Please have your Bibles open and stand with me for the reading of God's Word. We come to this final and third segment of 1 Samuel 25 and our text for tonight is verses 32 to 43. 1 Samuel chapter 25 verses 32 to 43. to 43. Well, I'm going to leave at 43 and pick up from 44 and then link it up with the next section, but I'll just give you a little preview. All right, so let's read from verse 32. This is a reading of God's word, 1 Samuel chapter 25. Verse 32, then David said to Abigail, blessed be the Lord God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Naval until the morning light as much as one male. So Dawid received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request. Then Abigail came to Naval, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Naval's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light. But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Naval, his wife told him these things and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. About 10 days later, the Lord struck Naval and he died. When Dawid heard that Nawal was dead, he said, blessed be the Lord who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nawal and has kept back his servant from evil. The Lord has also returned the evil doing of Nawal on his own head. Then Dawid sent a proposal to Abigail to take her as his wife. Then the servants of Dawid came to Abigail at Carmel and they spoke to her saying, Dawid has sent us to you to take you as his wife. She arose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my Lord's servants. Then Abigail quickly arose and rode on a donkey with her five maidens who attended her. And she followed the messengers of Dawid and became his wife. Dawid had also taken Ahinoam of Yitzriel, and they both became his wives. Let's read verse 44. Now, Shaul had given Michal, his daughter, Dawid's wife, to Palti, the son of Laish, who was from Galim. Amen. Please be seated. Now the part of the attraction of studying a very detailed biography like this is that we get to peer into a person's life and even his thoughts as the divine narrator of the Holy Spirit inspired narrator tells us what even David was thinking. And so part of examining a great human specimen like David, despite his many flaws, is that we see at times like this his great wisdom and his humility at the same time. Now here is a mighty man of war. Here is a man who has defeated so-called the undefeatable. where we get the proverb or the saying or the idiom, David and Goliath, David versus Goliath. David was the one little shepherd boy who killed Goliath, the giant Philistine warrior. And then he has had not single defeat in all of his exploits against the Philistines. It's 100 battles, win and zero losses. That's quite a record for David. He is a mighty man of warrior, man of war. He has 600 men who follow him. He is a captain or general, if you will. So he's a man's man. He's a masculine leader. He's a fearless warrior. And then he's also a wise leader. He's also a humble leader. I mean, he's got a lot of things going for him. So as a human specimen, it's hard not to admire somebody like David. But we see that David is human being after all, that he has flaws in his life and character. And the Bible portrays people as they are, not as they are somehow polished up and idolized to be. David is a kind of a man who knows how to yield to God's wisdom and God's authority. He consistently subordinates himself under God. That's one thing that is consistent about his life. Even when he completely veers off and does something completely sinful, he knows that he needs to repent and turn back to God. He anguishes like no one does. Only if people repent the way that David did. You read Psalm 51, boy, there is a contrite spirit, a broken person. It's not like the typical, you know, proud religionist, you know, who looked up to heaven and saying, well, thank you for forgiving me, God. Forgive me for tomorrow's sins, because I'm sure about to commit them. It's the kind of arrogant, self-righteous, flippant spirit that many religious people have. David wasn't like that. He was a humble man. There's an amazing display of reversal of angry vengeance in this passage. David responds in humble joy over the wisdom and counsel of a woman. Women were not considered seriously in those times 3,000 years ago in Israel. But Abigail... is not just a woman to David, she is a messenger from God. David is spiritually sensitive enough that it doesn't matter from which source the wisdom and good counsel comes, he is ready to completely reverse course because he senses the presence of the Lord. Only if men today were as spiritually sensitive will we gain more wisdom from maybe the counsel of our wives, maybe even our daughters. and certainly grandparents. No matter who they are, where they are, if we're just humble enough and wise enough, we would identify wisdom and we would make those wise things of God our own. Well, even a man after God's own heart has flaws. Yes, God reverses David's misdirected vengeance and teaches him through Abigail that vengeance belongs to the Lord. Yes, he gains wisdom and he humbles himself. But also a man after God's own art can act dangerously and at times unbiblically. And this is what the Bible teaches us. David here at this very end of this section, sadly, we see his polygamy. We see that, we see a flaw in David's character already. As a matter of fact, the theme that appears at the very end of this section is the theme that only appears in Shemuel, the book of Samuel, in 2 Samuel chapter 11 regarding David's sin against Bathsheba and killing Uriah the Hittite, her husband. That's the theme. A man dies and he gains his wife. And even though here David does it legitimately, the term goel or kinsman redeemer is not used here, but that's exactly what David does. Because there's no dowry price, there's no bridal pay. David goes and rescues a widow from her widowhood. And so we're gonna take a look at that in a little bit more detail. But a man dies and David gains a wife. But the sad thing is he already has a wife, a chinon. through which you know that if you study Old Testament history, he has his firstborn son, Amnon, and what a wicked rascal he was. He was a incestual rapist, rapist sister Tamar, half-sister Tamar, and got on the bad side of the wrath of her brother, Abishalom, or Absalom, and Absalom killed him. So instead of being the crown prince, he ended up six foot under. God cursed him. A man like that could never reign. And so an obscure son of Bathsheba, Solomon, became the next king after David. But that's another chapter, another time. But a person who's already read this narrative, 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, would clearly see the connection. The theme is unmistakable. A man dies, David takes his wife. another man dies, David takes his wife. That theme appears again. And so even a man after God's own heart can act dangerously, sinfully, under certain circumstances, to jeopardize the kingdom. But here, God doesn't allow that. And once David ascends into the kingdom, God continues to allow David to grow. And as all leaders, we all need to constantly grow. And our greatest battles are not behind us, it's ahead of us. Our greatest struggles in life will be ahead of us. If you think that the worst of your life is behind you, you got it all wrong. It's ahead of us. And so For every one of us, for Jesus, it was at the very