1 Samuel 25 (Part 1) Bible Study (The Death of Samuel / David and Abigail) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

First Samuel chapter 25. Let's meet there together. Now before we begin reading, scan through the chapter. It looks like a pretty lengthy one, does it not? So you know what that means.

We're not going to be covering all of this in in this night. But we are going to take our time and we are going to cover a good portion of it nonetheless. And I would like for us to actually pray one more time just before we explore these verses. Lord, we thank you for gathering us in this place. We ask that you would bless this time of study as we as a family come before your word.

Lord, we ask that you would touch our hearts, arrest every wandering thought, Lord. Calm our emotions. Help us receive the food that you have prepared for us at your table. Lord, we pray that you would assist us in the communication of your word, in the understanding of your word, and more importantly, in the application of these truths in our lives. Change us as a result of this study tonight, father.

Have your way in us and through us for the glory of your son's name. We ask these things in his name, the living name, the the reigning name, and the name that every knee will bow to at the end of it all. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Our study last last week, concluded with a surprising encounter between David and King Saul.

These two men, after a long while, have finally met. And in that scene, we saw a stirring a stirring moment where this king was obviously shook with conviction and displayed a visible brokenness and even confessed his sin out loud and admitted that he was evil in comparison to righteousness displayed through David. And when I when I read that, and when you read that, when we learned what we saw there, we we saw a man in David handle this confrontation with such grace, with such wisdom in a way that made him look like a bigger giant than Goliath. This man towered over the sinfulness of another with compassion, with respect, with honor, and with love. And as Saul stood in the shadow of a man's righteousness, we believe that he actually even repented.

Because at the end there, the last verse of the previous chapter, he he chooses to go back home, and it seems like this manhunt is put to a halt for good. And it begs the question as we concluded the last chapter, is this done now? Is this finally over? Did Saul finally surrender the future of the kingdom to God's sovereign selection? And to to us who are not familiar with the larger story, if we're just following as we go and learning as we go, we might think, yeah.

It looks like it. Especially as we come to this chapter because as we read through chapter 25, you and I are not gonna see a struggle between David and Saul. We're gonna see David facing a new challenge. We're gonna see David being confronted by another enemy. And we would think that once this enemy and Saul was put away, that it would be just a wonderful journey to the throne, but oh no, another one rears its ugly head and harasses this man of God.

But before we we come to this never before seen character and the different players in this chapter that will shape David's future, you and I are now reintroduced to somebody that we've studied since the beginning of this book, but we haven't seen for a long time. And it's in verse one. Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. This story, this exhilarating journey to the throne was abruptly interrupted by the sudden news of Samuel's death. It was unforeseen.

The last thing that we really saw of Samuel was that he was old in age. David fled to him for some relief after Saul began his conquest against him. And then now this prophet, who the nation says, you're getting old, and they use it as an excuse to to get a king for their people, has finally departed from this world and entered into the next. Now think about this in light of David's life. Samuel surely was close to David.

He played a supporting role. I mean, he was there from the beginning of this whole story concerning his anointing and his calling. He was even a source of relief and strength because when when Saul came to attack him initially, he flees first to Samuel and he explains everything. And I'm sure Samuel as a man of God just instructed him and encouraged him and rehearsed the promises of God over him. But now this this man is gone.

This man is gone at a pivotal time in Israel's history. And we can imagine what this made David feel like and if he's not watchful, he can, he can end up in panic. He can end up now almost realizing, what else am I gonna do? Who else here is for me? And we would hope instead that he would be more reliant on the one who never dies, who can't die, and the one who never sleeps for that matter.

And we should be encouraged that we don't know what's swirling in David's mind. Then in the second part of verse one, we see a certain posture that is encouraging. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. Then David rose. That's that's a that's a good thing.

David was able to get up and David was able to move on. Because no matter what this did to his heart, no matter what kind of discouragement, as inconvenient as Samuel's death might have been, this man knew I still have a ministry to fulfill. I still have a purpose to accomplish. God still has a purpose for me. I still have my life to glorify him.

And what a wonderful illustration of how to deal with unexpected sorrow in our lives. Because the sorrow that we experience in life, whether it's the grief intentionally caused by other people, because they are sinful just like you and I, and if we're not restrained by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are capable of such great evil even to the closest ones to us, whether it's the intentional pain caused by others or it is the the grief that we experience because of the consequences of sin in the world, I. E. Death, none of that should ever, ever determine our devotion to the Lord. It should not influence our steadfastness to God.

Our love to him, our service to him should never be altered even though our life might receive a shock that would alter the direction of it. It's amazing how sorrow can determine our spiritual disciplines. It's amazing how we can be influenced by the emotional pain of a loss or of disappointment. I brought this up many, many, many months ago, but let me bring it fresh to our memories. Do you know why Peter and the two others fell asleep in the garden while Jesus was sweating blood, praying to the Father?

