author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Samuel 25. 1 Samuel 25.
We have a really interesting story to look at tonight. A story I really wrestled with the last couple days. It's the story of two fools and one wise woman.
Are you in 1 Samuel 25? Let's look at the first 3 verses to get started:
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:1-3 - KJV
- And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
- And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
- Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
The Charachters
So this chapter starts by telling us that Samuel - the great prophet who annointed David and led Israel for years - he's died. He's passing off of the scene.
This had to have left a void in David's life and a spiritual void in Israel, because Samuel truly was a great man and a great leader.
That's kind of an aside at the beginning of the chapter. Just an important historical detail. Our story really starts at the end of the verse where we are introduced to the three characters in our drama tonight: At the end of verse 1 it tells us David went down to Paran.
So the first character, and this should be no surprise, is David. He's still on the run. Saul is still chasing him. The last time we saw him he spared Saul's life in a cave and now they are back to their same games.
The second character is introduced to us in verse 2. And the first thing we are told about this man, before we even learn his name is that "his possessions are very great."
This man, is what we would call today, very rich. He's loaded. He is the sole owner of a vast husbandry empire. He has thousands of sheep and goats. He's doing pretty well for himself.
Then verse three tells us his name: Nabal.
Now, here is where it gets interesting, because "Nabal" in Hebrew means "fool" and the rest of the verse (and the rest of this chapter) tells us that Nabal lives up to his name. He may be rich, but he's a fool.
He's churlish which means he's hard, cruel, severe and obstinate. He's not a nice guy. He's kind of a jerk.
And what's worse he's also "evil in his doings." He's not just stubborn and ugly - he's not a good guy.
The last phrase of verse 3 tells us "he was of the house of Caleb." That whole phrase is actually just one word - it's just Caleb in Hebrew - and "Caleb" is a name that means "dog". So traditionally, the jewish people read this verse and thought this wasn't describing his family - it was telling us that he was a dog.
If it is describing Caleb - then it is intended to show us just how far this one apple fell from the tree, because Caleb was a wise and godly man and Nabal is what his names says "he's a fool who acts foolishly."
But there is a third character in this chapter, and she is really the star of the chapter. She is also introduced in verse 2 - her name is Abigail, and she is Nabal's wife.
Now, you would think this dog, this churlish evil fool Nabal would have a terrible wife, but that is not how the Bible describes her at all. She is actually "a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance."
So we learn two things about Abigail, she is wise and she is beautiful. This woman wasn't just a trophy wife, she wasn't just a looker, she was good and wise.
And what we see in this chapter is the story of two men who acted like fools, and one woman who was wise. Two men who acted ugly, and one woman who acted beautifully.
So two fools and a wise man.
Let's look at the first fool:
1. Nabal, the First Fool
To really see how Nabal was a fool we need to keep reading. Let's read verses 4-9:
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:4-9 - KJV 4. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. 5. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: 6. And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. 7. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. 8. Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. 9. And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
So David and his men are in the wilderness. His band of soldiers are there, and they just happen to be in the area where Nabal's sheep have been grazing.
Now, sheep were valuable. Where they were grazing was also in western Israel, right near the border of the Philistines. It was extremely common for Philistines to come and raid and take what they wanted and they could have easily come and stolen from Nabal's flock and hurt his servants.
But David has been providing security for the herd. David and his men have been watching over the sheep and the shepherds and making sure no one messes with them. You can almost think of them as ovine security guards. David and his men have been providing a valuable service to Nabal and his flocks.
And this has apparently been going on for awhile. And now it's harvest season. Shearing would be like harvest for shepherds. It's when they get to collect their profits from the work for the year. And it was traditional to feast and give gifts during this harvest, so David sends his men to very politely and reasonably ask Nabal for a some food.
He doesn't demand it. He doesn't try to intimidate Nabal. He doesn't set a price. He's treating Nabal like a good man here and just looking for a tip for a valuable service.
Now, let's keep reading and see how Nabal responds here:
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:10-12 - KJV 10. And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. 11. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be? 12. So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.
Nabal is a fool and he acts like a fool. He turns to these servants and insults David. Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse?
He's insinuating that David is a nobody. David is a loser. Then he says "there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master."
So he's not just saying David is a nobody, he's accusing David of being an unfaithful servant and a runaway slave.
(By the way, one of my pet peeves is the phrase "now a days" - rarely does anyone say "now a days" and then follow it with something helpful.)