end of his life. Apostle Paul, he had to face martyrdom. All of us will face our greatest struggles and ultimately death. And in the face of death, can we be faithful to God? Can we honor him? That's the ultimate test of fidelity. And for all of God's people, by God's grace, he will sustain us to the very end. We trust in the Lord, not in our abilities. So David's lack of certainty about how he would behave under these circumstances is an interesting study for us. Praise the Lord that Jesus, the greater king, the perfect shepherd king, was given to us. And even as a good king, the best that Israel would ever have would fall short of God's glory. Our King, the greater David, David's seed, who is also David's Lord, would never disappoint. And so he always exercises power, wisdom, and compassion without fail. Even David failed. We learn a great deal about God's benevolent acts on behalf of his anointed king elect here in this passage, as we look at this final installment of providential prevention of God. Here now, the prevention part is all over, and now we're going to see what God does in his providential way of provision as well. God not only prevents disaster, he provides for the needy. It's a wonderful passage. So let's take a look at first, verses 32 to 35, the providence of God and reversal. A divine reversal. A dramatic reversal. Praise God. That He doesn't change, but we certainly better change. And He changes our course completely, as He did with David. This is an important lesson for us. Verse 32, And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. You see here, Abigail had invoked the name of Yahweh no less than seven times in our speech. Yahweh this, Yahweh that, my Lord the King, Yahweh this, Yahweh that. David demonstrates evidence that he perceived the spiritual nature and the divine purposes of Abigail's arrival and Abigail's pleading. How do you know that a person's anger and wrath has been subdued? How do you know it's been turned around? How do you know that David's disillusionment regarding his security guard duty, his hard work for Naval, and his anger portrayed in his motives is fully reversed. Remember what David had purposed in verses 21 to 22? Now David has said, Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in his wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him. And he has returned me evil for good. I mean, you and I can get very disillusioned. We do all the hard work. We do all the good deeds. And then things turn around and we get paid with what? Insults, scorn, ridicule. That would get anybody angry. And David was infuriated. Return evil for good? Verse 22, May God do so to the enemies of David and more also if by morning I leave as much as one male of anyone who belonged to him. Now you think about in your own mind, you have the upper hand, you have the power to punish somebody. And that lesser person has just offended you beyond belief. Would you not seize the opportunity to teach him a lesson? It's instinctively human for us to get revenge, especially when we have the higher upper hand, when we have the power and authority to do so. Now David praises God and rejoices in God's providential guidance because that's exactly what God prevented him from doing. Here's an important lesson for us. Always be willing and ready to reverse your course, no matter how strongly you feel that you're justified in doing them, when the Lord God stops you and gives you an alternate route. No temptation has ever seized us, nor shall it ever seize us except what is common to man. What David is experiencing here is not extraordinary. It is a common experience in all of our human interactions. But God is faithful. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, he will also allow us a way of escape so that we can stand up under it. There always is an alternate way, only if we are willing to turn our hearts around and do it God's way. He can lead us that way. So don't ever say, oh, he made me do it, or she made me do it. They deserved it. Don't ever go to that route. Ask, Lord, if there's another way that you can be glorified, that I don't have to do this, that I could trust this into you, show me that way. Proverbs 3, verse 7. We know chapter 3, verses 5 and 6 very well, right? Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding, et cetera. Verse 7 says, do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It is easy when you have a lot of experience and knowledge to be wise in your own eyes. It's easy for David when he's an experienced warrior to know how to bear a sword and how to take vengeance upon his enemies. That comes naturally for a warrior. But it says, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Notice David's awareness of Abigail's arrival as the work of the Lord. He said, blessed be the Lord God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me. One must be a possessor of wisdom to grasp the wisdom of others. That's one of the first prerequisites of gaining in wisdom. You have to be able to identify it. Fools despise wisdom. They scoff at wisdom. They go phooey. I don't care about that. I only care about what I think, what I believe. And I consistently hear unbelievers and scoffers talk about what is reasonable, what is rational, when all they're saying is what seems natural to me. It's very subjective, actually. It's not reasonable or rational at all. It's just what that person desires. One must be a possessor of wisdom to grasp the wisdom of others. And David had that wisdom to know that God sent this agency in a feminine, weak, feminine package, both powerful, potent words that is filled with spiritual truth and wisdom that it can only be from God. It's a gift from God. He recognized the wisdom in Abigail's speech and her actions. and verse 33, and he blesses her. Blessed be your discernment. David praises Abigail for a good judgment here. The word ta'am is the same word that appears in Proverbs chapter 11, verse 22. It says, as a ring of gold in a swine's snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion. The word for discretion there is ta'am, same word. Blessed be your ta'am. Here, might as well put a nice little ring on the gold snout. We have a saying like that, right? Put some lipstick on that pig. It ain't gonna make the pig look good. That's what it says here. You might as well put a nice little expensive jewelry on the swine snout. It's just like a woman, a beautiful woman, who lacks discretion, ta'am. So, what does the Bible say about what is an enduring quality? Admirable quality in a woman? Discernment. Judgment. You know, women discern and judge constantly. They are some of the most scrutinizing, careful-judging species. They're a fair species. You watch women go shopping for clothing, they look for everything. They count the threads on that sleeve and everything, feel everything, and quality. They like little shiny little things, too. I don't know why. We like big, fancy, moving things. They like little shiny little things. No microchip, no moving parts, but they like it. It bling-bling, they go, oh. Every detail about that. Now think about the judgment that they exercise to make their conclusions. A woman who lacks moral judgment, lacks spiritual discernment, is really an ugly, stupid, foolish woman. That's what the Bible says. Stay away from such women because they will do harm. On the other hand, doesn't matter what she looks like on the outside, she's