People say because it was late at night. No. Luke tells us that their eyes were heavy because of what? Who knows? Say it if you know it.

Sorrow. Sorrow. It was the the what they heard in John 13 to John 16. All the things about Jesus departing and and all these things that just messed with their minds. They didn't understand how it all fit with him being the Messiah.

And the sorrow of that crippled them and it caused them not to pray and not to be ready to withstand the temptations that would come through the betrayal of Jesus Christ. You and I have to be extremely careful of how we manage the things in life that disappoint us or grieve us. This man was able to get up and move forward. And he did just that. But it's worth also mentioning not just the response of David, but the reaction of the nation.

What do we read here in verse one? And all Israel assembled and mourned for him. This was not an ordinary funeral. This was like a statewide event. Everybody from around the country came to pay homage to this man.

And, and what's disappointing about this verse, as much as it looks honorable and respectful, what's discouraging is the fact that the same people that are showing such respect in his death were the same people that were very slow to honor this man's counsel and instruction during his ministry. I mean, when he tried to restrain them from asking for a king when he warned them, they could care less. The apostasy, the disrespect. And I think it speaks of a pattern among the people of God. The people of God have this weird habit of showing respect to servants of God when it's too late.

You know, there are many people today that write about these men of God that have shook history and have influenced the advancement of the gospel. And I and I believe when these people talk about these men and write about these men and have conferences about these men, these reformers and all these other people here's what I believe. Most of these men that would applaud them now probably would have criticized them in their lifetime. And Jesus pointed out that same hypocrisy with the Pharisees because they were persecuting him, but at the same time, they were adorning the the tombs of the prophets of old. He said, are you kidding me?

You you you just you're not understanding this. And it's a very sad picture that we see here. But I think on a practical note, when I read something like this in light of how they're inconsistent, level, I think how we can apply it is this, that we should not hesitate to show our appreciation to those who have been a blessing to us in Christ. And we should not be slow to show that sense of honor and love to those who advance the kingdom of God, who have contributed to our nourishment spiritually. Let me put it this way, expressing honor shouldn't be a practice only at funerals.

We should be those who know how to respect and love and appreciate those who are blessing while it counts. And I think we see something here that is true of people today. David Rose. But look at verse two, and there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich, he had 3,000 sheep and a thousand goats.

He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 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. We are now introduced to this man, this man that David is going to be challenged by, and the Lord found it necessary to provide us certain details about him, and it would do us some good to pause and reflect how these things can be applied, these specific insights about this man, Nabal.

So look at those two verses and tell me some things that stand out to you concerning him. Okay. Very good. So we see here that he was a descendant of Caleb, and we're gonna get to that in a moment. That's an important highlight.

Clearly, the Bible mentions it for a reason. He's a descendant of that great hero of Israel, Caleb. We'll get to that. Any other observations about this man? He's rich.

Not just rich, very rich. Anything else? It's pretty stark contrast to his wife. Very good observation. Abigail doesn't seem to reflect the same attitude and character as her husband.

And I think that's sufficient, observations for us to consider. First, the man was not just rich, very, very wealthy. And riches and abundance are not a bad thing in itself, but the purpose of this being brought up is that we should compare and contrast what he owned to the lack that is found in his character. Because what are we told here? He was harsh and badly behaved.

And there are many people today, as you know, who are rich in possessions but are spiritually bankrupt at the same time. Their identity orbits around what they have, the experiences that they can purchase and yet at at the same time, they are poor toward God. Everything about their existence resolves and revolves around what they can touch and feel and what what it what it produces in terms of surface level enjoyment. And that's a sad thing. Let me tell you this.

A person like Nabal is a miserable person. I don't care what ease or pleasure they have access to, what good is it to have an abundance of resources fathers who focus so much on their business while their children are being neglected, and they become wayward and rebellion, rebellious and sinful and, all these things. We put so much attention on what we can have and what we can do, while so much that really matters around us dies and withers away. This man did not have the character of his ancestor, Caleb, that we're gonna look at in a moment. He was a Calebite.

Who's Caleb? Give me a summary of who Caleb is. How does he stand out in history, in Israel's history? Very good. He was one of the 12, but he's in a very, very important one of the 12.

He is one of not just 12, but the two. Who's the other man? Very good. Who brought a positive report, who had a faithful outlook on conquering the promised land. And so this man, Caleb, was, a champion in faith.

He, he, he demonstrated and he stood out from the nation concerning trusting God and holiness and wholly following the Lord. And what's interesting is that the Holy Spirit goes out of his way to tell us that Nabal had this kind of heritage. This is who he was connected to. And yet Nabal chose to stand out in a different way. He chose to stand out as one who was a fool.

Who was a fool. Who did not walk in the ways of the example of his own family line, which is a sad thing, which is a reminder that parents, as much as we have great promises that if we apply the principles of God's word to our children, they still have a decision to make on their own. Mother and father, you are not their savior. You evangelize your children and you leave the saving work to Jesus Christ. The descendants of our own will have to make their own decision to follow Christ or not.

