1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verse 1

· Samuel’s story comes to an end however we still have an entire book to go through carrying his namesake let alone finishing this one. Why is that? Jesus said to Martha in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” Samuel’s life comes to an end but his influence, his heritage and legacy live on through David, and even unto today as we talk about him and learn how to live our lives through his words, faithfulness, lessons and influence 3,000 years later!

· It’s one of the billions, maybe trillions, incredible benefits and rewards of living your life serving the Lord. Your life transforms into something more than a single life. Notice here it says, “Samuel died,” and then in the next sentence it says, “And David arose…” That is the hidden gem of the Godly life… That as your single physical life is spent, your impact that causes others to surge forward and to arise and to be ok in this life…, that lasts…, and it multiplies… It’s exactly the example of Jesus Christ!

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verse 2

· This would be the describe someone of this time that is SUPER rich! This is the Elon Musk of his day. Three thousand sheep and a thousand goats and they make more… So, he was super rich and his riches were constantly growing.

· Now, it’s interesting that this is the description of what it is to be rich, because what we are going to find out is that he is a fool, (in fact his name is Nabal which means “foolishness,” thanks mom and dad), and his marriage and home fall apart. So what good is all his sheep now?

· There’s more than one type of rich and I know you know this… There is one who has a lot of possessions and numbers on a screen, and then there is one that has a ton of love, friends and family in their lives… Both are rich just in very different ways. Which one would you prefer? Then there is one that has depth of character and richness of soul. Patient, kind, graceful, beautiful heart…, rich as well, just very different. Which one would you prefer? Me, ALL of them!

· But that will only happen when you have these different categories of riches in the right priority. Check out these words of Jesus in Mark 4:14-20, “The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” The true profit comes from the correct priority of riches…

· So, have them all…, but when it comes to livestock, sheep, goats, numbers on a screen, that can’t be your reason for your self-worth… In truth, it’s bananas. They look really good, nice and new… But they don’t age well… HA! Just like finding your “why” in numbers on a screen. What we will find out in this chapter is that what you are given you are to use to serve the Lord and to bless others…, and in doing so, those riches (as they are now in the right order), actually make you rich. These riches make this man poor… Watch this…

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verse 3

· Talk about unequally yoked! Have you ever heard that Christian phrase? Maybe you have and maybe you haven’t. It comes from 2 Corinthians 6:14 where Paul instructed, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”

· That sounds harsh and really anything that tells us what we can do and can’t do comes across harshly in our culture. But this is for the better. Let me explain. If you have a life goal of serving the Lord, the most important thing in your life is walking with God, and that is the life goal of your spouse, his or her most important thing in their life is walking with God, you are going to force multiply!

· Now, if one of you has a life goal of serving Jesus and the other has a life goal of serving themselves, there will be a constant struggle of priorities, activities, attitudes, behaviors, on and on. Force division and subtraction. This principle is what is meant by the phrase you often hear in Christendom of, “unequally yoked.”

· Nabal means fool, literally. And somehow, probably through an arranged marriage, he has an exceptional wife. Abigail, meaning “The joy of her father!” He was a man of no wisdom while she was a woman of good understanding. The word here is literally “insight.” She was contemplative, able to understand others around her by her honesty in understanding herself. Prudent, discrete, intelligent and another definition of this word is successful! (They all really go together!)

· And, if that wasn’t enough, and guys, single guys, let me tell you, that’s not just enough, that’s everything…, but on top of that, she is beautiful!

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 4 – 8

· The sheep being sheared indicated that it was the time of feasting. And it appears that David had access already to take whatever he wanted from Nabal but instead of taking from him, he protected him. He served him. He has an army of 600 soldiers and could have done whatever he wanted but unlike Nabal, David is not harsh and evil in his dealings…

· So, he sends a contingent to Nabal to greet him and you’d think Nabal would have rolled out the red carpet for them… Not so… And this Carmel, this is not the Mount Carmel that we visit when we are in Israel. This is another Carmel, just wanted to point that out (not really important to the study/context)…

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 9 – 11

· This response is not just unaccommodating, its insulting. Nabal is essentially accusing David of abandoning his responsibilities with first his father and then with the king. “Son of Jesse,” and then, “Servants who break away from their master.” He could be insulting the ten that are in front of him but carrying this message to David would most certainly insult David…

· And, check this out, Nabal uncovers here, he reveals his origin point of his foolishness in what he says. “My bread, my water, my meat, my shearers…” None of those are his. For now, for now they may be in his care, under his control, but just wait… 5, 10, 20, 50 years… they won’t be his any longer. What’s the point?

