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[0:00] 1 Samuel 25, starting at verse 1. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

[0:34] The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife, Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance.

[0:44] And the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb. When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, David sent ten young men.

[0:58] And David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity, Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have.

[1:13] Now I have heard that you have shearers, and 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.

[1:25] Ask your young men. Then 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.

[1:39] So when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David and waited. Then Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David?

[1:51] And who is this 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 shears and give them when I do not know where they are from?

[2:09] So David's young men turned on their heels and went back, and they came and told all these words. Then David said to his men, Every man gird his sword.

[2:20] So every man girded his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about 400 men went with David, and 200 stayed with the supplies. Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet your master, and he reviled them.

[2:40] But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything, as long as we accompanied them when we were in the fields. They were a wall to us, both by night and day, all the time we were with them, keeping the sheep.

[2:56] Now therefore know and consider what you will do. For harm is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is such a scoundrel that no one can speak to him.

[3:09] Then Abigail made haste and took 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five sayas of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.

[3:26] And after she said to her servants, Go on before me, and I am coming after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal. So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill, and there were David and his men coming down toward her, and she met them.

[3:45] Now David had said, Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missing of all that belongs to him, and he has repaid me evil for good.

[4:01] May God do so, and more also to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light. Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground.

[4:19] So she fell at his feet and said, On me, my Lord, on me let this iniquity be. And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.

[4:33] 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.

[4:44] But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my Lord, whom you sent. Now therefore, my Lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek harm for my Lord be as Nabal.

[5:08] And now this present, which your maidservant has brought to my Lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my Lord. Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant, for the Lord will certainly make my Lord an enduring house, because my Lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days.

[5:31] Yet a man has risen to pursue you. 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.

[5:44] He shall sling out 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 the heart to my Lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my Lord has avenged himself.

[6:09] But when the Lord has dealt with my Lord, then remember your maidservant. Then David said to Abigail, blessed is the Lord God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me.

[6:20] And blessed is your advice, and blessed are you because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and avenging myself with my own hand. For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal.

[6:44] So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, go up in peace to your house, see, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.

[6:58] So 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 with him and he was very drunk.

[7:10] 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.

[7:25] Then it happened after about 10 days that the Lord struck Nabal and he died. 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.

[7:44] For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head. And David sent the proposal to Abigail to take her as his wife.

[7:56] When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, David sent us to you to ask you to become his wife.

[8:07] Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth and said, here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord. So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey attended by five of her maidens.

[8:23] And she followed the messengers of David and became his wife. David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel. And so both of them were his wives.

[8:35] But Saul had given Michal, his daughter, David's wife to Palti, the son of Laish, who is from Gallim. The word of God for the people of God.

[8:47] Thanks be to God. Please be seated. Let's pray.

[9:09] Lord, we ask that by your power, your word will be like a mirror. Your word will cause us to see who we are before you, God our creator and our great need for Jesus Christ.

[9:21] We ask, Lord, that your Holy Spirit will take the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, and pierce into our souls and do the work of a surgeon, Lord.

[9:31] Whatever needs done according to your will in each of our lives, that you will apply your truth with power to our hearts in a way that only you can do.

[9:42] We ask this for Christ's sake and for your glory. Amen. Well, we live in a very messed up world, don't we?

[9:52] This world of first Sam of 25 was very messed up in many ways. We know that the natural law, the law that God has put on all of his image bearers, it causes us to react when things are not right.

[10:10] So let me ask you this question, which has made your blood boil recently? Injustice, pride, greed, people trying to act as a king or queen of their little fiefdom or retaliation.

[10:30] Well, we're going to get all of these and more in the verses that we have today. 1 Samuel 25. And these are a dark backdrop that only expose the glory, the diamond of the gospel of Jesus Christ all the brighter.

[10:48] The purpose of this chapter is to cause us to not look to this world or to put our hope in man, but to elevate our thoughts by faith in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

[11:00] So the sermon title for today is A Kingdom Not Built on Blood. I believe this is one of the great revelations for us of the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ, a kingdom not built on blood.

