WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 And maybe as you listen to these verses being read, 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:10.339 you wonder why in the world would you choose this passage 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:11.300 for your time to preach? 00:00:11.300 --> 00:00:13.900 What could he possibly do with this passage? 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:16.260 Does he not realize John 3.16 exists? 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:18.539 And there are easier passages you could choose 00:00:18.539 --> 00:00:20.260 than this whole chapter. 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:25.140 And maybe you come across sections like this in your Bible 00:00:25.140 --> 00:00:27.539 all the time and you kind of, if you're like me, 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:30.379 you read it, you kind of scratch your head 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:32.420 and you move on and hope the next chapter 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:34.420 will bear more fruit for your day. 00:00:35.979 --> 00:00:38.259 And many of the commentators and pastors 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:42.060 I listened to on this passage seemed pretty confused as well. 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:44.420 One of the most interesting that I saw was a sermon 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:46.099 on this passage titled, 00:00:46.099 --> 00:00:48.140 What to Do When You're in a Bad Marriage? 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:51.700 I'm not sure what advice it necessarily had, 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:53.700 but that would be a very interesting sermon 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:56.079 to listen to, although I did not listen to it. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:57.219 But I mean, the question is real. 00:00:57.219 --> 00:00:59.299 What do we actually do with passages like this 00:00:59.299 --> 00:01:00.859 that are in our Bible? 00:01:00.859 --> 00:01:03.299 Because I don't think the primary point of this text 00:01:03.299 --> 00:01:05.739 is for all of the men to think, okay, 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:08.379 do not be like Nabal and all of the women to think, 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:09.500 be like Abigail. 00:01:09.500 --> 00:01:11.379 I think there's more to it than that. 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:17.099 A biography I was reading recently began with these words. 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:19.140 It said, in reality, it's impossible 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:21.719 to write a person's biography. 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.700 For what we call a person's life constitutes only half 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:26.560 of that person's existence. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:29.260 What he has done, thought, sought, 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:31.219 what sins he has committed. 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:34.500 A truly biographical sketch would require seeing 00:01:34.500 --> 00:01:37.600 the other half of a person's life as well. 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:40.460 God's dealings with him, 00:01:40.460 --> 00:01:42.700 God's boundless concern for him, 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:46.079 God's gracious watchfulness over him. 00:01:47.020 --> 00:01:48.180 And when I read that quote, 00:01:48.180 --> 00:01:50.020 it kind of helped me to realize the beauty 00:01:50.020 --> 00:01:52.219 of what we actually have in the Bible. 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:55.820 We don't just have a record of what people did and thought 00:01:55.819 --> 00:01:58.279 and sinned or didn't sin or didn't do, 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:03.899 but we're also given an inspired look behind the curtain, 00:02:04.739 --> 00:02:06.979 an account of God's dealings with man 00:02:06.979 --> 00:02:09.219 and of his concerns for human 00:02:09.219 --> 00:02:12.139 and his silent hand holding us humans 00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:13.859 as they walk day to day. 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:16.939 And what I realized is most of the sermons 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:18.699 and commentaries that I read on this passage 00:02:18.699 --> 00:02:21.379 only got the first half of the story. 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:24.359 They only got Nabal shouldn't have been doing 00:02:24.359 --> 00:02:25.199 what he was doing. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:26.459 So you also don't do that. 00:02:26.459 --> 00:02:28.459 Or Abigail was doing what she should have been doing, 00:02:28.459 --> 00:02:29.459 so do that. 00:02:32.419 --> 00:02:34.459 But most people missed the second, 00:02:34.459 --> 00:02:36.899 the kind of the unseen half of this passage, 00:02:36.899 --> 00:02:40.539 God's hand working and God dealing with these people. 00:02:41.459 --> 00:02:43.219 And that's really, as I'm convinced, 00:02:43.219 --> 00:02:44.739 what this passage is all about. 00:02:44.739 --> 00:02:47.139 It's about God's hand intervening 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:49.780 in normal everyday affairs. 00:02:49.780 --> 00:02:51.899 It's about his silent providence, 00:02:51.899 --> 00:02:54.179 stopping some people's hearts 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:56.379 and pulling other people's hearts back 00:02:56.379 --> 00:03:01.379 and the arm of the Lord being revealed in daily life. 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:03.420 So the way I wanna kinda go about this 00:03:03.420 --> 00:03:05.740 is just to introduce you to each of these three characters. 00:03:05.740 --> 00:03:07.379 I wanna introduce you to Nabal. 00:03:07.379 --> 00:03:08.659 I wanna introduce you to David. 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:10.780 I wanna introduce you to Abigail in that order 00:03:10.780 --> 00:03:13.760 and look at both what they do 00:03:13.760 --> 00:03:15.460 and what God does with these people. 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:18.060 What his hand does with these people. 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:19.140 So let's begin with Nabal. 00:03:19.140 --> 00:03:21.379 If you look back at the text, 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:24.299 we're introduced to Nabal immediately in verse two. 00:03:24.299 --> 00:03:26.219 It says, there was a man in my own 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:29.460 whose business was in Carmel. 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:31.139 And the first thing that we should notice 00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:32.939 is the first thing we learn about this man, 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:35.579 if you look, is his business. 00:03:35.579 --> 00:03:36.979 And if you look at the next sentence, 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:39.460 we're told that this man not only has a business, 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:42.699 but the next thing you're told is he's very, very rich. 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:44.219 And if you're wondering how rich he is, 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:45.259 just look at the next sentence 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:50.259 and it says how rich he was, thousands of sheep and goats. 