· All that I have or you have is the Lord’s and it’s simply been granted to us for a time. If we hoard, if we lay claim to it exclusive of God and others, we will lose it all. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but it will be lost… If we are blessed with success, possessions, resources, even talents, abilities and capabilities, we are blessed so that we can be a blessing…

· In light of eternal life, your money, your possessions, your earthly success, these are a few things… Jesus said in Matthew 25:23, to the faithful servant, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” The joy of the Lord doesn’t come in all that you have. It’s just simply not there. The joy comes in giving it back to God… Oh, and the ability to actually keep it… Watch Nabal lose all of it and more…

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 12 – 13

· Every Bible commentator I read is hard on David for this response. What do you think? Maybe you agree with them. I recall what we already know about Nabal. Harsh and evil. Insulting, unaccommodating, selfish and happy to see people protecting him starve and suffer. Maybe you and I are different and that’s ok. I am for David in this response…

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 14 – 17

· More details given here… We find out that David’s men protected Nabal’s men and family. Were king, and good to them. No ulterior motives or hidden agendas. And we find out that Nabal is not able to be reasoned with… You can’t talk to him and if you do, you will be punished. Defense, deflection, denial…, these would be the responses of the Nabal the fool…

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 18 – 20

· Abigail made haste, as a woman of good understanding she knew that the time to settle a quarrel is quickly. Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly…”

· She does what her husband will not because of his foolishness and here is unequally yoked on display. She can’t even tell him about it… If she did, she’d be stopped and they’d both be in harms way… So, she does all this rightness alone…

· This scene and her actions aren’t without controversy. Some would argue with good biblical footing that what she is doing isn’t right…, and that rather than betray and disrespect her husband, she should have perished with him… You can make a case for that. Perhaps God would have preserved them on account of Abigail’s righteousness just like what happened at Sodom and Gomorrah… Everyone wants to find their “ride or die,” right…, how far does that go?

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 21 – 23

· We see her doing what Nabal should have done… Notice again, just like we saw in the previous chapter, it is the wise person, the better person, the person of understanding, the beautiful person that is willing to bow in reverence and in humility…

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 24 – 31

· The messaging is respectful, it is humble, and even it is unfair. She requests that David put the iniquity of her husband upon her which isn’t fair but this is the move of the righteous. This is exactly what Jesus did for me and in my place. Where He was completely perfect and innocent, He stood before His accusers as guilty and did not refuse them because what He was doing, He was doing for me. Greater love has no man than this, that one would lay down His life for His friends…

· The depth of your character and worth is not found in what you will do for yourself but what you will do for others. And what’s even more, for those that won’t do the same for you. That is love. This is why the best love stories also include tragedy because the emotion of love is incredible but the sacrifice that love requires to even be love at all is heartbreakingly grievous. But do you actually love that which you have not suffered to protect? Love suffers long…, and while suffering, it is king. Read 1 Corinthians 13…

· Abigail shows the understanding and beauty assigned to her in how she covers her husband even though he would object to it… There’s an element of this scene that to her must feel like pure loss, which is a component of love…, a necessary component. That song was actually true, “Love Stinks!” HA!

· And her plea to David who is incensed that his men are being forsaken and Nabal is abusing all that he has been given through his selfishness, her plea in the moment is to remember, remember who you are in the Lord. Not who Nabal has made you to be in the moment… That’s why she reminds him of the sling… And also removes him from the moment and encourages him to think about how he will feel about what he’s doing when it’s all over and time has passed… It’s incredibly tactful on her part! Wise…

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 32 – 35

· Just a little life lesson here…, if someone is a bit grumpy, give them some respect, speak kindly to them, and give them a snack! HA!

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verse 36

· While she is handling business, Nabal is wasting himself and his time in dissipation. From the outside looking in this is one of the saddest scenes of this chapter. This is a glimpse of hell on earth. She comes home from literally saving her husband, everything they have and their children and she’s not greeted, appreciated, celebrated, she can’t even share the depth of her experience, righteousness and wisdom. All because he is serving his flesh while she is serving her family.

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 37 – 38

· Share something beautiful and righteous and pure with your spouse and they become like a stone…, will you share again? Abigail won’t. HA! Many believe he had a stroke. Some believe his heart was broken by his wife. It doesn’t matter. The point is he’s not rich anymore… Why? He never was… And now that’s just been revealed.

1 Samuel Chapter 25 Verses 39 – 44

· Ok single fellas, take note. If you’re on dating websites, do a word search using verse 41! HA! Sad fact though, nice guys and many times nice gals finish last… But you singles would be wise to look beyond what they can offer physically to see if there is any true beauty there… And true beauty always looks like Jesus.