somehow trained, somehow able to tap into that area of good judgment, moral judgment, spiritual judgment, into the areas of life, then you have a goldmine there, you have a jewel. And David praises Abigail, she had that, he recognized that. David was a spiritual gemologist, if you will, and he found a gem. He said, blessed be you who have kept me this day from bloodshed. After worshiping God and praising him for his benevolent act of providential prevention, David praises Abigail for heroic deeds and gives credit to her for restraining him. That's what he says here, have kept me. That word there, the Hebrew verb kalah, means restrain. Mass killing has been prevented by Abigail's decisive, wise, and courageous action and speech. And then David says, from avenging myself by my own hand. Now the Hebrew word there, that's translated here avenging, it's actually the Hebrew verb for save. Yashah, Yashah. We get Yeshua or Jesus from that same verb. Yehoshua, Yeshua. It's from that verb, Yashah, save. Jesus is a Savior by name. So while the NASB translators under translate that word, ESV translators literally translated the word, giving it a strong alternate meaning. As we see in 1 Samuel 25, verse 33, let me read this in the ESV, English Standard Version. And it says, 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. Now, if you were to read that and you're kind of thinking about the cross, well, you would get all wrapped into that. Of course, the term yashah in the context points to saving, but saving what? Saving one's own reputation. David was going to kill all these people because they have mocked his name, his reputation. And not saving one's life. That's from life-threatening hostility. So the meaning of NASB is closer than ESB's over-translation. All right, so with that in mind, let's move on to verse 34. Nevertheless, David says, while David gives glory to God for his providential prevention, he also recognizes Abigail's role for this saving work of God. Almost have a double entendre kind of a thing. On the one hand, David gets to save faith, save his name, and save his reputation, because he's not gonna shed blood, because he intended to take care of this business. by his own hand and his own will. On the other hand, God stopped him through Abigail and her role in saving, saving all that God has in store for David. He says, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me. By the way, when you look at this harming you, obviously David's not talking to her directly, harming you, girl. He's actually saying harming you all, right? Like our Southern brothers would say, y'all, this is plural. Unless you had come quickly, singular, feminine singular, quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male. That's what David had committed in his mind, now he spells it out before Abigail. And you better believe that Abigail's heart must have been thumping. She thought it was close, but not this close. So, As the Lord of God, Israel lives. That's a formula. Whenever it's employed in someone's mouth, it's usually life and death situation, as it does here. David asserts that Abigail's quick arrival was instrumental in saving a lot of people's lives. Surely there would not have been left to Naval until morning. David reinforces certain certainty of mass killing, mass death without God's providential protection and Abigail's intervention. Here we have an example of divine activity and human activity perfectly balanced. Now, if you happen to be one of those human beings whom God uses from time to time to be right in the gap between two opposing parties, that had you not stepped in and risked your own life and your neck, your reputation, that great disaster could come to many people. There will be an opportunity for you to experience the power and the grace of God. And that's what happens when we evangelize. That's what happens when we step in front and tell them about a solution that is only found in Christ. That's when we bring two warring parties together and become the peacemaker and bring both of them to make peace with God, so they can make peace with one another. There needs to be more wise Abigail's to stand in between the gap. Verse 35 says, so David received from her hand what she had brought him. This long narrative ends with David's gracious forgiveness and receiving of Abigail's gifts along with her petition. And that's how you know that David's heart is also had turned around. He's not just grudgingly doing this, he's rejoicing. He's impressed by Abigail's wisdom. He's convinced by her rhetoric. And now he's moved by her gifts. He receives. His heart is cooled and calmed. He's turned 180 degrees. He's now filled with joy and thanksgiving. He praises God. And then now he even proclaims shalom to her. Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request. There is no further harm that would come to you and your loved ones. That's what David said. David wishes Abigail shalom and assures her of granting her petition, uses a familiar phrase of obedience in the Old Testament, I have listened to you. That's literally, I have heard your voice. And the term voice is there. I have listened to your voice. And that phrase is synonymous with I'm obeying. That's why God always says, listen to my voice. Hear, O Israel, listen to my voice. He who refuses to listen to my voice, he shall be cut off from his people. It's an issue of obedience and disobedience. This is the language of obedience. Furthermore, David says, and grant it your request, which is literally lifted your face in Hebrew. which is the same language of Aaronic blessing. God told Aaron to bless the people when they get together in a congregational gathering. In Numbers chapter 6 verse 26 it says, the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace. Very interesting because the same words appear here in David's blessing. He says, go up to your house in peace. And in reverse order, he says, I have listened to you and granted your request. Granted your request is the same Hebrew here as lifted up his countenance on you. Literally lifted up your face, same words in Hebrew. So the contrast between David's pronouncement of blessing and Aaron's Blessing at the congregation worship meeting of Israel, identical words and concepts used here. So David is now blessing Abigail. Now in so doing, you see a dramatic difference between how Saul operates and how David operates. The previous king, King Saul, priests at Nove offended him And because he became suspicious of their support for David, he didn't care about the facts. The fact that David had come, and they didn't report David's arrival to him, he was offended, and he had them all executed. And the entire town burned, and burned to the ground. Terrible thing. Here, this rich fool, Nabal, had offended David greatly, and yet David spares the life of his enemy who offended him. That's a contrast. That's the worldly King Saul. This is the godly King David. And our Lord Jesus Christ, the greater David, forgives enemies. If he didn't, he could not tell his disciples to command them to forgive their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. He could not give those commands if he didn't keep them. If he didn't do that, of course he did, and he even demonstrated that on the cross. He forgave. He asked the Father to forgive. There's room, even for those who blaspheme, without knowing. who hate God, and yet their heart can be turned