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:53.340 But the interesting thing is 00:03:53.340 --> 00:03:56.459 we still haven't been told his name yet. 00:03:56.459 --> 00:03:57.819 Which is interesting because at this time, 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:01.060 people weren't really defined by their occupations just yet. 00:04:01.060 --> 00:04:03.939 They were defined by their family or their clan 00:04:03.939 --> 00:04:06.099 or who their father was. 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:08.539 So to introduce someone by their business, 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:10.379 it has to be intentional and we need to notice 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:13.019 why would the author do that? 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:16.780 Why have his possessions and his property and his business 00:04:16.780 --> 00:04:19.620 precede even his name or his family? 00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:22.740 And the reason is I think the narrator wants us to see 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:24.980 in the black and white words of the story 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:29.780 that this man's possessions are much more important to him 00:04:29.780 --> 00:04:33.019 than even his name or his family, whatever that is. 00:04:33.019 --> 00:04:36.220 This man's life revolves around his property, 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:37.180 around his wealth. 00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:39.180 That is what we should know about Nabal. 00:04:40.420 --> 00:04:42.580 And only after being told about all of his sheep 00:04:42.579 --> 00:04:44.019 and all of his property and his business 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:46.620 are we finally told his name in verse three. 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:49.740 And it says now, almost as if the narrator realizes 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:51.060 that he hasn't told you his name yet. 00:04:51.060 --> 00:04:55.939 He says now, the name of the man was Nabal. 00:04:55.939 --> 00:04:58.379 And in Hebrew, this is not the name 00:04:58.379 --> 00:04:59.500 you'd want to name your son. 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:02.259 This literally means fool. 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:03.699 And this doesn't mean fool 00:05:03.699 --> 00:05:05.339 as in he's just a little bit slow. 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:07.060 He wasn't the top of his class. 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:09.180 One commentator put it as the word Nabal 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:14.180 describes a vicious, materialistic and egocentric misfit. 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:17.620 It describes someone who has a sphere of influences, 00:05:17.620 --> 00:05:20.540 influence and squanders that sphere of influence. 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:24.860 It describes someone who uses his influence for nothing 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:27.420 and is really nothing himself. 00:05:28.340 --> 00:05:30.180 This is the same word that's used 00:05:30.180 --> 00:05:33.420 all throughout the Proverbs to describe the fool. 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:36.060 And if you think of Proverbs 14, 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:39.459 says the fool says in his heart, there is no God. 00:05:39.459 --> 00:05:44.339 Literally, the Nabal says in his heart, there is no God. 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:45.740 And if you've ever wondered when you're reading 00:05:45.740 --> 00:05:47.819 the book of Proverbs, it talks so much about the fool, 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:50.060 you wonder what would this fool actually look like 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:51.780 if I came into contact with him? 00:05:51.780 --> 00:05:53.100 Or maybe someone comes to mind, 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:54.779 but you're about to meet him here. 00:05:54.779 --> 00:05:57.259 This is what the fool of Proverbs looks like. 00:05:58.259 --> 00:06:00.379 And the rest of the chapter is just showing you 00:06:00.379 --> 00:06:02.180 how foolish this Nabal really is, 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:04.620 how much he lives up to his name. 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:06.660 And the next time we meet Nabal in this passage, 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:09.780 if you look at verse nine, we meet him again in verse nine, 00:06:09.780 --> 00:06:13.939 and David's men are knocking at his door on a feast day. 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:15.180 So he's feasting. 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:19.379 And something in it should all pause in this moment 00:06:19.379 --> 00:06:22.060 and just say, what is this fool going to do? 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:25.660 And if you look at the end of verse nine, 00:06:25.660 --> 00:06:28.939 it says David's men waited too. 00:06:28.939 --> 00:06:30.060 It says they waited. 00:06:31.019 --> 00:06:32.379 And it's important in a text like this 00:06:32.379 --> 00:06:34.060 to think about why are the details included? 00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:36.699 Why does it tell you that they waited at his door? 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:40.060 And I think it's because the text wants you to know 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:43.620 how inconsiderate this man actually is. 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:45.660 These are men who've been protecting his flocks, 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:47.300 they've been protecting his shepherds, 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:50.459 and they come and they say, on a feast day, 00:06:50.459 --> 00:06:53.579 after he sheared his sheep, got his money, 00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:55.540 and they ask for payment for the services 00:06:55.540 --> 00:06:56.939 they've been rightly giving him. 00:06:58.060 --> 00:06:59.819 And Nabal is in no rush, 00:06:59.819 --> 00:07:03.660 even to get up from the table to respond to the door. 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:04.780 So the men wait. 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:07.740 And when he finally does come to the door, 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:09.020 it's no less insulting. 00:07:09.020 --> 00:07:10.980 Look at what he says in verse 10. 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:13.420 The first words out of Nabal's mouth 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:17.260 that we hear from him are, who's David? 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:20.260 And if you think about this, 00:07:20.260 --> 00:07:24.500 who is David is not a question anybody would be asking 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:25.740 in Israel at this time. 00:07:26.700 --> 00:07:29.620 Israel knew exactly who David was. 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:32.060 The land had sung his praises. 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:33.980 David was a war hero. 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:35.740 Who's David? 00:07:35.740 --> 00:07:37.300 You can almost hear the spite, 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:41.019 you can almost hear the condescension, 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:42.899 not condensation, in his voice. 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:45.459 See, this isn't an honest question. 00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:48.060 This is a challenge, this is a bite. 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:52.740 See, people knew that David was the Lord's anointed, 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:55.340 and Nabal was essentially saying, 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:58.899 who's the Lord's anointed to me? 00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:01.579 I am king of this region. 