And unfortunately, this man down the line chose to love money over the God of Israel. But there's another reason why Caleb is mentioned. From which tribe is Caleb from? That's Joshua. Caleb is from a different tribe.

Good. Caleb, according to Numbers 13, is from the tribe of Judah. Why is that important in light of David's story? Where is David from? Very good.

And so we expect by reading this up to this point, that because Nabal is from the same tribe, he's from the closest kindred to David, that he's gonna treat them in a favorable way. That he's gonna come to his support, that the relationship is going to be built but in fact quite the opposite is actually going to happen, which is a prophetic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ that his very own despised him and treated him as though he was an enemy. And as David approaches the scene, just as Christ came to his own, we are going to see despicable response and reaction to this faithful man as it was toward Christ himself. Lastly, the detail every detail that was brought up is exactly what we wanna touch on. We're told about something else concerning Nabal, and it's not about him directly, but about his wife.

And we would think that Abigail, for her to be this man's wife, would reflect the kind of the same character. But to our surprise, we are actually told that she is beautiful in appearance, and she is discerning or she has good understanding. There are few times in the bible that the biblical writers go out of the way to speak about both men and women, but mainly women, about their appearance and calling them beautiful. Could you name some? Sarah, yes, told she was beautiful.

She was beautiful in her in her seventies, eighties, and nineties. I mean, Abraham was worried that even in that point of her life, men would kill him to take her. Imagine how she looked. Sarah, anything else? Rachel, yes?

Tamar, Bathsheba, very good. Yes. Yeah. Sure. I mean, well, not specifically told me.

He had a thousand, so I'm sure one of them looked good. The daughters of Job, Esther. And when you look at these mentions of of how they are called beautiful, they're either we're either told that they were beautiful, very beautiful, or beautiful in form and in appearance. This is where Abigail stands out. There's a unique combination concerning her, and it's that she was not just beautiful, but that she had discernment.

You won't find that combination, unless you know of someone that I don't. You won't find that combination given to a woman apart from this one. And that's a wonderful thing because it speaks about an inner beauty and an outer beauty. She had both. And that's that's a great thing because oftentimes when somebody knows that they're beautiful or handsome, the temptation there is that they neglect allowing the Holy Spirit to chisel the inner inner man to reflect Christ.

They they see the advantages that they can have just from their appearance and and they they get caught up in that and that becomes pride and all this other mess. But this woman was the opposite. She she realized that there was a need, if not more of a need, to focus on the beauty that is inward than outward. And I think that's very, very important to to consider because I would not encourage you to neglect your outward appearance. I wouldn't.

But I would encourage you at the same time that if you're gonna put your energy anywhere else, more than that, it should be the thing that is hidden. And it's not very hidden actually because I wanna tell you this, that inner beauty can either adorn your attractiveness or it can eclipse it. It can. And, there is something about the character, the inner person, because this all fades. Gravity will have its way.

The curse of of death will have its way. Every one of us are dying. We're all decaying. It's gonna come to a point where you're not gonna look, unless you're someone like Sarah. You're not you're not gonna look like you did in your twenties and thirties, but there's something that outshines all of that.

And it's the inner person. It's the the hidden part of who we are. An outward countenance doesn't offer much in a relationship when there's trials and tests and temptation. In fact, very beautiful people become very ugly in the wrong circumstances. But very people that might not have the most likes and the most shares on their pictures can become gorgeous when that inner person shines.

Because I'm telling you, talk to anybody long enough who who who has a conviction of the word of God and who's in a relationship in a long term marriage, they'll tell you what really matters when you enter into a relationship. I'm not dismissing being attracted. You should be. God wired us that way. But I love how the fact that the Bible highlights that there is an inner and an outer beauty here.

There is character and not just countenance. Begs the question, doesn't it? How does a gal like Abigail be married to a belligerent fool like Nabal? The bible isn't clear, so we can't have a dogmatic answer to it. And some would say that she, she was, forced into it.

It was an arranged marriage, so she just had to live with this man apart from her choice. And she, she stood her ground and she remained as a God fearing woman. Some would say that she's discerning now, but maybe in times past she was foolish, she entered into the wrong relationship, and that understanding developed over time. That could be true as well. Regardless of what it is, you and I should look at this as an illustration, as a lesson, in a day in which you have the choice to say yes or no to a potential spouse.

And here's here's what we should learn from it, that we should be extremely mindful of the qualities that would attract us in a person. Because whatever qualities attract us to a person, those same qualities will attract certain realities in our lives. That make sense? Whatever, whatever draws me to a person, those same things will draw certain realities into my life. So some would say that Abigail did have a choice and she chose to marry this man in order to have a secure future, she made a good choice.