because our God is a forgiving God. He forgives even his enemies. He's compassionate toward those who offend him and insult him. He has every right to crush them, but he doesn't. A human king, human David, guided by wisdom of Abigail, can do this. How much more our great God, who is a God of love and compassion. So we've seen the providence of God and a dramatic reversal for the Lord's anointed. And then secondly, we see the providence of God and divine retribution. verses 36 to 38, the providence of God and divine retribution. Then Abigail came to Naval and behold, he was holding a feast in his house. Returning from a tense situation where life and death issues were in the balance and successfully interceding for the life of her foolish husband, Naval, Abigail comes to Carmel and sees her husband drunk. is parting it up, surprise and dismay. Behold, that's a tension grabbing word. Look, look what he's doing. She is laying down her life, her neck for his life. He is careless. Nabal doesn't have a clue and is feasting in Carmel in his own house. Now take a look, like the feast of a king. This little phrase inserted here by the narrator not only describes the sumptuousness and the lavishness of the feast, but also hints at the connection with the current royalty, current king, Saul. Saul, as well as many people like this, rich fools, Rich fools enjoy themselves with the greatest goods of the world, as if they own them, as if they're entitled to them. Naval thinks he's king, so he throws himself a big party like a king. But he's a fool, and so is Saul. Naval is the alter ego of Saul in this narrative. Saul, as well as the irony of the fact that Naval's wife, Abigail, had made her allegiance with the king elect of Israel, David. David is the true king, for he is the Lord's king, but the true king lives like a pauper. He goes from cave to cave in the wilderness, but the rich fool lives like a king. How ironic. And it says, Nawal's heart was merry within him. Like most fools of that day, as was our day, Nawal was glibly enjoying his life, oblivious to the dangers he had just avoided because of Abigail's intercession. He thinks his life will continue like this, eat, drink, and be merry forever. Most unbelieving fools of our generation also live like this. That's the psychology of a fool. He only cares for the pleasure of the moment and doesn't have a clue to his eternal condition. He's just millimeters away from impending death and eternal condemnation, and yet they act like tomorrow will continue on forever. All good life will just continue on. A fool. He was very drunk, being intoxicated with the frivolities of life. Now, while the quintessential fool represents all other fools who dull their senses with worldly pleasures and desires so that they could temporarily escape the realities of life. You know, you got to, back in those days, you got to intend, you have to personally intend on getting drunk. This is the kind of stuff that you have to choose to drink back in the days, because most people didn't drink heavy alcoholic beverages like they do today. They didn't have, they had strong liquor, but the term here is used is wine. So this is the low-alcohol content wine. So you have to purposely decide to put a lot of alcohol into your beverage, because usually it was mixed with water. And so, the fact that he was drunk means that he was drinking constantly. Back in those days, you have to set your mind on getting drunk, or else you can't get drunk accidentally, because your bladder will act out first, of the low-alcohol content. So he's just getting drunk here, Just happy because he's got a lot of money now and he's always rich and he thinks he's the king. So she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light. Again, choosing a wise path. She waits until he is sober so he can understand the realities of what's going on. And that's what you and I must do. It is foolishness for us to talk to the fools of the world when they are so preoccupied with the frivolities of life, drunk with their pleasure, hedonism, and sensuality, and go over there and talk to them about the truth and the preciousness of the pearls. We might as well cast the pearls before the swine and give what is holy to dogs. two commands that were told in the New Testament to obey not to do, do not cast your pearls before the swine, do not give what is holy to dogs. So it's wisdom, I think it's common sense. She waits in the morning, verse 37, this is an ironic morning, isn't it? This is the morning where Naval should be dead, bloody on the ground, because David and his men would have finished the job had Abigail not interceded. This is that morning. But he's still living because Abigail intervened. When the wine had gone out of Nabal, he's finally sober, Abigail reported to her husband the whole matter. His wife told him these things must have started with her hearing the news and report. She found out through a servant. So she acted quickly because she sensed the imminent danger. She didn't tell him because she knew that he would intervene or not listen. She acted independently because life and death were at issue. She said, I knew you would understand because if I listened to you, you'd be dead. Told him everything. I packed up a lot of stuff and gave it to David to allow him to cool down. He's a good godly man. And did you know he even listened to me? Me? Would you listen to me? You don't even listen to me. He listened and he turned. That tells you how benevolent and godly He is. My husband, you were inches away from death. He was coming to kill you. And the next phrase says, and his heart died within him. Good translation of the original Hebrew. That's exactly what it says in Hebrew. Nawal's immediate response was one of great shock and petrification. The heart is the seat of both mind and the emotions. It is also the seat of man's courage. That's why it says, gird up your loins and be of men of courage, of strong heart. Here, he has a dead heart. Commentators differ on the take on Nabal's response. Some say Nabal was so stingy that Abigail's generosity in giving away much of his property was what caused him to have a cardiac arrest. What? You gave him what? Oh, that's what happened. I highly doubt that. I believe that what others have recognized, too, that Nabal spoke boldly. Oh, David. Who is this David character? Who is the son of Jesse? I hear a lot of servants are running away from their masters and not being faithful to their masters these days. Scorn. Ridicule. Nabal thought he was king and David was a servant. He wants some supplies from me, huh? He's come to beg, I see. Well, I'm not going to give him anything. He's a freeloader. Let him take care of his own stuff. You leave. That's what Nabal basically did. Nabal spoke boldly, but he was a cowardly man. You know, all cowardly men like this, they speak boldly when they think that they have the upper hand, not knowing that David has a powerful army. Cowardly people use both two devices. One is flattery, the other is gossip and slander. You see, when they think that they have the upper hand, they say whatever. But when they know that they are underneath and they need your help, they just butter up, flattery. This is typically Naval, character of cowardliness. He comes very close to death, had it not been for his wife's intercession. Naval's arrogant disposition was his greatest enemy. It says, so that he became as a