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:03.139 See, Carmel, there wouldn't have been room 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:06.019 for two guys as powerful as Nabal there. 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:09.099 Who's David here on my land in my Carmel? 00:08:10.219 --> 00:08:11.740 And then he continues, if you look again, 00:08:11.740 --> 00:08:13.339 he says, who's David? 00:08:14.659 --> 00:08:16.060 Who's the son of Jesse? 00:08:17.339 --> 00:08:19.060 There are many servants these days 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:21.139 who are breaking away from their masters. 00:08:21.139 --> 00:08:24.139 And Nabal makes it very clear, 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:25.979 he's not actually asking who Nabal is, 00:08:25.979 --> 00:08:29.539 because he shows, I know exactly who David's father is. 00:08:29.539 --> 00:08:31.539 I know who he is. 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:33.340 That's that boy, that's that boy 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:35.259 who broke away from his master. 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:38.860 Nabal's message is clear. 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:41.700 David's just a boy, a boy who isn't welcomed here, 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:44.539 and a boy who should go home to his master. 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:47.620 And if you look at verse 11, like all fools, 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:49.899 Nabal just keeps talking. 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:52.340 If you look, read in verse 11, it says, 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:55.820 shall I take my bread and my water and my meat 00:08:55.820 --> 00:08:57.740 that I have killed for my shears 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:01.180 and give it to men who come from I do not know where? 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:03.459 What do you notice about that? 00:09:03.459 --> 00:09:06.419 It's filled with first person pronouns. 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:08.379 My, my, my, I. 00:09:08.379 --> 00:09:11.259 His sentences are packed with himself. 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:12.699 In Hebrew, there are eight uses 00:09:12.699 --> 00:09:15.179 of the first person pronoun here. 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:17.179 And now we can see that the way the narrator 00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:19.500 introduced us to Nabal, how fitting that is, 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:22.979 even if just listening to him for like two sentences, 00:09:22.979 --> 00:09:26.059 his possessions are even more a part of who he is, 00:09:26.059 --> 00:09:28.579 even then his name, which is saying something. 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:32.259 And if we're tracking through the story 00:09:32.259 --> 00:09:35.300 and watching Nabal, we meet him just one more time. 00:09:35.300 --> 00:09:37.379 If you look at verse 36, Abigail, 00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:39.100 returning from her meeting with David, 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:42.259 comes back and Nabal is again feasting. 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:45.020 He's gorging himself. 00:09:45.020 --> 00:09:47.460 If you look at verses 36 and 37, it says, 00:09:47.460 --> 00:09:50.500 and Abigail came to Nabal and behold, 00:09:51.780 --> 00:09:54.060 he was holding a feast in his house, 00:09:54.060 --> 00:09:57.180 like the feast of a king. 00:09:57.179 --> 00:09:59.339 And then Nabal's heart was merry within him 00:09:59.339 --> 00:10:01.939 for he was very drunk. 00:10:01.939 --> 00:10:05.219 So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 00:10:05.219 --> 00:10:08.259 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:09.779 his wife told him these things 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:14.779 and his heart died within him and he became as a stone. 00:10:14.939 --> 00:10:16.979 Do you notice the contrast there in just two verses? 00:10:16.979 --> 00:10:19.179 It talks about his heart twice. 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:22.099 It says first, his heart was merry within him. 00:10:22.099 --> 00:10:23.819 And then just a couple's words later, 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:27.340 it says his heart died within him. 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:28.340 And we have to ask the question, 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:29.180 what caused it? 00:10:29.180 --> 00:10:32.860 What went from a heart being merry to a heart being dead 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:34.940 in just one verse? 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:36.780 And if you look right in the middle of those two things, 00:10:36.780 --> 00:10:38.300 the thing that changed his heart 00:10:38.300 --> 00:10:41.140 was his wife told him these things. 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:43.300 What are these things? 00:10:43.300 --> 00:10:44.460 What did his wife actually tell him? 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:47.740 Well, his wife told him that while he was drunk 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:49.380 and while he was feasting, 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:54.100 400 men and David came up to kill him. 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:55.419 They were coming to take everything 00:10:55.419 --> 00:10:57.740 he held so dearly from him, 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:02.299 his food, his sheep, his money, his reputation, 00:11:02.299 --> 00:11:04.980 all of it would be gone in one short ride. 00:11:06.539 --> 00:11:09.740 And my guess is that he felt his own vulnerability, 00:11:09.740 --> 00:11:12.939 something that a fool never likes to feel. 00:11:12.939 --> 00:11:16.539 And he thinks my sheep wouldn't have protected me. 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:19.419 My power wouldn't have saved me from those men. 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:25.179 See, he's feasting like a king, but in reality, 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:28.059 he was just a sheep fattening himself for the slaughter. 00:11:29.980 --> 00:11:31.779 And it becomes obvious if you look again, 00:11:31.779 --> 00:11:34.899 why the narrator says that he was feasting like a king 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:37.339 because Nabal isn't a king. 00:11:37.339 --> 00:11:39.059 Nabal's a fool. 00:11:39.059 --> 00:11:41.579 He had no castle, his servants hated him 00:11:41.579 --> 00:11:42.819 and were quick to turn their back on him. 00:11:42.819 --> 00:11:44.139 His wife was unhappy with him. 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:47.659 Nobody liked Nabal, but Nabal. 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:50.139 And just like that, we see God's hand intervene 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:51.139 into the story. 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:55.019 And we can almost feel the shocking juxtaposition 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:57.659 of these two things, this king-like figure 00:11:57.659 --> 00:11:59.580 who's sitting on top of his mountain, 00:12:00.779 --> 00:12:05.139 feasting atop his wealth, surrounded by his property, 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:08.340 with no regard for anyone but himself and his sheep. 00:12:08.340 --> 00:12:13.340 And the Lord just reaches out and says, that's enough. 