The guy was filthy rich. I mean, he got 3,000 sheep, a thousand goats. I don't know what that means to you now, but back then it meant a lot. This wasn't just a safe life. This was an access to a luxurious life.

And some would say, I'm willing to put up with Nabal's rude attitude and his insensitivity to the things of God because I'm safer with a man like this. And that would be a wrong assessment. That would be a wrong reason to be wedded to somebody because as much as the, the comfort that this man had to offer to his wife and to others, look what else was invited into Abigail's life as you come to verse 17. This is after David is fed up with Nabal and one of the house servants comes to Abigail to warn of the imminent threat that David and his men caused. Verse 17.

Now therefore, this is the man speaking to Abigail. 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 no one can speak to him. Do you see that? And against all his house.

No matter what kind of comfort or leisure this man could offer because of his wealth, with all those riches, he also invited danger to him and to the ones that he loved because he lacked the characteristics that was found in his ancestor, Caleb, for example. And I wanna tell you today that you have many believers that are making decisions to be partnered with the the wrong persons. They ignore the warnings of the scripture. They are they are moved by the passions of their flesh. They prioritize what the Bible says not to prioritize, to look for in a spouse.

And because of that, they invite harm into their future home more than good. And those threats are not immediately recognized because we think that we possess a greater wisdom than than God, we enter into something for life and you find yourselves in situations that could have been avoided if you just trust what God said to look for in person that you would link with forever and ever. I'm speaking to many young people in here who are praying and waiting and getting to know other people. Make sure they fit the criteria of what a man or a woman of God is. They may not be perfect.

I'm not saying you have to look for somebody who who is absolutely immaculate. What I am saying is where where is their heart? Do they fear God? Do they love God? Do they submit to the word of God?

And so what happens here is, verse four, after we're told of a description concerning this man, David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So David sent 10 young men, and David said to the young men, go up to Carmel and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. And thus you shall greet him. Peace be to you and peace be to your house and peace be to all that you have. I hear that you have shears.

Now your shepherds have been with us and we did them no harm and they missed nothing all the time 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 you have at hand to your servants and to your son David. Here's what's happening.

It's obvious that David performed some kind of service for Nabal. And so he sends these messengers to go to this affluent businessman to ask for some kind of compensation because it was very common in this time that that those who had flocks and crops would be raided against by neighboring nations and people groups. And because there was a lack of protection, they would ransack them and they would strip them to the bone. And so what David does as he is traveling through the wilderness, he sees this man who had thousands of animals and he chose with his men to become a wall to protect and essentially they are putting their life at risk for this stranger. And so when it came to the time for these sheep to be sheared, David asks for some assistance.

He asks for some compensation for his service from Nabal. Now it would kind of seem odd for David to do this because there was no prior agreement between him and Nabal to to do this. So it seems a little awkward. You're kind of asking for something that was not even asked of you to begin with, but I think we can, we can, we can understand it this way. Remember, David and his men were fugitives.

And they were looking for anybody to help alleviate their, their suffering at this time. And so he approaches this man who was from his tribe and he asked for help. But instead of being like a mooching beggar, he, he first helps him and he says, look, we need some, we need some help, whatever you have to give to us, but I wanna tell you, we're not just here to, to beg from you for no reason. We actually helped you. We protected your animals.

We protected your property. Can you find it in your heart to help me and my men? And so that seems fine. That seems reasonable. That seems like a very a very reasonable thing to ask for.

But what's also important in verse four is that he comes at the time when they were shearing sheep. Look look, there's there's no accident with that. David is a very sensitive person. As a shepherd, he knows that the time of of the the shearing of the sheep was like the harvest time for the crops. It was a time when you gathered things in.

It was a time when you not only celebrated what God provided for you, but in that celebration, you would actually even be more generous. You would give things out to others. And so David came at a very important time. He didn't come at a time that would have been strenuous. It would have been awkward.

It would have been inconvenient for Nabal. He came at the time when it would have been most easiest for Nabal to be a generous individual. Does that make sense so far? K. What's the point?

Like, we just read three, four, four, five verses. How does this script how is that relevant to my life? And we would say it has historical value, it has a beautiful sequence to the story. But again, I I wanna read and I wanna say, Lord, why are you why are you telling me all these details? You could have skipped through all of that and just gone straight to the point.

And I believe in part, one of the reasons is because we see here an illustrative example of the wisdom that we should possess as Christians in life. Christianity is a very practical thing. God is interested in influencing every part of our lives, even the interactions that we have in society. If you don't believe that, if you think some spirituality is some mystic thing that's irrelevant to what you would call secular life, then you're in trouble. But I look at this and I see I see a man here who was very mindful of another and who approached him in a very wise way because as Christians, listen, as Christians, you and I are are ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

And we are called to act and interact in a way that would make our testimony all the more attractive and more receptive. Many people who hunger for spiritual things limit that to their study of the Bible for some exhilarating connections between verses. Oh, this is breathtaking how you put these things together. Or, or they, they spend their time trying to demystify hard to understand doctrines and my question is, that's wonderful but are you asking how this influences my living? Because if you're not then it doesn't matter how much you've discovered, it's it's it's not gonna prove fruitful in your life.