stone. Indeed, the language of stone is connected with what Abigail said about David's enemies. Remember, it says God will place your sling and sling out your enemies. This was a stone slung out by God. Medically speaking, this seems to indicate some sort of a heart attack or heart failure. It could have been a heart failure that caused a seizure or some sort of a brain failure as well. The troubling thing for Naval was that the very people he insulted are still at large and they're well armed. That should bring a lot of fear into him. What seems to have happened was that Naval was first shocked by the news and then he fell ill, probably had a heart attack, and then died all within a short period, about 10 days. But lest we think that Nabal's death was due to natural causes, the narrator comments otherwise. Verse 38 says, about 10 days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died. The final demise of the rich fool was due to the Lord's divine retribution. Most appropriately, the Lord Jesus used an illustration of the rich fool in Luke chapter 12, verse 20. But God said to him, you fool, this very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have prepared? All rich fools think that they work hard to save and they can enjoy a long, happy, comfortable, luxurious retirement. That's the thinking of rich fools. But God said, you fool, this very night, your soul is required of you. In the Lord Jesus' illustration, it is God who judges the rich fool. Could it be that the Lord was referring to the biblical account of 1 Samuel 25 and to Nabal? Quite possibly. That's in the Bible. The next section of scripture answers that rhetorical question the Lord Jesus raises. Who will own what you have prepared? I mean, he just raked in millions of dollars, if you will. He had just sheared 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats on top of all the other stuff that he owned. He just got more wealth. This is the textile industry, you know? And he owned it all. He was the richest man in Carmel and all that region. He thought he owned the world. He ruled the world. He conquered the world. David was just a peon compared to who Neval was. That's in his own eyes. And yet he left it all behind 10 days later. Now who will own what you have prepared? Well, you're going to find out the answer here in verses 39 to 43. We've seen the providence of God in a dramatic reversal. David's steps, and the divine retribution toward the rich fool. And thirdly we're going to see the providence of God and His divine resolution. Verse 39, the divine resolution, when David heard that Naval was dead he said, blessed be the Lord. David's immediate response to the news of Naval's death is to worship God and give thanks to the Lord. Now, lest you think that David is gleeful and rejoicing over the demise of his enemies, you got it all wrong, because you need to understand what he said. He said, David praised the Lord because he had learned two important lessons about personal vengeance. The first lesson is, don't take personal vengeance, leave that up to the Lord. That's what David learned. He says, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal. Previously David had called on the Lord to judge between him and Saul. In 1st Samuel 24 verse 15 it says, the Lord therefore be judge and decide between you and me and may he see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand. That's what he said. And now he sees the connection. Then at the spring of Ein Gedi, at the cave of Ein Gedi, when he had the opportunity to kill Saul, he didn't, he refused to do that. He convinces men not to do that, but cut off a small portion of Saul's coat to show him that he had every opportunity, but he didn't do it. And then he appealed to him and said, may the Lord see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand. Now he praises God and says, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, from your hand, hand of Nabal. You see the connection there? Same language of pleading his cause and then the Lord delivering him. David refused to take vengeance. Now the Lord rewards David and Lord fights the battles for David. Second lesson David learned, Besides, never take personal vengeance into your own hands. Second lesson that David learned, that we must also learn, is that God is gracious to prevent us from carrying out evil. David admits it. So he thanks the Lord for protecting him from great evil and great folly. He was gonna be like Saul, wiping out entire people. Did he know the character of Nabal's men? Now, Nabal's foolish, he deserves death, but what about his men? It's hard to contain the anger and the masculine bravado of a warrior when he is greatly offended. That's why vengeance is so dark, so deadly. You see kids fighting in the ground, and one kid pushes the other kid, and the other kid retaliates with a strike, and the other kid comes and bashes another kid. And next thing you know, they need to go to the emergency room. And how did it start? with the push. What happened before the push? You look, it was verbal exchange. And just things escalate. And we see that in history. We've seen what escalates into world wars, international conflicts because of insults. And things like this, personal vengeance must be avoided to trust in the Lord. David learned this and he said that you have providentially protected me from evil. David recognizes his own tendency for evil, that he's not free from guilt or fault, that he's just as susceptible if he's not careful. He's a sinner. That's what the Lord taught his disciples to pray in the disciples' prayer in Matthew 6, 13, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, the evil one, evil day, evil situations. We need to constantly pray because you and I are prone to evil. Who's gonna give us the self-control that we need? Who's going to give us the fear of the Lord that we need? Who's going to prevent us from acting out our own emotions, the moment that we are passionate? David had learned the lesson that God taught Israelites in the law and the Torah, Deuteronomy 32, verse 35. Vengeance is mine and retribution, and in due time their foot will slip, for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them. Apostle Paul would reintroduce and remind the New Testament believers in Romans chapter 12 verse 19. He says, Never take your own vengeance, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And he quotes Deuteronomy 32 there. Not only did God resolve David's reproach, but God also resolved Abigail's reproach as a widow. Now, you and I need to understand, it's hard for us to understand this because we live in the 21st century. Now, if you're a wife of a wealthy man, and he's a fool and he dies, you're probably saying, hallelujah, hallelujah, right? All these millions, it's mine now, right? Belongs to Abigail. No longer wife of foolish Naval, Abigail, Ms. Abigail, right? The billionaire. But that's not how it worked. You see, women were easily exploited. Which male in a male-dominated society is going to follow a woman unless there's network of authority structure? And all of her wealth could easily be confiscated by foreign enemies like the Philistines, by swindlers, by tough gang of thugs. All and any of that could happen. Even her own servants can turn on her and say, I'm not gonna serve you, you're a woman. No men are going to respect a widow. So they're going to get together with other men and probably