[11:15] Let's begin by observing the first set of verses, verses 1 through 9. When we talk of the kingdom of God coming to earth, we see this prefigured in some ways with this wilderness kingdom that God has set up with David.

[11:34] While they're poor, while they don't have food to feed this army, this first observation I want to bring to you is that resources are not the problem. In the coming of the kingdom, resources are not the problem.

[11:50] Look at verse 1. Then Samuel died, and the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him and buried him at his home in Ramah.

[12:02] Remember, Ramah was to the north and east, and David has been hiding out in the deep south of Judah. We're told that Israel gathered and lamented and mourned the death of Samuel.

[12:18] We're not told explicitly whether David is there or Saul is there, but Israel is represented. And we are told that next, David arose. So we get the sense even if he's not right next to Saul or the action, he's part of this lamenting corporately with the nation.

[12:36] The death of Samuel, the man who God used to anoint kings. We call him a king maker, the one who God would use to Messiah, the next ruler of God's own people.

[12:48] And he was the last judge. He was this transitional figure leading into the monarchy. And even though they're up in the mountains of Ramah where Samuel lived and the school of the prophets was the last scene where we saw Samuel, we're told David then arose.

[13:07] So even if he's in the mountaintops, his soul and his spirit is low. He has to get up in order to travel. And he goes back to the deep south.

[13:19] Some translations combine these words, the name of the village, which is Maon, and the name of the region, the desert, which is Paran. Paran is a large desert region much further south.

[13:32] But sometimes the name of that region would be used to describe that entire southern desert starting from just a few miles south of Maon, the village. In verse 2 we read, there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel.

[13:49] These two towns were very close to one another, just about a mile away. So it makes sense. You have your home and your household and you live here, but you have these wonderful fields that are fertile and rugged, a great place to keep your massive herds of sheep and goats in the nearby town of Carmel.

[14:07] We're told. We're told the man was very rich and he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats and he was shearing his sheep in the town where his business was.

[14:20] It's called Carmel. It's not Mount Carmel from other famous stories, but it is an important hub in southern part of Israel in Judah and it's the same town as 1 Samuel 15 where King Saul built a monument for himself.

[14:35] Do you remember that story? God gives a great victory and Saul takes the credit and the glory for God's victory by building a monument for himself in this very same town marking out his kingdom and trying to preserve his name.

[14:53] So if you are this man, Nabal and his whole household, every day you have that visual reminder Saul is king. You could say he's like the patron of this town if we're thriving in our agriculture and we think like pagans, we give glory to Saul for our success here.

[15:12] He's the one with the monument. This town most likely supported Saul's kingdom and he could use his army, the army of Israel to protect their businesses and keep the enemies away.

[15:25] It was most likely a win-win relationship. And this fool that lived there, his name was Nabal, which means exactly that, fool. I don't know what kind of parents named their children that.

[15:37] We don't recommend that. But this was his name. And the name of his wife was Abigail. Abigail has a very significant meaning as well. It can mean either the joy of her father or she rejoices with her father.

[15:54] It's the word father and joy put together. And she was a woman of good understanding, we're told, and beautiful appearance. But the man was harsh and evil in his doings.

[16:06] We have a sharp contrast set up. It's a divided household, husband and wife. One is the opposite of the other. We're told he was of the house of Caleb.

[16:19] Caleb was in the southern region absorbed into Judah. we're not told much more about this man, but the word Caleb in Hebrew sounds a lot like the word for dog.

[16:33] And so even in just the first three verses, we have quite a lot of information about Nabal. Verse four tells us, when David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, David sent his young men and they said to them, go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, greet him in my name.

[16:51] And verse six, thus you shall say to him, who lives in prosperity. Shalom be to you. Shalom to your house. Shalom to all that you have.