00:12:13.340 --> 00:12:18.340 And in a moment, Nabal and we are reminded, 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:20.019 who's really on the throne here? 00:12:20.019 --> 00:12:22.980 Who's the true king, not like a king? 00:12:22.980 --> 00:12:25.500 In a moment, the true reality of Nabal's heart, 00:12:25.500 --> 00:12:28.139 the mask is just ripped away in a second. 00:12:29.420 --> 00:12:31.139 And it literally says, if you look at the text, 00:12:31.139 --> 00:12:34.460 it says, the wine ran out of Nabal. 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:36.700 And when it ran out of him, nothing was left, 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:38.300 but a heart of stone. 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:43.060 You see, my guess is he filled his days with wine 00:12:43.060 --> 00:12:47.700 and food and his property because he wanted to silence 00:12:47.700 --> 00:12:51.180 that gnawing reality that his heart was stone. 00:12:53.660 --> 00:12:56.500 And then you have verse 38, and it says, 00:12:56.500 --> 00:13:01.500 in about 10 days later, 10 days after his heart became stone, 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:04.940 the Lord struck Nabal and he died. 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:08.780 And you have this strange 10 day period here 00:13:08.780 --> 00:13:12.780 where Nabal, we can picture him just lying there like a stone. 00:13:14.380 --> 00:13:17.940 And I think this 10 day period was a kindness of God 00:13:17.940 --> 00:13:21.060 to give him 10 days to think about his own nakedness, 00:13:21.060 --> 00:13:22.700 his own vulnerability. 00:13:23.700 --> 00:13:27.500 Almost as if God were whispering to him for 10 days straight, 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:29.020 do you see me now? 00:13:30.580 --> 00:13:33.060 You are not the king, you are not God. 00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:34.059 You are not God. 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:39.859 But even in his shame, even in his own paralysis, 00:13:41.099 --> 00:13:45.699 Nabal's fists tighten and his heart refuses to bow 00:13:45.699 --> 00:13:47.659 still to anyone but himself. 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:49.779 He would rather die than bow to God. 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:55.539 He still insists, there is no God except myself, 00:13:55.539 --> 00:13:57.659 even after being struck by him. 00:13:59.579 --> 00:14:01.379 And then the Lord says, that's enough. 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:03.659 And he strikes him dead. 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:05.500 That's Nabal. 00:14:05.500 --> 00:14:08.340 So now that we've met Nabal, let's back up 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:09.779 and I want you to meet David. 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:12.179 Let's look at David now. 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:13.539 This is, when you think about it, 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:15.500 actually a very fascinating chapter 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:16.939 when you think about the life of David 00:14:16.939 --> 00:14:19.539 because it almost seems like we meet a different David 00:14:19.539 --> 00:14:22.179 when we come to 1st Samuel chapter 25. 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:26.419 We all know the David who was the humble shepherd boy 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:30.100 who had his harp and would sing Psalms to the Lord. 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:31.940 We know that David. 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:33.540 We knew the David who would go out 00:14:33.540 --> 00:14:36.460 and fight against the Philistine rather 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:39.019 than have anyone insult the name of the Lord. 00:14:39.019 --> 00:14:39.860 We know that David. 00:14:39.860 --> 00:14:42.379 We knew the David who wouldn't pursue the Philistines 00:14:42.379 --> 00:14:43.940 without checking with the Lord twice 00:14:43.940 --> 00:14:46.899 to make sure that the Lord, he had the Lord's blessing. 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:51.540 We knew that David whose heart condemned him for so much 00:14:51.540 --> 00:14:53.779 as tearing a piece of Saul's robe 00:14:54.660 --> 00:14:56.660 and saying, who am I to touch the Lord's anointed? 00:14:56.660 --> 00:14:58.019 I can't touch the Lord's anointed. 00:14:58.019 --> 00:14:59.500 We know that David. 00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:02.100 But now as we just turn the page of our Bible, 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:03.860 we meet what seems like a different David, 00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:08.379 a David who snaps in a second at an insult 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:09.659 from some random person, 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:12.299 a David who is willing to kill over his own honor 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:14.460 for his own sake, for his own benefit. 00:15:15.899 --> 00:15:17.700 And the reality is we meet here a David 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:21.639 who looks sadly a lot like a Saul in this chapter. 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:27.139 If you think back to the story of 1st Samuel chapter 21 and 22, 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:32.139 David and his men are on the run again and they're hungry 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:36.980 and they come to the house of a priest, a Himalek, 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:40.539 if you remember that story, and they ask him for food. 00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:42.819 And the Himalek gives them what little food he has 00:15:42.819 --> 00:15:46.259 and even gives David the sword of Goliath 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:47.740 to protect himself. 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:52.740 And David and his men leave and Saul follows David 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:55.059 and his men. 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:58.579 And Saul and his men come to the house of a Himalek 00:15:58.579 --> 00:16:02.619 and they know that this priest helped David. 00:16:02.619 --> 00:16:04.579 And one of Saul's men at his command 00:16:04.579 --> 00:16:07.219 slaughters a Himalek and 85 priests. 00:16:07.219 --> 00:16:09.859 Most of Saul's men weren't even willing to do it. 00:16:09.859 --> 00:16:11.619 They said, this is too far. 00:16:11.619 --> 00:16:13.819 But one of them said, I'll slaughter them. 00:16:14.699 --> 00:16:16.500 And here in chapter 25, 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:19.019 we have what's kind of an eerily similar story 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:20.699 in some ways actually. 00:16:20.699 --> 00:16:23.059 David and his men again are on the run. 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:24.500 They again approach a house, 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:26.340 they're hungry, looking for food. 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:27.899 But the different thing this time is that 00:16:27.899 --> 00:16:29.139 Nabal says no. 00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:34.659 And David and his men, just like Saul and his men, 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:37.659 did they pull out their swords and they come to kill over it. 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:42.059 And in this chapter, David almost becomes a Saul. 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:44.659 He almost does the same thing that Saul and his men did. 