Let me say this, and I don't mean to be I don't mean to be harsh when I say it. It's true that many people lack simple social skills. It's true. And and they don't see how this this book should impress and mold and shape your character and your conversation and your reactions. That's what God is interested in doing.

He wants to mold us in a certain way. And and even one of the the reasons why God has given us his word, among the many reasons, yes for salvation, yes to know God, yes to all these great things that are vertical. Here's one verse that made an impression on me. In Psalm nineteen seven, you don't have to turn there, it says that the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Making wise the simple.

What's a simple person? Can somebody tell me what a simple or who a simple person is? A simple person isn't like a person who's minimalistic. That's not simple. K?

A simple person is a naive person. A simple person is a person who lacks judgment, who lacks experience, who lacks knowing what to do in certain situations. A simple person is a gullible person. They believe everything that they hear. It's a person that, doesn't understand the surroundings and so they are unfiltered with their words and their actions in a way that makes others look unfavorably on them.

Being simple is not a good thing and the Bible proves to us that God wants to deliver us from that immaturity for the sake of what? Our testimony. Our testimony. And and you know the main method in which a person is saved from being a simple minded person? The word of God.

The word of God. There is an there's a discipleship that happens, not just by didactic literature, do this, don't do this, but even through examples in this. Like this. Look at look at the way this man carries himself and conducts himself. And then you filter that appropriately and there should be some practical impression that is made from the word of God.

And if we're not careful in doing that, we can actually do harm to our testimony. Now I've been told this over the years periodically. I don't know if it's true. I hope it's not true. I really hope it's not true.

Because when I heard it, I got angry when I first heard it. Then I was told a second time and a third time. And then I said, is this really a thing? And maybe I gotta do some research on it. I was told once that the most dreaded day of the week for waiters and waitresses at restaurants, guess what day it is?

Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon. Why? Because you have hordes of cranky Christians who didn't eat breakfast that morning, who sat in a two hour service, storm into places, and they make rude demands, and then they only leave that place with a mess and little tip. And I was told that waiters, they just, they clench their teeth because these churchgoers come in and they, and look, I'll be honest, I've been over the years, I've been in some settings where I saw that for myself.

So that's why when I heard them, like, that might be true. If that is true, what kind of testimony are we leaving to the world? Do you see what I'm saying? Like, we gotta get really practical here and not just limit our spirituality to how much bible you acquire. Like, interactions with people.

Like, if when I heard that, I said, Sunday afternoon should be the most looked forward to day for waiters and waitresses. Because believers come in, they come in with an attitude, they come in with a a spirit filled radiance. That's what it should be. And when I heard that, I was like, that is so disappointing. That is so discouraging.

And David here, why I bring this up, is showing that kind of sensitivity. He knows the timing of when when to come. He knows how to articulate himself. He knows how to make a request without being a burden. Do you see this?

I hope this makes sense. I know it's not like deep theology. Wow, you've but who cares about that if people hate us on Sunday afternoon? Do you see what I'm saying? This man, to some degree, at this time should cause us to be like, look look at the way he's speaking, look at the way he is approaching.

And we should look at that throughout the especially your Lord and savior. When you read Jesus, do you see how he interacts with people? Or are you just trying to memorize the I am statements of him being the bread of life and the light of the world? And that's great too. We should know that as well.

But look at the example. He said follow me. Follow me. And I look at the Lord and I see the the recorded things in there that the Holy Spirit thought is necessary and sufficient for my development and my godliness. And I look at my savior and I say, look at look how the Lord spoke to his brothers.

Look how the Lord spoke to his enemies. Look how the Lord spoke about money. Look how the Lord spoke. I wanna know, I wanna follow him. It's very rare in bible studies today.

Today we wanna figure out the mysteries of sovereignty and free will and, well, that's great. But God is extremely practical. But as much as we wanna look at practicality, we should look at the prophetic elements of things. Now you you heard verse four and verse eight. Is there any kind of illustration concerning David's future son, the son of God himself?

When I read that, I I look at this and I see something of prophetic a prophetic implication. Did David initiate the good or did Nabal and him come to an agreement first? No. He initiated the good. And what I see here is that Jesus did the same.

Christ did not wait for us to ask him to help us. Christ did not wait for us to beg him or to make a Christ moved in, and Christ made a way while we were yet enemies. While we were steeped in our sin, while we were lost in our darkness, Christ came in his perfect love, in his perfect wisdom. He died and he provided a way to invite us to know his goodness and to know his salvation. And you know what Christ does now?