[17:04] David comes bringing shalom, bringing peace. It's the greeting that Jonathan, the blessing Jonathan gave David. He's passing this on to this man whom God has blessed.

[17:16] In verse seven, he begins his request. He says, I have heard that you have shears. This is something that doesn't mean a lot to us who buy our clothes with a few clicks on a phone.

[17:28] We have no idea where the fabric comes from. But in the ancient Near East, shearing season was like harvest time for those who owned flocks. It was a time to cash in your investment.

[17:42] You get to liquidate your assets when it's shearing season. Think about that. Here's your, here's your walking bank account. These 3,000 sheep and goats.

[17:53] 1,000 goats. You fed them. You've cared for them. You've protected them. And as you're doing that, their wool is slowly growing little by little each day. So when you harvest the wool, you are raking in that investment.

[18:08] And it was customary just like the first fruits of a great harvest if you're a farmer. It was customary for those who own flocks to bring in the shears and celebrate God's provision.

[18:19] It was a time of abundance. David even referred to him as a man who lives in prosperity. And you're to thank those who helped make this great harvest happen. It was a time of generosity, celebration, and gratitude.

[18:35] If you were traveling through or if you were poor, you also had rights in the kingdom of God protected by the civil law to glean, to take some that you would need to survive.

[18:46] This was one of God's mercies through his civil law. And so, if your shepherds were in charge of these flocks, and here David's men are watching over them day and night, they were contributing to the success of this great sheathing feast.

[19:06] We're told in verse 7, David asks, there was nothing missing from them while they were in Carmel. See, we were in a position of power. We could have easily just taken some and fed ourselves, but we're doing this in a customary, proper way.

[19:20] We're coming and asking you as the head of the household to feed these poor servants who also contributed to preserving your assets. In verse 8, he says, ask your young men and they will tell you.

[19:33] We were here taking care. Therefore, let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. David's reminding Nabal, we were patient.

[19:45] We waited for the appropriate time to make this request. And even the request is very modest. He says, please give whatever comes to your hand. Anything you can find, he's saying, to your servants and to your son, David.

[20:00] He's putting himself below Nabal at his mercy. Verse 9, so when David's men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David and waited.

[20:13] It seems like the problem for the kingdom in the wilderness is resources, doesn't it? They don't have the basic supply to feed the army and to keep going.

[20:25] It'd be very easy from that position of worldly weakness to covet what is seemingly in abundance in the world and to think if only we had this, then we could really advance the kingdom.

[20:39] If only God would put some of that into our hands, we could steward his so much better. And by doing that, we're believing something false, that resources are the real problem.

[20:53] God's kingdom is a kingdom of abundance. He owns all the cattle on a thousand hills, which is poetic language to say God owns everything. Resources are never the problem in God's kingdom.

[21:06] second observation. And I'll give you the second and third back to back. Second is this, that it's what the proud in heart deserve.

[21:17] We get a picture of that next. What did the proud in heart deserve? But then right after that we get what the proud do not deserve. So listen for those two. First, here's what the proud in heart deserve, starting at verse 10.

[21:30] Then Nabal answered David's servants and said, who is David? And who is this son of Jesse? That's Nabal's way of saying, David, your master is a nobody.

[21:44] He says, there are many servants nowadays who break away each from his master. He's calling David a common runaway slave. He says, Saul is David's real master.

[21:59] And you are not a man of integrity, David. You're disloyal to Saul. Why do you expect special treatment from me? That's what Nabal is saying. Verse 11, shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shears and give it to men who I do not know where they are from?

[22:23] Remember, he's in Judah. David has this vast army, 600 men who have been all around Judah. And the servants in Nabal's household they know very well who David and his men are.

[22:36] And so does Abigail. I think these words are disingenuous. I think it's a slap in the face. And here we have a wonderful illustration of what we read in the Proverbs.

[22:48] And as I studied various Proverbs, I just started to see Proverbs 11 captures this whole chapter. So I'm going to give you many snippets from Proverbs 11. And this is just such an illustration of these truths.

