1 Samuel 25 – 27 part 11

 

In tonight’s lesson we are going to learn about how David is still on the run from Saul and along the way we learn about how David makes good decision and bad ones and how being unthankful couple with greed cost a man his life.

 

1 Samuel 25:1Then Samuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

 

The first thing we learn about in chapter 25 is that Samuel is now dead. He was a great man who was faithful to God. Every Christian would do good to follow his example of faithfulness to the Lord.

 

1 Samuel 25:2 Now there was a man in Maon (may-ahn) whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.  3 The name of the man was Nabal, (nay-bal) and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. And he was of the house of Caleb.  4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep,  5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.  6 "And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: 'Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have!  7 'Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while 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 comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.' "  9 So when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited.

 

The first thing I want to point out about this rich man his wife is the meanings of their names. Nabal means obstinate fool, and Abigail means, the joy of her father. As we will find out the meaning of the names go well their characters. Now we see that David wants Nabal to give his men some food and felt that he had the right to this because he had protected Nabal men and made is possible in part for him to keep the wealth that he had. We also need to realize that it was customary for one person to provide another with food. Now notice Nabal’s response.

 

1 Samuel 25:10 Then Nabal answered David's servants, and said, "Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master.  11 "Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?"  12 So David's young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words.

 

This was a great insult to David as Nabal refused to send food to David. Now David response.

 

1 Samuel 25:13 Then David said to his men, "Every man gird on his sword." So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.  14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them.  15 "But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields.  16 "They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep.  17 "Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that one cannot speak to him."

 

David was preparing to kill Nabal and his men. Now this would have been a big mistake on David part because spilling these peoples blood would have most likely caused the other tribes of Israel to fight against him for what he did that day. But I believe we see the beginning of the providence of God at work here making it possible for David to choose a different path. What is going on this chapter reminds me of what Paul teaches the Christian today in,

 

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

 

Just as God is making the way of escape of for David as we learn God makes a way of escape for each one of us but we must learn to grab hold of that the escape route. Now we learn from our text that the servants of Nabal confirm that David and his men protected them while they were out in the field describing them as wall of protection and so they inform Abigail of this and she being a very wise women jumps into action as read in,

 

1 Samuel 25:18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.  19 And she said to her servants, "Go on before me; see, I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.  20 So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them.  21 Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good.  22 "May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light."  23 Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground.  24 So she fell at his feet and said: "On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.  25 "Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

 

Abigail was doing her best to try to prevent David from making the mistake of shedding the blood of these people. Even though she scared at facing David she put her people before her fear and she brought food and drink and showed great humility by bowing down to David as she began to reason with him. Did you notice how she said that Nabal was like his name full of folly or we could say full of foolishness. She wanted David to know that he wasn’t worth messing with. Now that she has David’s ear notice what else she says.

 

1 Samuel 25:26 "Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal.  27 "And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.  28 "Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil is not found in you throughout your days.  29 "Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling.  30 "And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel,  31 "that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant."

 

She wants David to know that her people are not his enemy and she ask for forgiveness from David. She point out the fact how the Lord is on David side and how he has been fighting the enemy for God. She obviously knew about David and how he killed Goliath because she make the statement of how God will take care of his enemies by slinging them out from a pocket of a sling. The finally she lets him know that if he does kill her people that he will be guilty of killing innocent people without cause. God has provided a way of escape for David and as continue on we see takes the escape route.

 

1 Samuel 25:32 Then David said to Abigail: "Blessed is the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!  33 "And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.  34 "For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!"  35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, "Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person."  

David allowed himself to be rebuked by this wise women. He listened to reason. As Christians we must have this attitude. We need to have open minds and open ears and pay close attention to what people are telling us because they may very well be giving us advice that will keep us from sinning. Men this also means that we need to listen to our wives because they can certainly keep us out of trouble on occasion. I can tell without a doubt that Erica has kept me from sticking my foot my mouth on more than one occasion and I very thankful for that and I imagine that just about ever man in this room could say the same thing. Let us always strive to be good listeners.

 

1 Samuel 25:36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there 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; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light.  37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.  38 Then it came about, after about ten days, that the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.  39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head." And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.  40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, "David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife."  41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, "Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."  42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.  43 David also took Ahinoam (a-hin-oh-am) of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives.  44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti (pal-tigh) the son of Laish (lay-ish) , who was from Gallim. (gal-eem)

 

Now that David decided to allow God deal with his enemies we see that Nabal dies within 10 days and David thanks the Lord for his providence for showing him the right path to take by means of Abigail. Now we see that David takes wife number 2 and 3. While it was not God’s intention for men to have more than one wife we see over and over again that this was a common practice during the OT time. We also learn that His 1st wife has been given to another.

 

Now in chapter 26 we learn that Saul breaks his word once again as he is I hot pursuit after David with his 3000 men. Saul and his men camp down for the night and David enters into Saul’s camp. Now we learn from verse 12 that God causes a deep sleep on all of Saul’s people. So David once again has the opportunity to kill Saul but he doesn’t. Instead he takes Saul’s Spear and a jug of water that was next to Saul’s head. Well, David makes his way to the top of a hill and he yells out to Saul’s people and this man named Abner who was the commanded of Saul’s small army yelled back wanting to know who was yelling out at the king. Then David chides Abner by saying that he should have been watching over his King and told him that Jug of water and spear next to Saul’s was gone and he should be put to death because he was not doing his duty of protecting King Saul. Now notice what happens next as we pick up in,

 

1 Samuel 26:17 Then Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" And David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king."  18 And he said, "Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand?  19 "Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.'  20 "So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

 

This sound familiar doesn’t it? Once again David makes his plea to Saul that he is not trying to destroy him and he has proof of this because he did not kill him once again when he had the chance. David makes the point that he is no more dangerous than a flea.

So, what is Saul’s response this time? Well, lets see.

 

1 Samuel 26:21 Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly."  22 And David answered and said, "Here is the king's spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it.  23 "May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD's anointed.  24 "And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation."  25 Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

 

Once again Saul sees how sinful he is being and he confesses his sin and goes back home. However, as we will see in Chapter 27 David still does not trust Saul as continues to hide from him.

 

1 Samuel 27:1 And David said in his heart, "Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand."  2 Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.  3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam (a-hin-oh-am) the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's widow.  4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

 

David was desperate to get away from Saul that he has seek refuge with the Philistines and apparently this worked because it tells that Saul did not seek him anymore.

 

1 Samuel 27:5 Then David said to Achish, "If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?"  6 So Achish gave him Ziklag (zikk-lag) that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.  7 Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.  8 And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, (gesh-you-rites) the Girzites, (gur-zites) and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.  9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.  10 Then Achish would say, "Where have you made a raid today?" And David would say, "Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, (g-ray-mee-lites) or against the southern area of the Kenites."  11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, "Lest they should inform on us, saying, 'Thus David did.' " And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.  12 So Achish believed David, saying, "He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever."  

 

David is given Ziklag and he has been there for year and four months and we see that goes out and continues to kill the enemies of the children of Israel. However, we learn that David once again resorts to lying to maintain his relationship with Achish. Notice he gives Achish the impression that he has been out battling the children of Israel when in fact he had been out battling the enemies of the children of Israel and Achish believed this lie that why he thought that David would be his servant forever. Later on we find out that David is very sorry for the lies that he spoken and he prays that it can be removed from his life in,

 

Psalm 119:29  Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously. 

 

It so easy to tell a lie sometime instead of telling the truth but as Christian we must learn to overcome the temptation of lying and one way we can do that is do like David did and pray to God that lying may be removed from our lives.