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:46.100 And the question we have to ask, 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:47.179 when we see these two things, 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:50.539 we see these parallel counts is, why didn't David do it? 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:53.460 What's the difference between Saul and David? 00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:56.580 Is it that David thought of something before he did it? 00:16:56.580 --> 00:16:58.460 And he's like, no, I shouldn't do this. 00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:00.700 Is it that David was doing it and said, 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:01.820 I'm not this type of guy. 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:02.900 I'm actually a good guy. 00:17:02.900 --> 00:17:03.940 I'm not a bad guy. 00:17:05.299 --> 00:17:06.140 And the answer is no. 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:08.220 David and his men were riding up to do it. 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:12.819 And David knows the only thing that stands 00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:13.660 that was different. 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:15.059 And he tells you in verse 34, 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:16.779 if you look at verse 34, he says, 00:17:17.860 --> 00:17:20.059 the thing that made it different was the Lord, 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:24.259 the God of Israel restrained me. 00:17:24.259 --> 00:17:26.460 That's the only difference. 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:28.700 And the word restrained is used often in the Bible 00:17:28.700 --> 00:17:30.740 to speak of pulling things back 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:32.779 or holding back waters 00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:36.859 or pulling things back from something. 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:41.139 And in verse 33, David says, he uses that word 00:17:41.139 --> 00:17:43.460 and he says he was kept back. 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:45.619 He was, God pulled him back 00:17:45.619 --> 00:17:47.379 from doing what he was about to do. 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:50.140 And again, you look at verse 39, 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:51.860 this is so central to David's mind. 00:17:51.860 --> 00:17:54.260 He says, David says, blessed be the Lord 00:17:54.260 --> 00:17:58.100 who has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. 00:17:59.020 --> 00:18:00.980 So what was the difference between Saul and David? 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:03.900 It wasn't that, it was that the Lord's hand 00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:07.380 pulled David back from his own sinfulness. 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:09.620 Just as the Lord pulled back the waters 00:18:09.620 --> 00:18:12.460 before the Israelites, so they could walk through, 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:15.780 the Lord pulled back David from committing this act 00:18:15.779 --> 00:18:18.259 from his own sinfulness. 00:18:18.259 --> 00:18:20.460 You see this passage, when we think about 00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:22.940 for Samuel 25, it's not six principles, 00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:25.579 not to lose your temper or a marriage guide 00:18:25.579 --> 00:18:27.019 to always listen to your wife 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:29.740 or a diet pamphlet for moderate eating 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:31.460 and not gorging yourself with food. 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.220 It's none of those things. 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:35.619 It's a picture of contrasts, 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:40.500 of what happens to Saul when God pulls back his hand from him 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:42.779 and what happens to David when God doesn't 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:45.940 and he restrains him. 00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:49.819 Do you see, David wasn't just a better guy than Saul. 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:52.619 God decided, even covenanted, 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:57.220 to have his hand actively involved in the life of David. 00:18:57.220 --> 00:19:01.220 Look what Abigail even says, you look at verse 29, 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:05.139 about how the Lord cares for David so intimately. 00:19:05.139 --> 00:19:08.180 He says, the life of my Lord shall be bound 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:11.339 in the bundle of the living care of the Lord your God. 00:19:11.339 --> 00:19:13.459 How intimate of an expression is that? 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:18.259 Bound up in the bundle of the living care of the Lord. 00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:22.299 In other words, God has wrapped his arms around David 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:25.099 and covenanted not to ever let him go. 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:28.139 God said, I'm not pulling my arm back. 00:19:28.139 --> 00:19:30.500 I am your God and you are mine. 00:19:31.579 --> 00:19:35.500 And I wonder if we think about grace like that. 00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:39.059 Do we think about grace as just the forgiveness 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:44.059 of our past sins and not as the hand of God 00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:48.179 holding you back from your own sinful inclinations. 00:19:48.179 --> 00:19:50.859 Of God covenanting and saying, I am your God, 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:53.779 I will hold you back even from your own self. 00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:58.019 Do you think about the reality that God intercepts us 00:19:58.019 --> 00:19:59.619 on the road to our own folly, 00:19:59.619 --> 00:20:04.619 that he graciously builds walls that block our fallen efforts. 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:08.299 And I wonder how we would pray differently as believers 00:20:08.299 --> 00:20:10.259 if we actually believed those things. 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:16.259 Would we pray, God, would you frustrate my sinful purposes? 00:20:16.259 --> 00:20:17.940 God, would you get in my way today 00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:21.619 of things that are against your name? 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:25.180 God, would you pull me back from my own sinful inclinations? 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:27.899 God, would you hold my own heart back 00:20:27.899 --> 00:20:31.419 from things that it wants so desperately that are wrong? 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:36.420 And I wonder if you thank God when he says no to you. 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:40.539 Look at how David prays in verse 39. 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:42.980 He said, blessed be the Lord, 00:20:44.060 --> 00:20:46.340 who has kept back his servant from wrong doing, 00:20:46.340 --> 00:20:47.820 blessed be the Lord. 00:20:47.820 --> 00:20:48.860 How often do we say that? 00:20:48.860 --> 00:20:53.259 Blessed be the Lord, because he's kept me back from that. 00:20:54.820 --> 00:20:56.700 The theologian, I don't know if any of you have heard of him, 00:20:56.700 --> 00:21:01.700 Herman Bovink, wrote, how little God is recognized 00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:03.779 for what he gives us. 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:07.500 And I would add how little God is recognized 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:09.259 for what he also keeps from us. 