[23:01] Proverbs 11 verse 9 says, With his mouth, the godless man, Nabal, would destroy his neighbor. But by knowledge, the righteous are delivered. Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense.

[23:15] But a man of understanding remains silent. Can't you almost hear Nabal's servants and all the household embarrassed for him? He's mocking this man who everyone knows he may be the next king of Israel if God's promises come true.

[23:33] In verse 12, we're told, So David's young men turned on their heels and went back. This is the language for when an army retreats. Quick, get out of here. We are not welcome.

[23:45] And they came and told David all these words. Verse 13, Then David said to them, Every man gird on his sword. Take up your weapon, strap it onto your belt, and march after me.

[24:02] Proverbs 11, 11, By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked, it is overthrown. The mouth of wicked Nabal going off is going to overthrow his entire household.

[24:17] A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. And so we keep reading that every man girded his sword and David also girded on his sword.

[24:28] About 400 men went with David and 200 stayed with the supplies. Verse 14, Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife. This servant knows something.

[24:42] He knows that she is wise. She is of understanding. She can be trusted. We are told that no one could talk to Nabal. So this might have been the path they are used to taking.

[24:54] When Nabal is lacking common sense and going to do something very foolish that is going to hurt all of us, go to Abigail. It seems like she is accustomed to having to step in and serve the greater cause with such a husband.

[25:11] Verse 15, After she finds out that these messengers of David were reviled. Some translations say Nabal yelled at them. Then the servant bears good witness.

[25:23] He says, The men were very good to us. We were not hurt nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them. He is saying what they reported is true. We could have easily been picked off.

[25:35] We could have lost so much. We knew to stick with David and his men. They were like a wall to us. Now verse 17, Now therefore, no one consider Abigail, says the servant, what you will do.

[25:47] For harm is determined against our master and against all his household, including you and me. For he is such a scoundrel that no one can speak to him.

[25:59] Proverbs 11, 2, When pride comes, then comes disgrace. But with the humble is wisdom. And we get to see the wisdom of Abigail.

[26:12] The stage is set for us. Nabal has been a fool. And he's about to get exactly what the proud in heart deserve. He's about to have 400 men with their swords coming through, slicing and wiping out any remnant of his household.

[26:31] Anyone who could oppose David. And what he wouldn't give, even a small thing, graciously, David is about to come and take by force. That's what the proud in heart deserve.

[26:44] It's justice. But look at what the proud do not deserve. And this is what they get because of Abigail. In verse 18, Abigail made haste and took 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five sayas of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, 200 cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.

[27:09] And she said to her servants, Go on before me. See, I am coming after you. Do you remember when David had his 400 men, he's going out in front. He's leading the charge. And the 400 are marching in line behind him.

[27:22] For Abigail, it's inverted. She's sending these gifts ahead of her to soften it. So David will be the one to see these coming around the bend. And after all these gifts, it will be Abigail to meet him next.

[27:37] But she did not tell her husband. Proverbs 11, 24, and 25 tells us that one gives freely, Abigail, and grows all the richer.

[27:49] And another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. Nabal, whoever brings blessing will be enriched and one who waters will himself be watered.

[28:02] Abigail is a picture of wisdom for us. In verse 20, So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill and there David and his men were coming toward her and she met them.

[28:17] Now David had said, Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness so that nothing was missing of all that belongs to him.

[28:28] And he has repaid me evil for good. And look at verse 22. David says, A rash vow before God.

[28:41] May God do so and more also to the enemies of David. If I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light. We have a hint here now foreshadowing David has it within him to be just like Saul.

[28:59] Making rash vows, calling on the name of the Lord in vain. And what he says in verse 22 is war language. It's something way more crude than our English translations give us.

[29:13] And you should come ask me later on what does he actually say in Hebrew and I'll tell the men what he actually says. David's rage here was the sin of him and his flesh as a man.