Then Nabal says: "Shall I take my bread and my water and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be?"
This is the best way I can illustrate what Nabal is doing to David. Imagine you are a waiter in a nice restaurant, and a man comes in and orders a large meal. You take care of him the whole time, you make sure his food is good, you make sure his cup stays full, you leave him alone.
Then you give him the bill. Not only does he not give you a tip, he writes a nasty note on the bill and says "I'm not tipping you, because you look like a common flunky and you'd probably waste it on booze anyway."
That's what Nabal did here. It was injustice. It was impolite and it was purposely insulting.
So how was Nabal a fool? Let me name six ways:
A. He was foolish in his ingratitude
David had been serving him and his interests and he just blew him off. He showed no gratitude for the valuable service that David and his men provided.
The New Testament says:
[!bible] Galatians 6:6 - KJV 6. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
In the context of being served in a church, the New Testament says if you are being served, you communicate, you share.
Hebrews 13:16 says:
[!bible] Hebrews 13:16 - KJV 16. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
God is pleased when we share. And Nabal didn't share, He didn't show gratitude for being served.
That's one way he acted the fool.
A second way he acted like a fool was...
B. He was foolish in his disrespect
David was God's man. God's anointed. His wife knew that. His servants knew that. The crown prince recognized it. Even King Saul recognized it.
But Nabal said "Who is this David?" He's showing no respect.
A third way he was foolish is...
C. He was foolish in his rudeness
He's just ugly here. He could stiff David and his men and not be ugly about it, but Nabal can't help take the opportunity to show his superiority here and put David down.
Listen, don't be rude. Treat people with kindness and respect. Don't insult people. There is no wisdom there.
He was acted the fool in his ingratitude, in his disrespect, in his rudeness.
Fourth,
D. He was foolish in his lack of generosity
The way Nabal talked about his blessings show that he didn't really understand them. He said "Why should I give my bread and my water away to a bunch of nobodies?" He's like the "mine" birds.
David Guzik said that there are four kinds of riches:
- You can be rich in what you have.
- You can be rich in what you do.
- You can be rich in what you know.
- You can be rich in who you are.
Nabal only has one of those kinds of riches and its the lowest kind.
A fifth way Nabal acted foolish here is...
E. He foolishly put himself in the place of attacking God's chosen servant.
Remember in Exodus and Numbers when Israel came through the wilderness and the Moabites and the Edomites and the Ammonites could have helped them, but chose to attack them. How did that work out for them?
God doesn't take it lightly when people attack His people when they are vulnerable. Nabal was becoming like them and that is a foolish place to be.
There is one more way that Nabal acted the fool here - and we don't see it until verse 36. Look at that verse:
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:36 - KJV 36. And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken:...
F. He foolishly had a party when he was in grave danger.
We are going to see here that Nabal was about to killed. His servants knew it. His wife knew it. Everyone knew it besides Nabal - who was sitting home having a party and getting drunk - just happy with himself.
He was a fool. Let's learn from this fool and not act like this. Most of us, I hope, have the wisdom enough to not be a Nabal kind of fool.
2. David, the second fool
But there is a second fool in this story, and it is David.
Look at verse 13:
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:13 - KJV 13. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
So David's men tell him what happened. They tell him what Nabal did and it had it's desired effect. David was insulted.
And David basically says to his men "Strap up boys. Let's go!"
What was David intending to do? Listen, he wasn't oging to play patty cake with Nabal. He wasn't going to egg his house. He wasn't even going to take what he felt was owed to him. He had something else in mind.
Look down at verse 21. Look at what David said he was going to do:
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:21-22 - KJV 21. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. 22. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
David is planning on genocide here. David is planning on taking his sword and killing not just Nabal, but every male in Nabal's household. (That's what "pisseth against the wall" means if you couldn't figure that out.). David and his band of hardened soldiers is planning on killing this guy and his family and his servants - just slaughtering all of them.
Now, don't miss this - in the last story we covered - David had the opportunity to kill Saul, and his men wanted him to do it - and he didn't, he couldn't go through with it. He had to talk them down.
That would have been wrong, but it would have been self-defense. This is just David being insulted and he is not just going to kill one guy but his whole clan.
He even spiritualizes it. He brings God into it.
Nabal is not the only fool in this story. David is acting like a fool too.