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:14.380 You see, in David's folly, even in your folly, in my folly, 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:17.840 God does not relinquish his hold on a sunken humankind. 00:21:18.900 --> 00:21:21.259 He still has his hands wrapped around your heart, 00:21:21.259 --> 00:21:24.220 and he holds you and says, I'm not letting you go. 00:21:24.220 --> 00:21:26.819 And the most terrifying reality that could ever happen 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:30.180 for any of our lives would be for God to loosen his grip, 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:32.140 for God to let you go, for God to, 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:33.900 as Paul would later say in Romans, 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:36.500 to turn you over to yourself. 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:40.460 Praise God that he wraps his hands around us, 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:44.140 even in our own folly, and may we beg him to hold our hearts 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:46.460 back from our own sinful inclinations. 00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:50.059 Because God's hand is the only thing that kept David 00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:51.940 from becoming a fool. 00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:55.220 And when we begin to view our world through that lens 00:21:56.740 --> 00:21:59.700 and see God's arm is holding us and pulling us back 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:03.059 from things, it actually changes the way we view, 00:22:03.059 --> 00:22:04.340 even our own past. 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:10.660 We can say thank you for very hard things, all of a sudden. 00:22:11.820 --> 00:22:14.660 We can say, Lord, I trust that that was your strong, 00:22:14.660 --> 00:22:18.500 kind arm when I didn't get that job that I so wanted. 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:20.700 We can say, Lord, I trust that that was your arm 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:24.700 when I lost this loved one or this little baby 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:27.900 in a miscarriage or when life doesn't turn out 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:29.220 the way we had planned. 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:32.420 And we can say, God, I don't understand, 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:34.420 and I don't even really feel your arm all the time, 00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:36.420 but I trust that you're kind, 00:22:36.420 --> 00:22:39.059 and I trust that your arm is here holding me. 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:44.660 You see, in some ways, First Samuel is a tailor, 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:47.460 a tailor, a tailor, a tailor, a tailor, 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:49.539 First Samuel is a tale of fools. 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:53.500 We have Saul, we have Nabal, we even have David, 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:55.900 who are all acting like fools at this moment. 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:59.860 And the only thing that differentiated their own foolishness 00:23:01.100 --> 00:23:02.940 was their reaction to the hand of God. 00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:05.620 That was the only thing that differentiated. 00:23:05.620 --> 00:23:07.340 When David encountered the arm of God, 00:23:07.340 --> 00:23:10.180 he said, bless to be the Lord, the God of Israel, 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:11.700 for your arm intervening. 00:23:12.539 --> 00:23:16.059 And when the other two interacted with the arm of God, 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:18.779 they clinched their fists and they closed their eyes 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:21.299 and they say, but what about my reputation? 00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:22.500 What about my property? 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:24.059 What about these other things? 00:23:25.659 --> 00:23:27.500 What do we do with the arm of God? 00:23:30.099 --> 00:23:32.299 And now as we come to a conclusion, 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:33.659 let's meet our final character. 00:23:33.659 --> 00:23:38.099 We've seen Nabal, we've seen David, let's meet Abigail. 00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:40.859 And we meet Abigail again. 00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:43.659 If we look at the very beginning, back in verse three, 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:46.660 we meet her immediately and just notice how differently 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:48.820 she's introduced to us the Nabal. 00:23:48.820 --> 00:23:51.580 We're told her name immediately in the text. 00:23:51.580 --> 00:23:54.100 The name of his wife was Abigail. 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:58.460 And if you look at verse three, it actually forms a chiasm. 00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:00.940 If you look at verse three, it says, 00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:03.100 that now the name of the man was Nabal 00:24:03.100 --> 00:24:06.140 and the name of his wife Abigail. 00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:08.540 The woman was discerning and beautiful, 00:24:08.540 --> 00:24:12.259 but the man was harsh and badly behaved. 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:13.900 He was a Calebite. 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:15.740 See the descriptions of Abigail and Nabal 00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:17.059 are wrapped around each other 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:20.019 and you can feel how different these polar opposite, 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:22.339 these two descriptions are of each other. 00:24:22.339 --> 00:24:25.299 These two don't even belong in the same sentence 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:26.980 with each other, let alone the same marriage 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:27.819 with each other. 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:32.819 Nabal is a gorging fool and Abigail is beautiful 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:34.539 and wise and discerning. 00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:38.180 Nabal was introduced by his sheep. 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:40.019 Abigail is introduced by her name 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:42.299 and her wisdom and her character. 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:45.259 And the word used to describe Abigail 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:47.660 might be discerning in your Bible. 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:49.940 That might be the word that it says there. 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:52.980 But it's the word used all throughout the Proverbs 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:53.900 for wisdom. 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:56.500 Here are just a few examples if you, 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:57.619 these are from Proverbs. 00:24:57.619 --> 00:25:00.379 The first one's from Proverbs chapter 12. 00:25:00.379 --> 00:25:03.460 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom. 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:05.859 That's the word for discerning that's used here. 00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:09.779 But he that is perversive heart shall be despised. 