[29:28] David could have done something horrendous. David could have been exactly like Saul. Remember how Saul wiped out the priests in the entire city.

[29:39] this blood of these innocent people of Judah in this moment right now could have been on David's hands. David could have ruined all hope of God bringing Judah much less all Israel to follow him as their king.

[29:59] But God limited David even in his flesh and God even ordered by his providence what would happen. It was God who sent Abigail and through her words her truth her wisdom God governed David.

[30:17] David's anger could have ended in a massacre but because the truth was spoken to him by God's servant Abigail this story ends with David repenting instead.

[30:29] God used this friction of Nabal's falling to fulfill God's holy purpose. And in the meantime to bring David low to humble him and refine this future king of Israel.

[30:44] In verse 23 let's see how it happens. When Abigail saw David she dismounted quickly from the donkey fell on her face before David and bowed down to the ground.

[30:56] Remember David had called Nabal he said I'm your son you know we are your servants he had made himself low under Nabal. Now Abigail comes even lower than David before him.

[31:08] In verse 24 she fell at his feet and said on me my lord on me let this iniquity be the evil of my husband put it on me charge it to my account and please let your maidservant speak in your ears hear the words of your maidservant 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 them but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent she's owning her part if I would have seen them going to talk to Nabal and I know his foolishness I would have intervened quicker and not let your men be reviled so humiliating of a way verse 26 now therefore my lord as the lord lives and as your soul lives since the lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand now then let your enemies and those who seek harm from my lord be as

[32:11] Nabal and now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord let it be given to the young men who follow my lord look at verse 28 please forgive the trespass of your maidservant she confessed her part and she asks his forgiveness for her part here abigail!

[32:37] is giving us a beautiful picture of the true nature of the kingdom of god she ultimately gives us a picture of christ himself here's Nabal a wicked man deserving justice that's you and me we are Nabal we are the fools we are the proud ones and here comes the king whose the sin of the fool has offended the king and invoked the wrath that's deserved now on the fool and abigail puts herself in between the two she stands as a lovely mediator the guilt of the fool Nabal's guilt you're in my guilt before god it's undeniable we're just as proud just as guilty as adam or saw or Nabal and we stand guilty before the wrath of the righteous lord whose kingdom is coming and the lovely mediator stands in between and says let the sin let the ugly foolish disrespect of this wicked person be on me show forgiveness by showing it through me taking the blame the curses and the wrath in the place of

[34:09] God's enemy see what Nabal does not deserve is grace Nabal does not deserve a mediator to stand and to shield him but that's what he gets the coming kingdom is even for the enemies of God who will look to this mediator let that melt our hearts and we respond in gratitude the next observation is what God does two things the first one is that God's love restrains our flesh it's what God does toward David and then the second one is that God will build his kingdom that's what he does through this vessel David for all his people so God's love restrains our flesh notice how God restrains David in his flesh through Abigail's words this is the longest speech coming from a female mouth in all of the

[35:11] Old Testament which means it's very significant and there's so much we should absorb and appreciate here Abigail begins by encouraging David putting courage back into him remember he's grieving the loss of Samuel he's certainly attacked by the enemy and wondering will God be faithful to his covenant or is now the time where I take matters into my own hands and she reminds David of God's covenant faithfulness in verse 28 she says the Lord will certainly make for my Lord an enduring house that promise of building a kingdom through the family line of David it will come true believe the promises of God she says because my my Lord you David you fight the battles of the Lord and evil is not found in you throughout your days verse 29 that's King Saul and he seeks your life she's saying I'm not on the side of Saul God will do what he said and

[36:14] Saul is the one opposing what God has promised and she gives him this wonderful imagery she says the life of my Lord look at verse 29 how is yours translated in English the life of my Lord shall be bound it's literally in the pouch of the living most likely this is a reference to shepherds this story is all about shepherds being keeping the sheep safe and this is David's own roots this is maybe why he had such compassion and became a wall to these young shepherds of Nabal by night and by day to be bound in the pouch of the living what a shepherd would do is take this pouch and find a rock and every little pebble or rock would represent one of the sheep and so you would empty out this pouch and you would bring the sheep now into the fold and you would count them by putting the rock of each into the pouch and so you know in the end all the sheep that are in this fold

[37:19] I have counted here in my pouch and I'm keeping them safe right here by my side she's using this wonderful language to encourage David the Lord will do this for you David he counts you he's not forgotten you he makes sure that you're in the fold and you're!

