## The Life of David - Part 7

## I Samuel 25:1-44

Last week in or study of the David's life we saw him emerge victorious in the battle of temptaion to seek revenge against Saul. As I have said before, the Word of God shows all the imperfections when we look at the portrait of these men of old. This evening we will look at another situation in which David did not handle himself quite as well.

I. Background Information. v1-2

A. David and his men.

1. David is still roaming the countryside with his army of some 600 men.

2. They spent part of their time serving as protectors of the shepherds and their flocks out in the wilderness.

B. The sheep and the situation.

1. There was an unwritten under- standing that whenever sheep- shearing time came, the owner of the flocks would pay those who had protected them from any danger.

2. The practice was much like tipping in a restaurant today.

3. There was a certain man who was very wealthy and had 3000 sheep and now it was sheep-shearing time, and time to pay-up.

II. Main Characters. v3-4

A. Nabal.

1. His name means "fool" in Hebrew.

2. He was "churlish" which means he was a hard man to get along with.

3. He was "evil in his doings" which means he was most likely dishonest and deceptive in his business.

B. Abigail.

1. She was "a woman of good understanding".

2. She was a beautiful woman.

3. Unfortunately she was married to a real loser!

C. David.

1. David's and his men had done a good job for Nabal.

2. They had protected his shepherds and their flocks from those in the desert who would prey upon them.

3. He sent his men to collect what was due to them.

III. Conflict Development. v5-13

A. David's initial contact. v5-9

1. He sent his men to Nabal with a gracious and courteous greeting. v5-6

2. He reminds Nabal of the effective job his men did in protecting the shepherds and flocks. v7

3. He makes no demands, only asks that Nabal do what is right. v8-9

B. Nabal's insulting response. v10-12

1. He questions David's integrity.

2. He calls him a renegade servant.

3. He refuses to make things right with David and his men.

C. David's sinful response. v13

1. Up to this point, David had been very patient with King Saul, even when Saul had sought to kill him!

2. However, this was not Saul...

3. Nabal was not the Lord's annointed.

4. David prepares his men for battle.

IV. The Plot Thickens. v14-35

A. Abigail is informed. v14-17

1. The servant described in detail what was going on.

2. He was concerned about what to do and wanted Abigail to be aware.

3. Had she been the average wife trapped in an unhappy, unfair situation, she would have seen this as her chance to be released and get rid of her "worthless" husband.

4. Instead, she chose to remain loyal to him.

B. Abigail responds wisely. v18-19

1. She had a plan to protect Nabal from harm.

2. She was not deceptive in not including him in her plans, because she was saving his life!

3. She loaded up enough food to feed an army...which was exactly what she planned to do.

C. David's anger spills forth. v20-22

1. He and his men met her in the way.

2. David had been brooding about the way Nabal had mistreated him and was ready to totally destroy Nabal and all his men-servants.

D. Abigail makes a gracious appeal. v23-31

1. It was made in humility.

a. She referred to herself as David's maidservant six times.

b. She referred to David as "my lord" fourteen times.

c. She humbled herself before David, remember, her husband was a very wealthy man.

2. It was not confrontational.

a. She admitted that David and his men had been wronged.

b. She admits that her husband acted foolishly toward them.

c. She asks for forgiveness.

3. It was one of great wisdom.

a. She reminds David that God had kept him from shedding blood.

b. Also that God will bless him for not avenging himself.

c. And she adds her request that David remember her when He becomes the king over all Israel.

E. David responds favorably. v32-35

1. He acknowledges that God had sent Abigail to meet him that day.

2. He also acknowledges the wisdom of her advice.

3. He received the food as payment and sent her home in peace.

V. The Final Chapter. v36-44

A. Abigail returns home. v36-38

1. She finds Nabal involved in a drunken feast.

2. The next morning, she tells him what had taken place.

3. Upon hearing this God struck him with a heart attack or stroke.

4. Ten days later he was dead.

B. A "storybook" ending. v39-44

1. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he praised God for avenging him.

2. He also thanked God for Abigail, who had kept him from making a serious mistake.

3. He sent for her to make her his wife.

Conclusion: This chapter is a solemn reminder that one battle doesn't win the war. David had been right in how he had dealt with Saul earlier, but then he totally blew it with how he handled this situation. One lesson we can learn from this is that we must constantly be aware of the temptation of seeking revenge. No matter how much we may think that we have a right, it is never right to violate God's Word.