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:12.099 Another one, Proverbs 16. 00:25:12.099 --> 00:25:16.379 Understanding, that's the same word used to describe Abigail 00:25:16.379 --> 00:25:19.979 is a wellspring of life unto him that have it. 00:25:19.979 --> 00:25:23.219 But the correction of fools is their folly. 00:25:24.219 --> 00:25:26.579 And do you see how this word is always contrasted 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:28.579 with foolishness, with folly? 00:25:28.579 --> 00:25:30.899 It's the exact opposite of it. 00:25:30.899 --> 00:25:32.819 And that's exactly what's true of Abigail. 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:36.740 She is the exact opposite of her husband in every way. 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:39.299 She is wisdom embodied. 00:25:40.659 --> 00:25:42.740 And notice how Abigail's put forward in this narrative. 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:45.899 She's given in verses 24 through 31, 00:25:45.899 --> 00:25:48.379 she's given the longest speech of any woman 00:25:48.379 --> 00:25:49.419 in the Old Testament. 00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:51.899 Look what she says to David. 00:25:51.899 --> 00:25:53.779 She says in verse 28, she says, 00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:58.779 for the Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house. 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:01.099 Notice what else she says. 00:26:01.099 --> 00:26:03.099 She says, the lives of your enemy, 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:06.579 he shall sling out from the hollow of a sling. 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:09.579 You can hear the imagery of David with his sling. 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:11.779 It's a good metaphor. 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:16.099 He will appoint you prince over Israel, 00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:18.099 is what Abigail tells David. 00:26:19.939 --> 00:26:23.099 And if you think about what she's actually telling him there, 00:26:23.099 --> 00:26:24.099 it's actually pretty astonishing, 00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:28.099 because those are the first traces of the Davidic covenant 00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:29.779 that she's speaking to him. 00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:33.220 12 chapters before God ever makes the Davidic covenant 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:34.059 with David. 00:26:35.259 --> 00:26:38.779 In her wisdom, Abigail is functioning prophetically. 00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:42.180 You see, our chapter started with Samuel dying, 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:43.899 and then we have Abigail rise up, 00:26:43.899 --> 00:26:46.779 and she speaks prophecy over David. 00:26:48.420 --> 00:26:50.579 And the next way we see her functioning in this 00:26:50.579 --> 00:26:53.859 is we see her standing in between David and Nabal. 00:26:53.859 --> 00:26:58.859 And she interestingly bears the guilt for her husband. 00:26:58.859 --> 00:27:01.859 Notice the first words out of her mouth when she meets David. 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:03.859 She falls to the ground and she says, 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:07.859 on me alone be the guilt of my husband. 00:27:08.859 --> 00:27:10.859 In other words, I'll bear the sin of that fool. 00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:11.859 I'll take his place. 00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:14.859 You punish me for my foolish husband. 00:27:16.859 --> 00:27:19.859 And she in essence says to David and his men, 00:27:19.859 --> 00:27:21.859 please put away your swords. 00:27:23.859 --> 00:27:24.859 And if you look at verse 26, 00:27:24.859 --> 00:27:26.859 look what she saved David from. 00:27:26.859 --> 00:27:29.859 She saved David from blood guilt. 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:32.859 And she says in verse 28, she says, 00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:35.859 please forgive the trespass of your servant. 00:27:36.859 --> 00:27:37.859 And I think most of us when we read that, 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:40.859 we think she's asking for the forgiveness of Nabal. 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:44.859 But even though you can't see in the English, 00:27:44.859 --> 00:27:47.859 the Hebrew word for servant should be something 00:27:47.859 --> 00:27:48.859 like maid servant. 00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:50.859 It's a feminine word. 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:54.859 In other words, I've absorbed the sin of my own husband. 00:27:54.859 --> 00:27:57.859 Forgive me because I'll take his sin for him. 00:28:00.859 --> 00:28:02.859 In other words, how is Abigail functioning? 00:28:02.859 --> 00:28:05.859 She's acting as both a priest and she's acting as a sacrifice. 00:28:07.859 --> 00:28:11.859 And the third way Abigail's functioning is she takes the action. 00:28:11.859 --> 00:28:13.859 Do you notice how much initiative she takes in this story? 00:28:13.859 --> 00:28:15.859 If you just look at verse 14, 00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:17.859 one of the servants runs to Abigail 00:28:17.859 --> 00:28:20.859 and tells her what Nabal has done because she knows, 00:28:20.859 --> 00:28:21.859 I can't run to Nabal. 00:28:23.859 --> 00:28:24.859 And Abigail acts. 00:28:24.859 --> 00:28:26.859 She just immediately acts. 00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:31.859 Starting in verse 14, almost every sentence that isn't a dialogue, 00:28:31.859 --> 00:28:34.859 Abigail is the subject of that sentence, 00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:36.859 almost every single one. 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:37.859 Just run your eyes down the page. 00:28:37.859 --> 00:28:40.859 If you look at verse 18, then Abigail. 00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:44.859 Verse 19, and she said, verse 20, and as she wrote, 00:28:44.859 --> 00:28:49.859 verse 23, she hurried, verse 24, she fell. 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:51.859 Do you see the picture? 00:28:51.859 --> 00:28:53.859 Abigail stepped into the situation. 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:55.859 She took it into her own hands. 00:28:58.859 --> 00:29:00.859 Verse 14, literally in Hebrew starts, 00:29:00.859 --> 00:29:04.859 you have David and his men riding up, 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:07.859 and it says in Hebrew, but Abigail. 00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:10.859 In other words, Nabal's made a fool of himself. 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:13.859 David and his men are coming up with swords, 00:29:13.859 --> 00:29:16.859 everywhere, but Abigail. 00:29:17.859 --> 00:29:20.859 The situation would have gotten out of hand, but Abigail. 00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:26.859 See, she's functioning as a sort of ruler in this situation. 00:29:27.859 --> 00:29:29.859 She's controlling the situation. 00:29:29.859 --> 00:29:33.859 So do you see how the text is putting Abigail before us here? 00:29:33.859 --> 00:29:36.859 She is the full embodiment of wisdom itself. 00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:40.859 She is the prophet in place of the dead Samuel. 00:29:40.859 --> 00:29:45.859 The priest in the sacrifice in the place of the wayward priesthood, 00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:50.859 and she rules decisively in place of the fallen king of Ithsal. 