He sends messengers like David did Of what he had done, especially to those who are unaware, like Nabal was unaware of what David had done for him. To those unreached people groups, do we send out people that say, do you know what Jesus did for you? And upon Christ's initial advancement of his love and his kindness, does he then make claim upon our lives? He invites us into a relationship with him. Just like David.

I did this for you. Now this is what I ask of you. I died on the cross and I made a way. Now you must repent and believe. And so I see here a wonderful little snippet of a gospel truth.

He first loved us before we loved him or anybody else. He first loved us. David first made the move. David sent messengers to Nabal who was unaware of what David had done. And it was up to Nabal to make a response, and what he was going to do based on this great kindness.

So what does he do? Look at verse nine. When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and they waited. And Nabal answered David's servants, who is David? Who is this son of Jesse?

There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shears and give it to men who come from I don't know where? Wonderful. And we read here, so David's young men turned and came back and told them all this. This is concerning.

This is disturbing because how Nabal responds to all of this is very familiar to a man that we thought David dealt with once and for all. Right? First, he pretends that he doesn't know who he is. Who is David? Then he goes on to say, who is the son of Jesse?

So clearly, you know who the guy is. Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? Sound familiar? Yeah.

That was Saul's favorite way of referring to his enemy, the son of Jesse. And I look at this and it's quite humorous because we thought that even though the the presence of Saul was dealt with and was not an immediate threat, the spirit of Saul is alive and well here. It couldn't go very far without the same attitude facing you. David. Who is this son of Jesse?

And the ball goes further than that. It doesn't just degrade his lineage and his humble beginnings. He goes on to even say, there are many servants breaking away from their masters. What does that sound like? The guy's a rebel.

The guy's causing trouble for his boss. The guy's running around, so he's even aware of the, the conflict between Saul and David and he puts all the blame on David when David showed unusual loyalty to an undeserving master. This is what we would call slander. Look at this kid, running around and causing trouble. Breaking away from his master and we should be staying faithful to him.

If you only knew what he did for his master. And so he's just heaping insult upon insult upon insult, and it reflects again the attitude of those concerning Jesus Christ. Then in all the good that he had done for them while walking this earth, they they were still able to accuse him, spit on him, ridicule him, tarnish him. If you think that's bad, it gets worse. Look at verse 11.

Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shears and give it to the men who come from I don't know where. This looks like just more disrespect, but it's more serious than that. It's actually more severe than that. Actually, it's wrath provoking concerning God. Because although this seems like just being disrespectful to an undeserving person, he's actually breaking two commandments coded in the law.

Nabal is actually breaking God's word directly by doing what he's doing here. Is anybody familiar? I'll give you a hint. Both of the laws are found in the book of Deuteronomy, and they don't they're not part of the 10 Commandments. Does anybody know what Nabal do is doing here?

Violating which scriptures? Okay. I'll show you one. Go to Deuteronomy chapter eight. This is why we need to know the law of God as we read narratives because it connects, and it will show the severity of this man's sin.

In this chapter, this whole chapter if you remember in Deuteronomy, this whole chapter is dedicated to instructing the people of God to never forget the Lord, especially in their prosperity. As they prepared to go into the land of promise, God called them, don't you dare forget me, the source of your wealth, the reason for your prosperity. Don't you dare forget me. And I think this is very applicable to Christians in the West who are very ambitious for promotion in life. So look what he says here in verse 17.

Beware lest you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. That he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers as it is this day. Now go back to what he has said in first Samuel 25. What reoccurring little word appears over and over again in verse 11?

What's the word? My. My bread, my water, my meat, my shears. And this man goes in direct contradiction to what the Lord warned his own people about when they would become prosperous in the land of promise. Don't say my.

Don't do that. Don't you dare do that because look, he doesn't just say, I am the reason why you have your wealth. He goes, I am the reason why you have the power to get your wealth. Even the energy to wake up early and the mind to think about the strategies and the deals that you make, that comes from me. And when you fail to acknowledge me, give thanks to me, walk with me in your success, you are robbing me of my glory, and that is no small offense in the eyes of God.

My, my, my. Where's God? I couldn't help but compare this to Jacob's reaction after he become very fruitful in his possessions and in his offspring. He's about to face Esau. He doesn't know what to expect.

So what he does, he sends waves of people to help, trying to ease whatever wrath he has so that by the time Esau comes to Jacob, he would be subdued to some degree. Because remember, when Jacob was told go to your go to my brother's land by his mother, go to your uncle's place, She said, I will come to you when your brother's wrath have subsided. Remember that? I'll get news to you when he's not angry anymore, so just go for now. And guess what?

She never brings news to him. So the the what Jacob is left with, mom never sent me a message, an email that that Esau has calmed down. And as he's trying to go back home, news comes from Esau's coming with a few 100 of his boys. So he sends wave after wave of people and gifts to present him, so by the time he gets to to Jacob, he's kinda he's more calm. And then Esau says, what's all this stuff?

