August 25, 2023

Discretion is key when determining God's will and next steps.

1 Samuel 25

Stephanie Renshaw
Friday's Devo

August 25, 2023

Friday's Devo

August 25, 2023

Friday's Devo

August 25, 2023

Friday's Devo

August 25, 2023

Big Idea

Outward appearances can be deceiving. God looks at the heart.

Key Verse | 1 Samuel 25:33-34

"Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from blood-guilt and from working salvation with my own hand! For as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male."

1 Samuel 25

The Death of Samuel

1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.

David and Abigail

Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David's servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs 1 25:18 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to the enemies of David 2 25:22 Septuagint to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal 3 25:25 Nabal means fool is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince 4 25:30 Or leader over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

32 And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The LORD has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Footnotes

[1] 25:18 A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters
[2] 25:22 Septuagint to David
[3] 25:25 Nabal means fool
[4] 25:30 Or leader

S2:165 1 Samuel 25

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | 1 Samuel 25

Have you ever gotten so worked up about something to the point where you take matters into your own hands? In 1 Samuel 25, David found himself in this very position. David wanted to wipe out Nabal and his men because they treated badly both David's men and David himself. Aren't we a lot like David? Our natural instinct is to try to take control of the situation rather than take the matter to the Lord.

Matthew 5:39 explains that, as followers of Christ, we are called not to retaliate, but to extend grace. Not by our own doing, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a sweet reminder that we as humans are so undeserving of the constant grace that the Lord pours out on us daily. This is brought to our attention in today's passage.

 In 1 Samuel 24, David issued grace to Saul, even though he had wronged David. Now in 1 Samuel 25, David struggled to show Nabal kindness when David felt that he had been disrespected and wronged. This is when Abigail comes into the scene.

The Lord in His sweet kindness gave Abigail the discernment and confidence to approach David while he was en route to harm Nabal and his men. She asked David not to do something he would later regret, to let the Lord settle the matter instead of taking vengeance into his own hands. David honored her request and spared Nabal's life. In the end, Nabal hardened his heart, and he was struck down by God (1 Samuel 25:37-38).

This month's memory verse

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

– Mark 10:45

Discussion Questions

1. Who is someone you feel the Holy Spirit is prompting you to forgive instead of seeking ways to get even?

2. All of us are human and have wronged someone in some way. What does it look like for you to take that next faithful step in asking for forgiveness?

3. At Watermark, there is a huge emphasis on living in Christ-centered community with others who are walking with Jesus. I would love to challenge you to share your next faithful step in forgiveness with your community group. What will that look like for you?

If you are not a part of a community group, finding faithful community to share life with could be the next step in your journey of seeking forgiveness.

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Stephanie, Love these from your devo -“Our natural instinct is to try to take control of the situation rather than take the matter to the Lord.” -“Matthew 5:39 explains that, as followers of Christ, we are called not to retaliate, but to extend grace. Not by our own doing, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Q1. My mom died in 1980. I was 22 and just out of school. Not too long after she died my dad married a woman he knew from growing up. I thought she was the meanest person I have ever known. Much later, I realized she was the saddest person I had ever known. Life had given her some tragedies, but way fewer than many. Understanding that her tragedies made her “mean” explained a lot to me. It took a long time to go through a forgiveness process. There still seems to be a residual. Q2. I am thankful to have learned in my three trips through re:gen how important it is to own my sin and to ask for forgiveness. For Amy and me it has been a huge blessing. This chapter has me reflecting on who my favorite individual OT figures are. All the major ones appeal to me. B.C., I was drawn to Jacob. To me, he was a schemer, negotiator, and a deal maker. My kind of guy. A.D., I think of him more as a gifted man who spent a lot of unnecessary energy getting out of trouble. Joseph I like because of his even temperament and devotion to the LORD. Moses overcame timidity and passivity. Joshua and Caleb rise near the top for me. David is the pinnacle. What’s intriguing to me is the appeal of the wonderful female figures. Leah, at a certain level- for her steadfastness. And Rahab. She knew who Yahweh was and that He was worthy of following to the point of ultimate surrender and obedience. She is a great example of how God will use whomever he chooses to advance His plan; even a Canaanite prostitute…who then becomes an ancestor to Jesus. Ruth the Moabite is a slightly different version. I’m taught that her story comes right after the end of Proverbs, i.e., Proverbs 31- “A wife of noble character who can find?” Enter Ruth. Until we get to Abigail. The literary structure of chapter 25 uses a chiasm, https://www.gotquestions.org/chiasm-chiastic.html. This is a fascinating tool God uses to draw my attention to a particular verse or passage. In this chapter the center of the chiasm is verses 20-35 when David meets Abigail, (https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/1samuel/1samuel.htm). This is an absolutely amazing passage. Abigail shows deep reverence for the LORD as does David. She represents God’s provision to David of the means to stop him from a horrific error in the massacre of fellow Israelites. Their interchange and the follow up is one of my favorite stories. Not to be missed is God’s contrast between her and Nabal - and the link between Saul and Nabal.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