00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:55.859 And I hope all of a sudden the dots begin to fall into place 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:57.859 for you of what's happening here. 00:29:59.859 --> 00:30:02.859 And with shadows of John 12 happening, 00:30:02.859 --> 00:30:07.859 we see Abigail ride down the mountain on a donkey toward David. 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:08.859 Toward David. 00:30:10.859 --> 00:30:13.859 And when David sees her, he cries out in verse 32, 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:17.859 blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel 00:30:17.859 --> 00:30:19.859 who sent you this day to meet me. 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:24.859 And in this we hear echoes, shadows of Luke one. 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:27.859 And in Luke one, right after the hand of the Lord 00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:30.859 restrained the tongue of Zachariah. 00:30:30.859 --> 00:30:32.859 And it says in verse 66 in Luke chapter one, 00:30:32.859 --> 00:30:35.859 the hand of the Lord was with him, Zachariah. 00:30:35.859 --> 00:30:40.859 Then Zachariah calls out, blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:44.859 almost the same as what David says when he sees Abigail. 00:30:44.859 --> 00:30:47.859 For he has visited and redeemed his people 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:52.859 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David. 00:30:52.859 --> 00:30:56.859 As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from old, 00:30:56.859 --> 00:30:58.859 that we should be saved from our enemies 00:30:58.859 --> 00:31:01.859 and from the hand of all who hate us. 00:31:01.859 --> 00:31:04.859 And where's this all in? 00:31:04.859 --> 00:31:07.859 Where does this story conclude in conclusion? 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:11.859 Abigail, if we're following her, she returns a second time. 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:15.859 This time not to satisfy blood guilt, not to die for the fool, 00:31:15.859 --> 00:31:17.859 but for a marriage. 00:31:18.859 --> 00:31:21.859 And once again Abigail rises and she mounts the donkey 00:31:21.859 --> 00:31:23.859 and in verse 41, what does she say? 00:31:23.859 --> 00:31:27.859 She says, I will come and I'll wash the feet of the servants of my Lord. 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:31.859 I'll come and I'll wash their feet. 00:31:31.859 --> 00:31:34.859 You see, in chapter 24 and 26 of 1 Samuel, 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:39.859 you have these parallel accounts where David has an opportunity to kill Saul 00:31:39.859 --> 00:31:42.859 and he decides not to kill Saul. 00:31:42.859 --> 00:31:47.859 And the reason he doesn't kill Saul in each of them is theology. 00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:50.859 He saw Saul and he said, this is the Lord's anointed. 00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:53.859 Who am I to touch the anointed of the Lord? 00:31:53.859 --> 00:31:55.859 This is the chosen one of God. 00:31:55.859 --> 00:31:57.859 I can't touch him. 00:31:57.859 --> 00:32:03.859 And yet in 1 Samuel 25, David also has the opportunity to kill. 00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:06.859 And what holds him back here isn't theology, 00:32:06.859 --> 00:32:09.859 isn't thinking of the Lord's anointed, 00:32:09.859 --> 00:32:11.859 but a shadow of the Lord's anointed. 00:32:11.859 --> 00:32:16.859 A figure writing out to him on a donkey saying, I'll die for the fool. 00:32:16.859 --> 00:32:19.859 Take me instead of the fool. 00:32:19.859 --> 00:32:24.859 In Zephaniah chapter 3, there's a beautiful section 00:32:24.859 --> 00:32:28.859 about the day when the Lord will be in the midst of his people. 00:32:28.859 --> 00:32:32.859 And it talks about how he's going to deal with all of their enemies 00:32:32.859 --> 00:32:34.859 and all of their oppressors. 00:32:34.859 --> 00:32:36.859 And there's this beautiful little verse that says, 00:32:36.859 --> 00:32:40.859 in that day he will quiet you by his love. 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:46.859 And isn't that the picture of what we're given in 1 Samuel 25 through Abigail? 00:32:46.859 --> 00:32:52.859 Abigail, whose name in Hebrew literally means the delight of the Father. 00:32:52.859 --> 00:32:55.859 Words which were spoken of Jesus in his baptism. 00:32:55.859 --> 00:32:59.859 She is a shadow of Christ who quiets David with love. 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:06.859 And just ending, this is what the arm of the Lord should do for you. 00:33:06.859 --> 00:33:09.859 It should quiet your heart and love. 00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:15.859 The strong, silent province of God should comfort your troubled heart that you bring here. 00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:19.859 It should enable you to look at your past and say, 00:33:19.859 --> 00:33:22.859 blessed be the God of Israel. 00:33:22.859 --> 00:33:27.859 Even when you said no in really hard ways. 00:33:27.859 --> 00:33:31.859 And it's here in a passage that at first seems so strange and obscure 00:33:31.859 --> 00:33:35.859 that we see the hands of the Lord really revealed. 00:33:35.859 --> 00:33:39.859 We see it revealed in the silencing of the fool who refused to acknowledge God. 00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:44.859 We see it, the arm of the Lord revealed in the restraining of David. 00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:48.859 We see the arm of the Lord revealed in the shadowy figure who rides down 00:33:48.859 --> 00:33:52.859 and quiets David in love, who bears the guilt of the fool, 00:33:52.859 --> 00:33:55.859 who speaks prophetically to David when the prophet is dead, 00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:57.859 who washes the feet of the servants. 00:33:57.859 --> 00:34:00.859 And it all ends in a great marriage celebration. 00:34:00.859 --> 00:34:04.859 And then she essentially disappears out of our Bibles. 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:09.859 This is redemption and restraint in the wilderness. 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:16.860 And in verse 34, David realizes how lost he would have been, 00:34:16.860 --> 00:34:19.860 quote, unless you had hurried out to meet me. 00:34:19.860 --> 00:34:24.860 Unless Abigail had hurried out to meet him and quieted him in love. 00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:27.860 And I just in closing, is that the cry of your heart tonight? 00:34:27.860 --> 00:34:29.860 Is that the cry of my heart that Jesus, 00:34:29.860 --> 00:34:32.860 unless you had come and hurried out to meet me, 00:34:32.860 --> 00:34:34.860 oh, what would become of me? 00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:38.860 Oh, how lost I would have been without that. 00:34:38.860 --> 00:34:41.860 Let me close this in prayer. 00:34:47.860 --> 00:34:53.860 Father, how lost we would have been if Christ wouldn't have hurried down to meet us 00:34:53.860 --> 00:34:58.860 and wouldn't have taken the place of the fool written in on a donkey 00:34:58.860 --> 00:35:03.860 and bore the wrath that was ours. 00:35:03.860 --> 00:35:08.860 Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you how beautiful it is. 00:35:08.860 --> 00:35:12.860 Pray that we would see your arm more evidently and that we would lean on it and trust it, 00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:16.860 even when it says hard, even when it does hard things and takes, 00:35:16.860 --> 00:35:21.860 shares things away from us and that we would trust in your arm and love it. 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:23.860 Thank you for your kindness to us. 00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:27.860 Pray that we would be comforted by your love. 00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:31.860 Our troubled hearts would be quieted by your love. 00:35:31.860 --> 00:35:34.860 And I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.