[37:37] by his side and she says next that with the Lord your God and the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the pocket of a sling she's reminding him David God will do again for you what he did through you to Goliath he will sling out as from the pouch of a sling your enemies far away from him just like a shepherd would cast a stone far away God will do that to your enemies and we're reminded through these words what our confession of faith promises in Christ chapter 17 paragraph!

[38:26] 3 how Christians are kept by the Lord and though they may fall into grievous sins just as David did and continue in those sins if you are truly the Lord you shall be renewed again to repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end God will preserve you some of you need to hear that encouragement today the Lord will keep you bound in his pouch with the living to the very end he will preserve you he will sustain you next she gives him an exhortation first she encouraged him now comes the exhortation to exhort it means to persuasively move a person who needs to be moved in that direction after suffering injustice she says in verse 38 shall come to pass when the Lord has done for my Lord according to all the good he has spoken concerning you after the

[39:29] Lord has appointed you ruler over Israel see God will keep his promises that this will be no grief to you nor offense of the heart to my Lord and here's what she boldly and uncompromisingly but lovingly tells the king she says you're about to commit two sins look at verse 31 either that you have shed blood without cause that would be one sin or that my Lord has avenged himself that's the second sin but when the Lord has dealt well with my Lord then remember your maid!

[40:02] servant she's telling him this David I know God will establish! his kingdom he'll make your house endure forever don't commit murder don't wipe out all the men of this household because of one foolish man who's speaking these words and don't take vengeance into your own hands vengeance belongs to the Lord God will keep his promises and when he sees you onto that throne which I know he will remember me see how lovingly and with how much faith she's speaking to him but she's also not holding back the truth God has a law don't break God's law David she's a picture for us of speaking the truth in love may God help us to do the same in verse 32 then David said to Abigail notice how the

[41:02] Holy Spirit takes the words of truth spoken in love and he responds this way blessed is the Lord God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me just like David recognized it was God who sent Jonathan when he needed it most that's the first thing he says this lady in front of me God sent this is from the Lord may you be blessed for obeying him God sends his servants to meet his people to meet those God loves on his behalf what an honor we get to be like an Abigail for one another the Lord will send you to speak truth and love to someone and when you feel that to pray for someone to encourage them to bring them a word of encouragement or exhortation or both know that it is God who is sending you what an honor to be the recipient of that as well God loves me so much he sent this brother or sister to speak truth verse 33 blessed is your advice he says blessed are you because you have kept me this day and here he confesses those two sins that she presented to him you have kept me by your words this day from coming to bloodshed that's the first sin or from avenging myself with my own hands he says if

[42:30] I'm left to my own flesh I am another saw that's what I deserve if God had not intervened through Abigail verse 34 for indeed as the Lord of Israel lives who has kept me back from hurting you unless you had hurried and come to meet me surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal I would have done that in my flesh he says verse 35 so David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her go up in peace to your house I have heeded your voice and respected your person so David tells the men take your hand off the sword let's turn brothers and sisters if even an unholy man like David could not refuse the gracious request of this lovely mediator how much more could the holy

