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...a
Woman Of Good Understanding... |
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| Tarinus |
| Posted:
Mar 17 2003, 09:10 AM |
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The
man sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking the wilderness
of Paran.
He knows this place to be the ancient battleground
of King Chedorlaomer.
He knows that this was the place he came just before
moving North East to confront the armies of Sodom.
He knows that after that Chedorlaomer was destroyed
by Abraham…
He knows that this place was also the dwelling place
of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. He knows it to be an
area his people traversed on their journey from
Egypt through to the Promised Land, it is the place
from which the spies were sent to survey the land…
Looking toward the South he can see the barren landscape
that leads away to where he knows Mt. Sinai to be,
that great mount where Moses had received the Law…
Looking North he sees the Judean hills in the distance
– the range of hills that lead right to the heart
of the promised land – the land in which he can
no longer move freely…
This man has been experiencing tremendous sorrow.
For months now, grief and pain have been his constant
companion.
He is weary. He is sullen. He is depressed and he
doesn’t feel he can take much more…
He remembers back to carefree days when he was younger.
It seems like so long ago…
In reality it is only a few years since those days.
Back then; he had faced life with vigour, with determination,
and his face had glowed with conviction and faith.
he had been fearless... and then… he had killed
the giant.
But since that time; darkness has blighted his world…
he has been exposed to the Goliath within… he has
seen the darker side of human nature and he has
felt its strength, he now feels jaded, broken and
crushed. He fights a gnawing bitterness. Resentment
wells inside.
There are many reasons for him feeling this way…
and so much of it isn’t his fault.
His marriage has failed. He realises now that he
married her for the wrong reasons. She had not turned
out to be the strength he was looking for… she had
turned out to be an idolater. He hasn’t seen her
for sometime now… and he has recently heard, that
she is now living with another man.
And there is at present, only one person in the
world that he feels he can confide and trust in,
but that person is inaccessible. And where he is,
this man can’t be.
And he feels like he is always running… and that
they’re never seems to be any respite.
He thinks back to a time recently when, in desperation
he had fled to a foreign country, he had ended up
in Gath of all places… He had acted insane, feigned
madness… his self-esteem had reached an all time
low.
He now keeps company with people he never imagined
he would keep company with. They all feel similarly…
and though initially he had tried not to let them
affect him, he could relate to them… surrounding
him was negativity, bitterness and resentment, and
sometimes, he felt the same.
Just recently he had been the victim of an assassination
attempt. There are people who hate him so much they
want him dead. He has a number of friends and mentors
who were recently murdered in cold blood along with
their whole family... Doeg the Edomite. And this
man blames himself for their death.
And now… many miles to the North, a funeral is taking
place. All Israel is gathering to Ramah to farewell
a very great man, a man who this man, David had
loved, and a man who had loved and anointed David…
Samuel has just died. And though all Israel are
gathering at his funeral… David cannot be there,
and so he has travelled south.
And so we come to 1st Samuel 25. We have just painted
the background to this chapter, a chapter in which
David is introduced to a husband and wife - Nabal
and Abigail.
1 Samuel 25
1 And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were
gathered together, and lamented him, and buried
him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and
went down to the wilderness of Paran.And so,
David is in Paran. In order to understand this chapter,
its important to understand David’s mindset – the
way he was feeling…
This is why we’ve just painted that picture, showing
all the issues that were weighing heavily on his
mind, I believe that the cumulative effect of all
these events in his life, and now the death of Samuel…
has left David in utter despair and anguish… he
is on the edge… he’s depressed, he can’t be at the
funeral…and the pressure is enormous.
And right when David is feeling like this, onto
the scene stumbles this fool Nabal… (and of course
that’s what his name means! Folly!) and
he couldn’t have picked a worse time to mess with
David…
Nabal was a rich man. He actually lived North of
where David is now situated in a small town called
Maon. He has 3000 sheep… and they are all in the
area of Carmel. (we read all that in verse 2)
And its sheep-shearing time. And during this time
in Israel, it was almost a festive occasion. It
was supposed to be a time of goodwill and generosity…
where those who were rich and wealthy were generous…
but Nabal (v3) was ‘churlish and evil in his doings’
He is not a generous person.