exploit her, cheat her. She could do nothing about it. That's a tough world. That's why the Bible says God is the defender of the widows and the orphan, the two most vulnerable members of society in those days. And we need to thank the Lord that we have laws of the land that generally function to protect property and individual rights and things like this. This wasn't that time. So as a widow, she was most vulnerable. Now, on the one hand, She's vulnerable. On the other hand, she's still rich because according to the law, even under those circumstances, that all the property actually goes to the wife. And if Abigail has a son, it goes to the son, right? And so her son would take care of her. We have no record and no indication that Abigail had any kids. She was a single widow. As a matter of fact, the Bible indicates that she had one child and one child only, and has kind of two names. And we'll get to that in a moment. But we just call him Daniel because that was his name. I believe that that was his official name. We'll find that in First Chronicles chapter three. One name, that's it. And that one child's name is a child between David and Abigail. And so we see here when she was married to Naval, that she's single. And I don't know how long they've been married. Probably not too long. It seems that Naval was a wealthy, rich man who got himself a trophy wife. And Abigail seems to be a probably younger woman without any children. So here she is, a widow. David finds out that Abigail's husband is dead. Then David sent a proposal to Abigail to take her as his wife. Now, look at these two terms. First term is proposal, second term is wife. Now, that term proposal is a legal official proposal. It's not like a, hey honey, would you like to date? That's not that at all. Because the term is wife, not concubine. David saying, hey, I have a growing harem, would you like to join the club? That's not it either. David had concubines. but not here. He is officially proposing to marry her. Although the term, like as I said, goel, or the kinsman redeemer is not used here, that's what David becomes. We see Christ's likeness in David's actions, rescuing Abigail from her widowhood and becoming her protector. Abigail was childless, and according to 2 Samuel 3, verse three, it says, the first son, is Amnon from Ahinoam, the Jezreelite. It's real. His second son is Kil'av. Kil'av by Abiga'el, the widow of Navar, the Carmelite. 2 Samuel 3.3. The third son is Abishalom ben Ma'akah, the son of Ma'akah, the daughter of Tammi, the king of Geshur. And 1 Chronicles 3, verse 1 says that the second was Daniel by Abigail the Carmelitess. So Daniel is probably his official name, but he probably had a nickname called Kelav, which is kind of the same kind of nickname as Kalev, Caleb. All right, so this is what we have here. Caleb Daniel is never to be mentioned again, apart from these two references, and never posed any ambition or threat to the kingdom. But the third son, Absalom, did. As we will study, Lord willing, when that portion comes. So back in those days, the official marriages brought with it property, and this is more of a formal economic arrangement, and still today it is. I mean, people talk about romance and compatibility and being soulmates all the time, but you know, rich people, they have prenuptial agreements. They sign which millions, who gets what, and things don't work out, well, you know, we gotta be equitable, all that kind of stuff. And in the olden days, marriage was more of a thing of practicality and protection for the women. It was rarely an issue of romance that followed marriage. It wasn't the reason for marriage and so forth. And so in this case, David marries a wealthy widow with all the property. But what's he gonna do with all this property? He's a fugitive. This property becomes very important now, later on, after Saul dies, and Israel looks to leadership. And you know, they already have a maid leader in David. David now uses tremendous amount of wealth and the land and the property that belongs, once to Nabal, now to Abigail. Now this poses for him tremendous security and asset. And that's why Hebron, in the south of Judah there, it was near Carmel, this area, David ruled from Hebron for seven years before moving his headquarters to Jerusalem. And so you can understand how important the assets that God had given to David through Abigail was for David. But you could tell at this point David is not marrying Abigail for the assets. Because if you take 3,000 sheep around you, you're gone, right? He probably used a very wise and shrewd method of divvying up the assets into different faithful men and families who would support David and grant it to them and gain lots of trust through that and support. And then later on, after Saul died, they would all become his subjects and his supporters. David was a shrewd politician, tremendous leader, and he had faithful, wise, people like this supporting him. So you can kind of understand all the political background. When we get to that section, we'll study that as well. So here is official nature of this official proposal in the form of delegation sent to Abigail. That's how very official it is. David doesn't come and bends on his knees, puts a ring on, none of that stuff. It's send people and ask for a formal proposal of marriage. Verse 41, she arose and bowed her face to the ground. Abigail's response is incredibly humble. She did this once before and now she does this without David's presence. She bows to the ground and her face to the ground, does not respond like a woman who's just been granted an honorable role to be a wife of the king-elect, the anointed of God. She's so moved with gratitude and pays homage to David and said, behold, your servant is a maid to wash the feet of my Lord's servants. Instead of speaking to David's servants as a potential wife, Abigail humbly addresses them as her lords and herself in humble terms of slave. In those days, you wash your own feet, she says, as an abject slave, she would wash their feet. That is incredible humility. I say this because Abigail is used, at this time, very used to luxury. Because you'll see the description here. Verse 42, then Abigail quickly arose. I love the biblical description of Abigail. Each time she acts quickly, she doesn't say, give me a few days for me to pray about it. There's no fakery. There's no fake spirituality here. She already knows. She even told David, you know, when you ascend into your kingdom, remember me. What does she mean by that? Just be kind. I mean, I don't deserve your kindness, but it would be great if you do remember me and show me some sort of kindness. Kinda probably saw that she's gonna be a widow one day. I mean, her old husband, you know, he's gonna croak, and she's probably gonna end up being needy. And David does remember her, and he says, I wanna marry you, and she has just moved. And she thinks quickly, she quickly arose, rode on a donkey, and with her five maidens who attended her. Now, I want you to understand that nowhere in the Old Testament scripture an Israelite woman has more than what she has. In other words, her five maidens is the largest group of attendants attending any Israelite women. In other words, this woman is used to luxury. I mean, she can support five maids. rides on a donkey, she's got a Cadillac, and she's got an entourage. She's used to this kind of lifestyle, but where is she