When he finally meets him face to face, and I love what Jacob says. You don't have to turn there, just listen to his words in Genesis thirty three eleven. He says here, please accept my blessing that is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with me. You see the difference? God has dealt graciously with me.

This is all God. My my my children, my possessions, my animals, it's all from the Lord. God has been gracious to me. You know, there are many people who say that I ask them about their business or whatever. God has been good to me.

That's wonderful. God has been good to me. God has dealt graciously with me. But this is not the only sin that Nabal has committed. Nabal Nabal.

Go back to verse 11, and what does he say? He says, my, my, my, so his attitude is a sin, but his lack of action is a sin as well. His lack of action is a sin as as well, and it's back in Deuteronomy. Not in chapter eight, but in chapter 15. Look look how clear this instruction is in chapter 15 of Deuteronomy and verse seven.

Look what the Lord speaks in Deuteronomy 15 verse seven. If among you one of your brothers should become poor in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God has given you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. It can't get any more clear than that. And if there was anybody who was supposed to have an open hand to his brother, it was a man from the same tribe as David, who was in a condition outside of his control. If Nabal had an ounce of the fear of the Lord, if you really knew his word, he would have known that he shouldn't have said my, my, my, my, my.

And notice, the attitude, the perception determined the action. Because he said my, my, my, my, his hands were closed. But when you know it's God, you're a much more generous person. Because it's not your own to begin with. Why would I withhold something that it belongs to God anyway, so here it is.

But see, that's that's what pride is. Pride is the fruit of failing to recognize God's gracious enablement in your success. Pride is the fruit of a failure to acknowledge God's gracious enablement in your success. And it is the arrogance that blossoms because of how we view our accomplishments in our own lives and the lives of others. When you fail to see God and His gracious empowerment in your life for the the most menial things even, we make more room for arrogance to be a reality in our hearts.

My, my, my. And because of that pride, any help was choked. Any any attempt to even extend mercy was suffocated. So the attitude precedes the action. How you perceive things will determine how you behave and act and move and plan.

So so don't don't deal with the fruit, deal with the root. Deal with the root and let the fruit blossom naturally when you have a heart that is convinced that God is the one who is in control of all things. And so he says, I'm not gonna help. So even if David didn't help him with the the flock, even if David didn't become his bodyguard for quite a long time, Nabal was under divine obligation to help his brother just because the word of God said so. But this man didn't fear the Lord.

And these sins, because he failed to see the reason for his wealth and he failed to be responsible with his wealth, the sins are going to lead to a grievous consequence as we're gonna see at the end of the chapter. But let's come back to verse 12 as we close. Unless you wanna finish, but we'll be here till very late. Deuteronomy, excuse me, first Samuel 25. Now what happens is the news comes back to these men and they reach David.

And now here's what we're thinking before we come to David's reaction. We're thinking, surely our hero David, David, the same man who would not even give to the suggestions of his own to kill Saul, will easily dismiss the comments of a stranger. Is that the case? Verse 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 400 men went up after David while 200 remained with the baggage. Is this the same David? I mean, just a few verses ago, he was in a cave and the man that has been hunting his life was right before him like a sitting duck. And his men were saying, this is God. Get rid of him.

We'll live life in a new way. Do it. And he refused to kill him. He left vengeance in God's hand. And here's this guy named Nabal who sends messengers to make some rude comments and he goes, load them up, boys.

And you read later on, he's not just coming after Nabal. He's coming after his entire household. He goes, if even one person survives, I'm coming after every person that breathes in that place. What happened? It's just been a few verses.

You had such a triumphal victory over this temptation just a few hours ago, to our understanding, last week it might have been days or weeks. And now all for a sudden, you wanna do what we praise you not to do in our last study. It seems inconsistent, but again, welcome to a humbling reflection of the human nature, especially those who understand the will and the word of God. What do I mean by that? We all fall short in many ways.

And I think one of the ways that we fall short but we don't like to admit it is that for some reason, we like to exercise the fruit of the spirit towards some over others. For some reason, we are more willing to be more self controlled towards some and then towards others, there is less of that manifestation of the grace and the rest of the fruit of the spirit that we see in Galatians five. Why? I don't know. I don't really know what it is.

And it's a strange thing indeed, but it's a reality nonetheless and it's worth addressing. Why is it? Like, maybe you're not convinced. Let me say let me say it this way. Have you ever noticed, maybe when you were younger especially, you are much more willing to be generous and patient with your friends more than your siblings?

Spouses are much more willing to forgive their husband or their wife or less willing to forgive, but when it comes to somebody in the church, they're much more willing to be merciful and compassionate and communicative. No? Maybe just me? Why do we exercise so much more tenderness towards people that we don't live with, but when it comes to our own household, we're so easily engaged in world wars? Do you see what I'm saying?