4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did
shear his sheep.
5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said
unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go
to Nabal, and greet him in my name:
See… David was well known, Nabal makes out when
he hears David’s name that he doesn’t know him…
he knew him alright, everyone had heard of David
– but Nabal is very much like Saul, and he sympathises
with him…
So David says: ‘greet him in my name’
6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth [in
prosperity], Peace [be] both to thee, and peace
[be] to thine house, and peace [be] unto all that
thou hast.
7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers:
now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them
not, neither was there ought missing unto them,
all the while they were in Carmel.
8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore
let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for
we come in a good day: (we come at a time of
celebration) give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh
to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son
David.
Despite the pressure David is under, notice his
attitude. ‘whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto
thy servants, and to thy son David’
To paraphrase: “Nabal my Father… if you could spare
some food and provisions for someone who’s looked
after you, it would be much appreciated”
So the young men David sent conveyed the request.
Nabal's response was nothing short of contemptuous!
10 And Nabal answered David's servants, and
said, Who [is] David? and who [is] the son of Jesse?
there be many servants now a days that break away
every man from his master.
And now… notice who is number one in life as far
as Nabal is concerned?
11 Shall I then take my bread,
and my water, and my flesh that I
have killed for my shearers, and give
[it] unto men, whom I know not whence they [be]?
This man is a fool, and his attitude is very similar
to Saul’s. – everything is me me me…
‘Churlish (bad mannered) and evil in his
doings’
12 So David's young men turned their way,
and went again, and came and told him all those
sayings.
What frame of mind is David in? We’ve painted the
picture haven’t we? He has done everything right
by Nabal. He’s protected his flocks. He’s sent along
a humble request… he’s under an enormous amount
of pressure, he’s been in mourning… and this fool:
“who’s David… another runaway servant!?” “Get
lost”
That’s it… the last straw… David snaps…’gird
ye on every man his sword’
That’s it… Its all over for you Nabal, your days
are numbered - every ounce of David’s ill feeling,
pain and sorrow is going to be poured out in the
form of white hot anger, and this man and anyone
else he can find is going to die…
“Gird you on every man his sword”
Verse 13:
And they girded on every man his sword; and David
also girded on his sword: (what sword is that?
the sword of Goliath he took in chapter 21!?)
and there went up after David about four hundred
men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
David has momentarily lost control. He is now on
a mission of pure vengeance. This is not a righteous
battle in the name of Yahweh… this is revenge and
satiation of violent anger… David is in trouble.
Back in Maon however, a servant had heard the exchange
between Nabal and David’s servants… And its here
that Abigail is informed –and we note in verse 3
that it was said of her (in contrast to her husband)
that she is ‘a woman of good understanding’ and
‘of a beautiful countenance’And she inspires
confidence in people, unlike Nabal… and this servant;
this shepherd has no qualms about approaching Abigail…
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's
wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out
of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed
on them.
To paraphrase:
“Abigail – he went crazy – he flew upon them!”
“Abigail… there’s going to be trouble because of
this!”
“you won’t believe what David's done for us:”
15 But the men [were] very good unto us, and
we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as
long as we were conversant with them, when we were
in the fields:
16 They were a wall unto us both by night and
day, all the while we were with them keeping the
sheep.
David's men, we learn, are not your average
outlaws… they never stole Nabal’s sheep – they protected
them! Why was this? Simple. David was their
leader!
What a phrase – ‘a wall to us night and day’
17 Now therefore know and consider what thou
wilt do; for evil is determined against our master,
and against all his household: for he [is such]
a son of Belial, that [a man] cannot speak to him.
See the problem with Nabal?