From the notes- “The contrast between Nabal and Abigail (lit. "My Father Is Rejoicing" or "My Father Was Delighted") could not be clearer. Someone has called this chapter the story of Beauty and the Beast. -Nabal was foolish; Abigail was wise. -He was evil; she was good. -He was repulsive; she was attractive. -He was arrogant; she was humble. He was ungodly; she was godly. He was antagonistic; she was peacemaking. They were one of the mismatched, odd couples of the books of Samuel—along with Hannah and Elkanah, and David and Michal. The rabbis considered Abigail one of seven women in the Old Testament whom the Holy Spirit had graced unusually.” The Hebrew words for "good" and "evil" each occur seven times in chapter 25 (vv. 3, 8, 15, 21, 30, 31, 36, and 3, 17, 21, 26, 34, 39 [twice]).[521] "Together they underscore one of the major themes of the story: Good brings its own reward, while evil recoils on the head of the wicked."[522]
HS

Hugh Stephenson

More from the notes - https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/1samuel/1samuel.htm Abigail's approach to David was a model of tact and courage (cf. 2 Sam. 14:2; 20:16-19). Visualize this solitary woman, riding a donkey, approaching 400 armed men, who were riding horses and were bent on slaughtering her household. It took immense courage and boldness, as well as great wisdom, for Abigail to take her life in her hands and do what she did. "Dismounting in presence of a superior is the highest token of respect that can be given; and it is still an essential act of homage to the great." Abigail proceeded to help David view his situation from God's perspective. -She referred to the LORD as the One who, in response to her words, was restraining him from shedding innocent blood (v. 26). -She was anticipating David's proper response to her appeal. She further wished that all who opposed David, as Nabal had done, would be ineffective. She presented her gift of food and asked for David's forgiveness, again as the substitute for her husband (v. 28; cf. v. 24). -She believed that Yahweh would give David an enduring dynasty because he fought the LORD's battles (v. 28), not just Saul's battles, and because David would do the LORD's will. In this she again anticipated David's proper response to her request. -She believed God would preserve David alive, which was a blessing promised in the Mosaic Law for those who obeyed God (cf. Deut. 4:10; 8:1; 16:20; et al). David heard the LORD's voice behind Abigail's words. Consequently he blessed the LORD, her discernment, and her. God had used David's conscience to keep him from killing Saul (24:5), and now He used Abigail's appeal to keep him from killing Nabal. Wise David, who listened to the words of a woman—who was a stranger to him—contrasts with foolish Nabal, who would not listen to the words of his wise wife or his fearful servants. Thus godly Abigail, another wise person, became a blessing to David. Earlier he, a godly person, had been a blessing to her and her household. She kept him from sinning (v. 33), and in return he blessed her further by sparing the males of Nabal's household (v. 35). We can learn a great deal from wise Abigail. -We can see how a godly person responds to a spouse's folly: by preserving and protecting the spouse rather than by ignoring the folly. -We see how a godly person responds to a foolish spouse: by honoring him or her rather than by despising him or her. -We see how a godly person responds to favors bestowed: by returning them generously rather than by taking them for granted. -We see how a godly person responds to other godly people: by helping them rather than by opposing them. -We see how a godly person responds to being vulnerable: by sacrificing oneself for others rather than by becoming arrogant. -We see how a godly person responds to the threat of danger: by trusting in God and behaving wisely rather than by ignoring the danger. -We see how a godly person responds to the desire for security. In this last lesson Abigail is a negative example rather than a positive one. -We do so by relying on God to provide legitimately rather than by seizing security.
MS

Michael Scaman

I like the name Abigail - daddy's joy. 'Daddy's Joy' was married to a guy named 'Fool'. Sounds like there could be a song. Was fool a slur Abby gave him and it stuck.? 72 proverbs about fools and Abigail probably had more than 72 headaches. Abigail recognized crisis, acted urgently and use choice diplomatic words "“On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. " , making it an oversight on her part she was taking responsibility for. She empathized and agreed about Nabal's faults which might be a good crisis intervention thing to do instead of defending bad behavior. She was a hard worker because she had large quantities of food in her kitchen and grabbed hundreds of loaves of bread as part of her pony express fast food delivery. Abigail lost a wealthy husband and gained a fugitive runaway She almost certainly thought that was a good deal even living on the run from Saul. Abigail is Christ like in that she is the Father's delight, she took the sin of others on herself. She traded her wealth for a life possibly suffering with David. She also was willing to call sin sin
MS

Michael Sisson

Re: 1Sam 25:14 1Sam 25:14 (NASB) But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and >>>he scorned them.<<< In essence, David (and his men) is again the object of baseless hatred, after David’s men had generously protected Nabal’s servants and herds.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. Currently, life is ok. 2. One, I would pray to God and be responsible for my actions and my ideas. Two, I would ensure my opinions are put aside and everything is done God’s way. Three, Glorify God, ensure glory is given to God in everything, celebrating and using God’s values always. 3. Currently, I would compliment everyone on doing a good job. Things are currently calm.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Stephanie!! Abigail is one of my favorite people in the entire Bible. What a rock star! She sets a stellar example of how to deal with a hot-headed person: with humility, with softness. She points to Yahweh several times, and reminds David of his future as the Lord's anointed. She reminds David of his past, his phenomenal success against Goliath. by bringing up a sling. She points to the high bar he was capable of clearing if he submitted to the Lord. What a glorious woman of faith!
MS

Michael Scaman

Nalbal was dismissive of David. Abigail believed David would become 'prince over Israel' A remarkable difference. David felt she was a keeper. In her acceptance of David's marriage proposal Abagail promised to wash the feet of David's servants. Very humble and a hard worker.