Sunday, October 4, 2015

I Samuel 25: Leave It To The Lord

David learned an important spiritual lesson in I Samuel 25.  Rather than taking vengeance ourselves for injuries and insults we suffer, we should leave it to the Lord.

David's honor was insulted by a man named Nabal (whose name literally means "fool").  Nabal was a fool because when men from David came asking for a gift of some provisions, he turned them away with a nasty rejection.  David's men had helped protect Nabal's flocks and workers in the wilderness, and they had treated his shepherds with respect.  But because Nabal answered him harshly, David got together his army to go take by force what was withheld when requested nicely.  In his hot anger, David was prepared to slaughter Nabal and his household.

Fortunately, Nabal had a wife, Abigail, with a cooler head.  Abigail caught wind of what had happened and quickly put together a generous package of provisions to appease David.  Intercepting David's forces before they reached her home, she is able to dissuade him from seeking vengeance.  Instead, he receives her gifts and retreats in peace.

When Nabal hears of his wife's actions, however, he is dumbfounded.  The Bible says that his heart died within him and he became like a stone (vs. 37).  A few days later, he died.  Abigail, now an eligible widow, becomes David's wife because he was so impressed with how she handled the situation.  By her gentle manner, she was able to keep David from sinning in his anger and shedding blood.

Realizing that God had been in charge of his situation from the beginning, David said, "Blessed be the Lord who has judged the case of Nabal's insult to me, and has kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own head" (vs. 39).

This lesson should not be for David's benefit alone - all of us could stand to remember that we should trust the Lord to take care of such personal slights rather than taking matters into our own hands.


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