[43:34] God refuse the pleading of Jesus Christ to give mercy and grace to sinners like you and me because Jesus has already borne God's wrath on the cross in our place our Lord Jesus has absorbed the wrath of God that we deserve just let your mind go for a moment David these men in the wilderness starving with their swords coming to slay these wicked evil men that's you and me that's the fate we deserve and it's our God's pleasure to withhold the punishment we deserve because it's already been poured out on Jesus Christ the lovely mediator and it's because of his grace and his kindness and the power of his Holy Spirit that he will restrain our flesh just like he restrained

[44:35] David in his flesh the Lord will keep you and me from sinning and he will get all the glory for our sanctification we will still sin but we will sin much less than if God did not constantly restrain us and we need to recognize that and praise him and confess our utter dependence on him well the fifth observation is this that God will build his kingdom verse 36 tells us Abigail went to Nabal and there was there he was holding a feast in his house so here's David the anointed king in the wilderness without food and look at Nabal in verse 36 a feast like a king and Nabal's heart was merry within him for he was very drunk and therefore she told him nothing little or much until morning light she's wise again picking the timing verse 37 so it was in the morning when the wine had gone from

[45:36] Nabal she didn't tell him a lie she spoke the truth again everything that's come out of Abigail's mouth has been gracious and loving and look at the response of Nabal in contrast to the repentance of David in his heart Nabal!

[46:00] died his heart died within him literally and he became like a stone Jonathan pointed out in Sunday school this was what Abigail foretold by the power of the spirit that the enemies would be flung far away like a stone from the sling of a shepherd and that's exactly how Nabal is now described Proverbs 11 20 and 21 says those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord but those of blameless ways are his delight be assured an evil person will not go unpunished but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered verse 38 says it happened after about 10 days that the Lord struck Nabal and he died Proverbs 11 3 and 4 says the integrity of the upright guides them the

[47:01] Lord guided Abigail and her integrity but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys! them riches! do not profit on the day of wrath but righteousness delivers from death!

[47:14] This came true exactly all of Nabal's riches could not have spared him from the blade of David's sword but yet the righteousness of Abigail in the story delivers her and all the servants and Nabal even from death!

[47:29] In verse 39 when David heard 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 he says blessed be the Lord who has kept his servant from evil you and I have had those times where we realize looking back on it how close I was in my flesh to evil and the Lord kept me he didn't need to do that he kept me from evil God let David get all the way to Nabal's road he was right there with his 400 armed men and at least to minister to David and you and me through him this is to reveal to us the hidden strength of corruption in David's own heart David likely thought that he was a good man should get what he deserves from

[48:33] Nabal and instead Nabal insulted him and God now shows us just how capable David was of wickedness himself he's no better it would have been the sinless violence that David could never have washed off his hands if it weren't for God's restraining grace I never get tired of using chapter five paragraph five from our confession the most wise righteous and gracious God often leaves his own children for a time to manifold!

[49:12] temptations and the corruptions of their own hearts we have to ask why he does this to chastise them for former sins or to reveal to them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness in their hearts so that they may be humbled and David sent and proposed to Abigail to take her as his wife verse 40 when the servants of David had come to Abigail and Carmel they spoke to her saying David sent us to you to ask you to become his wife then she arose bowed her face to the earth and said here is your maidservant a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord what a picture we have of the church so Abigail arose in haste and rode on her donkey attended by five of her maidens and she followed the messengers!

[50:12] of David and became his wife Proverbs 11 28 through 30 whoever trusts in the riches will fall but the righteous Abigail will flourish like a green leaf whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind Nabal the fool will be the servant to the wise of heart the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and whoever captures souls is wise the Lord will build his kingdom and he will build it on the principles modeled here in Abigail not David's own might not the ways of the world like Saul God will build his kingdom we still have one final question is God's kingdom built on blood is the kingdom of heaven a kingdom built on blood verse 43 says