For for some in some circumstances with different people, we can look we can look really, really good and we can even feel the strength to actually look like Jesus. But in other situations, we we give in so easily, especially with certain people. And I wanna prove to you how, some who say, well, I just I have an anger problem, brother. I can't control myself. I can prove it that you can control it more than you know.

Because as you're barking at whoever it is that you're barking at home, how would you act when the pastor shows up at the door and knocks unannounced? That anger is gonna go away real quick when you answer that door. I have a hunch. And so it's really a picture of how we are able to know to just exercise this thing in some settings better than others, and it's it's it's a part of our fallen human nature. And we fall short, but I I don't want us to ever be satisfied by being able to point where we're victorious in some areas, and not in all areas because that's what we should strive for as believers in Jesus Christ.

Because the most effective testimony is the one that is consistent in every context. This was convicting to me because I couldn't help but think about the men of David as they saw him give the instructions within a moment's time to strap their swords, but just a few moments ago, he was able to be such a wonderful example. And it's like, what? How did that work? Saul?

No. This man? Yes. But it's an encouragement to us, is it not? That though we are inconsistent, God does not give up on us.

And he works on us. And he pierces us a little bit on a Friday night when it's like I could have been somewhere where I wouldn't have to be confronted, but the Lord cares about our consistency with all people and all things. And so I I wanna be I wanna be just as patient with my brothers, my blood brothers, than with the people that I see at church. I wanna be I wanna be just as resolved and calm with those that I'm familiar with, than with the person that just knows me as the person that shows up at church and lifts their hands and worship and loves God. And the Holy Spirit will help us.

He wants to help us. He wants to mold us and shape us. There's a reason why God gives us this honest scenario of David's flippancy with a conviction that seems to be conquered only in one setting and not the other. Which brings me to the final point. Notice how Nabal comes up to David to test him and to challenge him in a time when he was at peace with Saul.

It's like the Saul thing was dealt with. It's, like, wonderful, like breath of fresh air, and all of a sudden, now Baal comes up. And it's a reminder that we've heard in so many bible studies in the book of first Samuel the necessity of us as believers to remain on guard at all times. David was on guard from a military standpoint. He was always there.

He was vigilant. He was just he was so he was so crafty. He was he was like a ninja of his time. Right? But he was not as secure and as vigilant with his inner man with his inner man.

And we are all susceptible to falling into times of temptation when we fail to remain guarded or or when we when we look at seasons of life where we seem to be doing really well and then we let ourselves loose in terms of our awareness and our watchfulness. I was listening to a story of a man who was speaking about his testimony of overcoming pornography. I believe it was a testimony. And he had said, you know, I I vowed to overcome this sin. I vowed to see victory over it.

And so what he did was for for ninety days, he didn't engage with anything. He was so severe in his exposure of things. And then for whatever reason, because there was such a long time, I guess, of victory over this, he goes on his computer and he sees just two pictures of two attractive women, and he thinks to himself he thinks to himself, they're just pictures. And he let his guard down, and then he relapsed again. And I I listened to that earlier in the week.

I was listening to that testimony, and as I was studying this, the connection was made. His guard wasn't up at all times. There's a time of victory, time of peace, and because of that, he became lazy in his vigilance, and that's when the enemy came in. And for whatever reason, David is the same. He saw great, great victory.

And then when another opportunity came, the same temptation, he gave in because he was not as guarded as he should have been. And usually, we are not as guarded when we are in seasons of great joy, peace, prosperity, when everything is going well is when we seem to be the weakest. So remain strong. God is faithful. Oh, I wish that time can go back so we can finish this chapter, but we're not.

We're not. I think that's enough for tonight. Let's pray. Lord, what a wonderful study in this chapter. Sobering, oh God.

Honest, clear. It confronts us like many of these chapters have. But, Lord, we pray in this moment, as we heard earlier, that we would glean everything that we've heard and apply it to our own context. Help us, oh, God. Help us, Lord.

Deliver us from simplicity. Deliver us from immaturity. Save us from being inconsistent as David was. Surely, you've given us this example for us to examine our own lives, to say where is it in areas of my life where I I feel like I can I can walk in this way with these people in this context, but in other times I'm a different person? Lord, we want to be we want to be saved from such things.

We wanna be saved from such things. And Lord, we think about all the examples and the stories that we've heard up to this point, and we are so thankful that you speak clearly through David's story. And Lord, perhaps one point meant one thing more than another. We just pray that whatever was said, we would cherish it in our hearts and we would prayfully ask you to manifest it in our lives. Thank you, Lord, that you first loved us.

You acted on our behalf while we were in sin, loving darkness. You rescued us. You made a way. For any person in here who doesn't know that, may that may be known tonight that you have died for them and you're waiting for them to respond. Bless your holy name.

Lord, we love you. We honor you. We have reverence toward you. We are in awe of the wisdom of your scriptures. And, Lord, we just worship you in light of the living word that speaks so clearly.

We give you glory now in Jesus name. Amen.