David had the perfect opportunity to do what we talked about last week, to turn the other cheek and leave it to God, but instead David storms off in a murderous rage and brings his men along with him. Why? His pride is hurt.
David was a man after God's own heart. But that doesn't mean he was always a man after God's own heart. He had lapses in faithfulness just like you have lapses in faithfulness. He needed the wisdom of others just like you do.
Do you know what lesson David still needed to learn? He needed to learn to let God fight his battles.
He's getting it. He started to get it at the cave with Saul. But here he has a relapse and he acts like a fool in this story.
Now, I told you this story was about two fools and a wise woman. Let's talk about...
3. Abigail, the wise woman
At the very beginning of the story we are introduced to her and we are told that she is wise. She has good understanding. She is beautiful and wise.
How does she enter into the story?
Look at verses 14-19:
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:14-19 - KJV 14. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. 15. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: 16. They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him. 18. Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. 19. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.
The servants who witnessed this whole thing tell Abigail, they tell her all that David had done for them and they tell her how Nabal had treated them. They are afraid for their lives.
And so Abigail springs into action. She gets a bunch of food together for David's men and she very wisely and carefully goes to meet him.
She sets it up so that David and his men will come around a hill and just suddenly run into these servants bringing them gifts and then see this beautiful woman bowing to the ground.
So picture this. David and his men are moving toward Nabal's house. It's like the ride of the valkyries. They are big mad. They are put out.
They come around a corner and boom, there is everything they should have gotten from Nabal and this beautiful woman bowing down before them - giving them the respect Nabal should have given them.
Keep reading (verse 23)
[!bible] 1 Samuel 25:23-31 - KJV 23. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, 24. And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. 25. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. 26. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. 27. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. 28. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. 29. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. 30. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; 31. That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
Wow. Just wow.
There is so much to be said about how Abigail approaches David here (and I'm already out of time.).
But basically, in the kindest way possible she says "Listen, you are a good man, you are God's man and you don't want to have this blood on your hands. God will take care of you and you will be King and one day, you won't even remember what little Nabal did to you. So just let it go and let God take care of it."
Whoa. What a wise wise word.
Listen, Abigail wasn't perfect. She kind of deceived Nabal (although we can't blame her). She puts Nabal down - she shouldn't have done that.
But in this instance, she was incredibly wise and she was the one that God used to keep David from having blood on his hands and to show David God would take care of him.
Let me tell you something - even the best of men are men at best. Even men like David, who was a man after God's own heart, have lapses in faithfulness and have times where they don't have very much sense.
We need the wisdom of God's people. We need to hear from each other.
Listen, this may seem like a weird application here. But do you know why I think it is absolutely crucial that you be in church faithfully?
It's not just because you need a pastor. It's not just to hear the word. We all need the wisdom of the congregation. We all need to hear from the Abigails sometimes.
David was convinced he was right. He even brought God into it. And he was dead wrong and he was about to shed innocent blood and have a stain he would never erase - and thank God for a little lady who had the wisdom to talk him off the cliff.
And so many times people, even good people like David - a man after God's own hear, can convince themselves they are right. "I prayed about it" when they are actually acting like fools and need to hear wisdom.
So I told you this story is about two fools and a wise woman. Do you know what the difference between Nabal and David is in this story?
Nabal's servants called him "a son of Belial" and said "a man cannot speak to him." If that is the case, wow much of Abigail's wisdom do you think Nabal was taking in?
But David, when he was confronted with wisdom, listened. He learned the lesson, even when it came from the wife of the guy he was hot against.
Nabal was a permanent fool, and David, like all of us can be, was a temporary fool.
Which one are you? Man, you get hot. You get angry. Your ego get's sore. Do you hold onto that? Or do you give it up in the face of wisdom?
Epilogue
I don't have time to read the rest of the story, so I'll just tell it to you.
Abigail comes home and Nabal is drunk, so she waits until the morning to tell him what she did. When she does, his heart fails. (I don't know what that means.) But he just lied in bed and then dies ten days later.
Abigail then becomes David's wife and shows the same kind of grace and wisdom she showed in this story with David's men.
So God took care of Nabal. God blessed David. What was Nabal's ended up becoming David's without David lifting a finger, because God will fight out battles for us.
Let God take care of the Nabals. Let God take care of the fools. He can do it. Learn to turn the other cheek. Learn the value of listening to the wisdom of others.
Let's stand and pray.