[51:15] David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel and so both of them were his wives remember Abigail lives in Judah she's from this southern tribe and along with her is now 3,000 sheep minus their wool and all of the goats you know a thousand goats so now she's wealthy David's wealthy he's got this entire estate now along with another wife from Jezreel and Jezreel is another prominent city in Judah and so now these are two two marriages that are to extend and unify a kingdom David's going to become the king of Judah before he becomes the king of all of Israel and these are political moves in that direction remember Samuel died the one who ministered God's law to God's people that's exactly Abigail's role in this passage she gives God's law to

[52:16] God's people Samuel was the last judge who reminded God's people to obey and fear the Lord and as soon as Samuel dies isn't it interesting immediately David's weakness is exposed he almost broke the sixth commandment on a mass scale and he started to act like he was God taking vengeance in his own hands and now by taking multiple wives and building a kingdom through these political alliances which will be the downfall of Solomon he's breaking Deuteronomy 17 which says the king shall not take to himself many wives and we read in verse 44 that Saul had given Michal Saul's own daughter who was David's wife already to Palti the son of Laish who was from Galam Galam is a city up in the north of the tribe of

[53:16] Benjamin so while David's down here uniting Judah Saul's up there now uniting the Benjamites by giving away David's own wife now as if it was the father's right to do Saul was declaring war on David he was going back on the final exchange they had Saul was saying David will not be my successor through my own family David has no place in my royal court and I will tear away my alliance with David my wife goes to a man from Benjamin think of all the losses David suffered in this chapter all the grief chapter began with David losing Samuel much of it is about David losing his self control or nearly if it weren't for God's grace grace he lost Michal his wife and he lost through her any family connection he would have had to Jonathan he lost his place in the royal court of

[54:18] Israel it's a chapter about great loss but more than that chapter 25 is a story of God's mercy in a man's deepest time of grief remember the name that in God's providence Abigail was given joy of her father or rejoices with her father think of all the ways Abigail points to Christ now in the midst of this dark chapter David's failure enables foolishness Isaiah 42 1 God the father describes the Messiah as the one in whom my soul delights Abigail Matthew 3 17 God said this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased a deep soul level satisfaction and pleasure Colossians 1 19 in Jesus Christ all the fullness of

[55:20] God was pleased to dwell Psalm 40 verse 8 Jesus said of the father I delight to do your will oh my God your law is within my heart God could have easily slain an entire household of a wicked man but God restrained him to reveal something important about the kingdom of this beloved son Jesus Christ Christ could have slain everyone in Adam's family you and I were the sinful enemies of God who mocked him and who preferred the kingdom of this world instead of the kingdom of God his kingdom is like David's now it's a kingdom by faith a wilderness kingdom led by a humble shepherd that's hidden from the natural eye God had every right to bring his kingdom in a display of his power to build his kingdom on our blood to crush us under his feet and this is what we deserve amen but

[56:36] Colossians 1 20 tells us the gospel that through Jesus God reconciled us to himself making peace by the blood of his cross Acts 20 28 tells us church this is who we are we are his kingdom the church of God which he obtained with his own blood in God's loving and gracious nature he decreed to build a kingdom not on our blood but on his own precious blood the blood of Jesus Christ the lovely mediator wearing a crown of thorns humiliated with wide with wide open arms to welcome his enemies into fellowship with God and just like Abigail our Lord Jesus Christ washes our feet he rides in haste like she did to meet you and me and to pull us away from the patterns of this world in

[57:44] John 17 24 Jesus prayed he said father I desire that they also may see my glory for you loved me before the foundation of the world and I want my church to enjoy the pleasure of father and son Jesus marries us the church that he purchased and all his riches become ours and he brings us before God's throne the true king of the true people over every generation and now we feast at his table let's pray and thank our Lord for this great salvation father we thank you that yours is a kingdom not of blood the way the world sees it the blood of your enemies under your feet but yours is a kingdom of grace by the blood of Jesus Christ your beloved son we thank you

[58:46]  Lord for your wisdom we thank you Lord for your covenant faithfulness when we are weak pray Lord that you will cause us to throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus to not waste time but to run to him and receive all that we need from your hand our provider our Lord amen