going? She's following David in the wilderness from cave to cave. That's why I say she's incredibly humble. This is her regal imagery. This is what the narrator portrays. A woman mounted on a donkey, accompanied by her five maidens. Abigail's comfortable life as a wife of a wealthy man would end that day. Because she's following these security men to David. And the tough life of a fugitive under Saul's pursuit will begin. She has to now take risks. She doesn't even know whether she's going to live. She has faith that David's going to be king. God's going to deal with Saul. It's because she is humble. She is teachable. She admires David. She's delighted that he would even remember her and to receive an invitation to be his wife. Don't these themes strike something in you? When Jesus Christ came and showed you your sins, and showed that he is not your judge, but your friend, and he wants to be your husband, and he extended his nail-scarred hands, and he said, will you be my disciple? And then, will you be a member of my bride? Did you not say, praise the Lord, hallelujah? Were you not moved by that? These are themes that we can understand. You know, men who go into the ministry must learn a thing or two from Abigail's attitude. Life of physical and emotional hardship should not detract a person from serving the Lord's anointed. We serve the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the universe. Rather, a great sense of privilege, sense of honor, should dominate the heart and mind. All of the Lord's undershepherds, as well as eager willingness to serve, Not to be served. Look at Abigail's attitude. She's a wealthy woman with high status. She has lots of property. And she says, I'm willing to suffer along with the Lord's anointed. I am so flabbergasted that he would ask me to be his wife. I'm not going to ask that I be treated like his wife. I'm going to wash your feet. May I serve you? That's her attitude. Only if people who go into the ministry would have the same attitude. then they would last, because they don't care what the fringe benefits are, they don't care what the treatments are, they don't care how people treat them, they would care that they're serving the great Lord, the Lord's anointed. And we all need to adopt Abigail's attitude here. And she followed the messengers of David and became his wife. That final statement, the joyful union of David is also accompanied by Sadness, solemnness by another verse which points to David's Achilles heel. Seems that David's weakness is women. Women. He's attracted to certain women. Verse 43, David had also taken Ahinoam of Israel and they both became his wives. Bible mentions no words about it. Both, two means. At this point, bigamy, but he's already married to Mikhal, and he has no, absolute no assurance that she is dead. He might know that she has been married to another man's wife, but it doesn't matter. The fact that he thinks, because he is a high standing, and the culture allows it, that he could do this, is quite puzzling, surprising, and disappointing, really. Our society tells you that it's okay to divorce. Let me ask you, is it okay to divorce? If you say under certain circumstances, Bible only names two. One is abandonment, the other one is sexual immorality, adultery. And even then, it's difficult. For men, you get a divorce and you get remarried, you're no longer a one-woman man. It's so serious for men. That's why the Bible's replete with passages about finding the right woman. That's why Bible has very little thing or absolutely nothing to say about woman finding a man. It doesn't say that. So the fact that Bible doesn't mention the importance of women finding a man shows that women are built to respond, men are built to seek and search. And so when we look at these passages, we look at what was David's Achilles heel? It was the women. His entire life would have been spared so much heartache, so much trouble, so much difficulty if it weren't for his poor judgment of women. I don't think he should have married Ahinoam. I really don't. Michal, she committed adultery by marrying another man. David had every justification of divorcing her. Ahinoam, that was his own decision. Whatever his reason was, whether he was lonely, whether she seemed like a good catch, he married her, and then he decided to marry Abigail. Well, we don't have to go into the dark future. When that time comes, we'll look at those passages, but it's ominously foretold here. He seems to be easily taken by desirable women. This female attraction and polygamy is what caused him great pain in life. And the theme presented here in these final verses links to David's encounter with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. There can be no peace when we violate God's law of marital fidelity. And for the New Covenant believers, we can't even plead ignorance. Our society doesn't even allow polygamy or serial monogamy. Jesus said in Matthew 19, 19, and I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except for immorality and marries another woman commits adultery. You're a living, breathing adulterer if you initiate divorce and marries another person while your spouse is living. That's adultery. So it's important for you, and especially men, because if you're single men, this is the most important decision you'll make as a human being, this side of eternity. You need to choose wisely. And if you are a single woman, you need to respond wisely. And what you need to look for is faithfulness in a man. Can you trust him to be faithful and loyal to just you? Make sure he doesn't have a long history of womanizing. That's not a good record for a guy to have, especially after he was a Christian. Very important that a man be above reproach in this area. It's an important qualification for spiritual leadership. Now, as a king, as a political leader, this is a different culture. 3,000 years ago, everybody had a harem, and so David had a small one. They probably thought David was a moral guy for having a small harem. Solomon said, many is better, and he had 700 living girlfriends and 300 wives, 1,000 women in his life. He didn't learn a lot from his father about faithfulness, that's for sure. And brothers and sisters, we need to pay attention. Why does the divine narrator, inspired by the Holy Spirit, after this very delightful, beautiful, happy, successful passage of God's blessing and protection and provision, write this? David had also taken Ahinoam of Israel, and they both became his wives. And then, in the providence of God, why does verse 44 need to be said? Now Saul had given Michal, his daughter, David's wife, to Palti, the son of Laish, who was from Galim. Have you noticed something? Wife, wives, another wife. There's like three women here. David's tied with all of them. We're surprised to find another wife reference to David. We've begun this chapter with Samuel's death, and then we read about Nabal's death, through which David gained a wife. Oh, she's not the first wife. She's the third wife, we're told by the narrator. We're surprised to read that Saul is treating David as though if he were dead by marrying off his daughter Michal, David's first wife. Both Saul and Michal are portrayed in the most negative light possible in this treacherous act. Think about it, one becomes an adulteress and the other forces the daughter to become an adulterer. It's just terrible, terrible treachery. Saul is treacherous and evil