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper. He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight.”

- What about you? Have you given over any vendettas or offenses to the Lord? Are you trusting him to be your defense and vindicator? David did not want to, but did, and God did not let him down here, nor would He do so with Saul.

Conclusion

- Today, the Lord warns us to live carefully, surrendering our emotions and rights to the Lord.

- How often we would ruin our witness, perhaps even our lives, when we are consumed by getting back at another. How much better is it when the Lord does it for us.

- Let us be men who listen to the advice of Abigail, reminding ourselves that God’s future is better to hope in, rather than the satisfaction that might call to us in the moment.