and Michal is unfaithful and disloyal for agreeing to do this. She could always refuse, but she didn't. The Bible doesn't say but it could be well enough that she not only agreed, but she might've initiated it. Are you gonna kill David? Is David as good as dead? Okay, well, that's my lot then. I don't wanna be widowed for the rest of my life waiting for David to come back. I mean, you know, I need a husband. Daddy, I need a husband. That could have been it. The Bible doesn't say. What we do know is that both Saul and Michal are both guilty. That's what we know. So is David. but so is Saul and Michal. In light of Abigail's faithfulness to her foolish husband Nabal, notice how faithful Abigail was sticking out her neck and interceding for her foolish husband. Michal's imagery here portrayed is not positive at all. Later recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 3 verses 13-16 we see that David takes Michal back but he has to force, blackmail and force through his position, sheer power's position to negotiate with Saul's servants. Okay, we make a deal based on one condition, I want my wife back. And so what happened? Saul's generals go and strip Michal from Palti, the son of Laish, send her back. For David, it was an issue of his pride. She was my wife first, another man can't have her. Make it right, guys. Says, we will, we will. We'll do what you ask, don't worry. We'll do everything you ask. Just go easy on us. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I will, but first get her. We will, King David. They go and strip off, and Palty is weeping and weeping, saying, please don't go, honey, please don't go. And he says, you go back. If you wanna live, you go back. And Saul's men send him back. And Michal says, okay, well, all right, this is my lot. David's now the head honcho. I guess I gotta make my ends right with him. She comes back. But she scorns David. And David refuses to acknowledge her as his wife, even though she has the title. He never engages, and Michal dies childless. And there you go, the entire Saulide clan and any potential of having an offspring through Saul's descendants is quenched at that point. Now all of this will unravel in the future. That's for another day, another chapter. When studying David's life, we're impressed at David's humility, listening to Abigail, and in generosity, sparing Nabal, in addition to forgiving his archenemy Saul. We're quite impressed at that. We can't help but to be impressed at that. We all know powerful men don't act like this. They don't do things like this. They don't listen to women. They certainly don't spare foolish men who insult them. And when they have an upper hand on their enemy to spare them, who does this? We see Christ's likeness foreshadowed by King David here. But we also see less than perfect marital life. As a new covenant people, we are impressed at David but we want something more than David, don't we? Oh, we certainly do. It's like all of us had imperfect parents. We love our parents, we respect them. And some of them have done terrible things, but we can still respect them for what they did what is right. We all had imperfect parents, they're all sinners. All of us want perfect parents. We all have less than ideal friendships. We have less than perfect kids. All of us have less than perfect relationships, but as Christians, you and I know we have a perfect friend, perfect shepherd, a perfect husband, a man who was ever so loyal and faithful, he laid down his life for us in Christ. You see, when we study the character of David, we want a greater David, and we have him. We have Christ, our Lord. Because we've been given the greater grace of the new covenant realities and the modeling examples of godly men who have been impacted by Christ and his life, Somebody like Apostle Paul and the godly leaders of the first century. But regardless, the Word of God portrays men as they are, warts and all. And we see David with all of that. Bible doesn't whitewash them. It reports things as God directs. Even wonderful people in the New Testament have flaws. And so that's where the New Covenant, New Testament believers see the greatness of our King, Jesus Christ. So God does give us what our hearts yearn for. Perfect parents. We have a perfect Heavenly Father. A perfect friend. What a friend we have in Jesus. A perfect eternal lover. Our husbandman. One flesh union with Christ. Deeper than any human intimate, human relationship. If you have been discouraged by human relationships, join the club. You're amongst all people who have all been hurt, discouraged. One form or another, we have. whether it be through our parents, whether it be through our spouses, whether it be through our children, whether it be through our friends, siblings, we have all been discouraged and hurt. No one has perfect relationships in this way, and we're fallen as well. But praise God, we have the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not a polygamist. He is so devoted to you and in your love and your sanctification that He is preparing you as a holy bride unto Him. And these are human words so that we can understand them, but they are deeper and more profound and more spiritually perfect. And so we long for that, that reuniting of that relationship. when the Lord returns or when we go to heaven. No wonder Paul wanted to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. It is a greater ambition for us to be with the Lord who loves us. So brothers and sisters, I wanna encourage you, even King David had major flaws and he was the best that Israel has got. He's the Lord's anointed, he's the man. And yet we see flaws, but we have Christ, perfect, blameless, So we don't have to worry or be sad. We can constantly rejoice. That's what we need to focus on, our relationship with Christ. May the Lord comfort you, console you, strengthen, challenge you, and help you to love him. and love the very people that he came to die to rescue. We're all imperfect, but he calls us to love one another as we love our Lord. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the perfect leader and shepherd in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who has a perfect relationship with all of his people. We thank you, Lord, that we, as imperfect and flawed as we are, are beloved by you through your Son. And so we thank you for that privileged relationship. May we continue to honor you by being obedient and holy as you are, desiring to be like Christ in every way. And Lord, as you have provided a godly king for Israel, and yet with faults and flaws, and yet you allow David to continue to faithfully walk so that he would end his life serving Israel. Lord, we desire that we would also end our lives well serving the Lord, for we know that we have the greater light of Christ. And we thank you for Christ, our great leader and our shepherd. and you sovereignly and providentially protect us from evil and harm, and you provide for us every good thing, you rescue us from our predicament, and you set us on high in a privileged position. So may we continue to focus on these things and not to focus on the things that are so discouraging here in this side of eternity under the sun. May we place our lives under the sun of God. and that you would be honored and glorified, and we would be richly satisfied. And it's in Jesus' precious name we pray, amen. Lord bless you and keep you. Have a wonderful weekend, Lord.