No humility! No teachableness… he was
so bad tempered that people couldn’t even talk to
him! People felt intimidated and threatened
by him, and they couldn’t approach him…
Abigail knows this to be true! The servant has
no problem talking this way to her! He’s talking
about her husband… but it seems as if they are all
suffering together here!! Abigail new what
her husband was like, and the servants came to her
instead of Nabal.
Well, what does she do?
Its not only what she does here, it’s the
way she does it!
Note that it is says three times of Abigail that
she ‘hasted’ (v18,23,42) there is an alacrity
and a diligence about the way she goes about her
tasks, and there is also a tremendous humility in
her demeanour.
Look what she did:
18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred
loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep
ready dressed, and five measures of parched [corn],
and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred
cakes of figs, and laid [them] on asses.
19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before
me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her
husband Nabal.
20 And it was [so, as] she rode on the ass, that
she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold,
David and his men came down against her; and she
met them.
And here we have the marvellous providence of God
at work… they meet!
What a scene as 400 armed men come over the hill
armed to teeth, and there is this woman laden with
gifts… everyone stopped in their tracks!
Just note to begin with - her humility!
23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and
lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her
face, and bowed herself to the ground,
24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord,
[upon] me [let this] iniquity [be]: and let thine
handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience,
and hear the words of thine handmaid.
My lord please listen… please give me a chance to
speak… and speak she did!
Abigail’s speech, goes from verse 24 through to
verse 31 (8 verses) and what she has to say is quite
extraordinary! See… Abigail is a woman of good
understanding… I think Abigail was Wisdom personified!
And what she does here, is she humbly entreats David…
she instructs him, she guides him… and really, implied
in all she said to David is a subtle, quiet rebuke…
but the way she does it demonstrated tremendous
wisdom…
She turns away David’s wrath with a soft answer,
a gentle answer
25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this
man of Belial, [even] Nabal: for as his name [is],
so [is] he; Nabal [is] his name, and folly [is]
with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young
men of my lord, whom
thou didst send.
To paraphrase:
'David… he’s not worth it. Forget him. I knew
nothing about it otherwise it wouldn’t have happened
- believe me'!
26 Now therefore, my lord, [as] the LORD liveth,
and [as] thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden
thee from coming to [shed] blood, and from avenging
thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies,
and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
Again, to paraphrase:
'David… God sent me. David… don’t avenge yourself…
Let God do that… '
27 And now this blessing which thine handmaid
hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given
unto the young men that follow my lord.
28 I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid:
for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure
house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the
LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee [all]
thy days.
Abigail uses here the language of the promises to
David in 2 Samuel 7. 'David – God will make
you a sure house'. 'David… this is because
you fight the battles of the Lord… David… this is
not a battle of the Lord… David, you’ve done
the right thing up until now… don’t ruin it David'.
29 Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to
seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be
bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God;
('you are protected David… Saul will never get
you! God’s got you tucked away in a little bag
– you’re safe! But they’re not'!) and
the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling
out, [as out] of the middle of a sling. ('remember
David? Remember the battle with Goliath… God
did that – he’ll do it again… Saul will be dealt
with – so will Nabal – TRUST David… trust')
30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall
have done to my lord according to all the good that
he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed
thee ruler over Israel; (because David – you
will be King… you will… God has spoken
– it’s fait accompli…')
31 That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor
offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou
hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath
avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt
well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.
What a masterful speech… its all there!
In Proverbs 9 have two women. A woman named Wisdom,
and another woman named Folly.
And really, in meeting Abigail, David was presented
with two options. The path of wisdom, (heeding the
words of Abigail) or the path of folly (proceeding
on to Nabal’s house and destroying all – an act
which no doubt, he would have regretted later as
Abigail told him)
But just look how much Abigail resembles this woman
of Proverbs 9.
1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn
out her seven pillars:
And then, this woman put on a feast:
The Woman, Wisdom (Proverbs 9) Abigail (1 Samuel
25)
V 2 She hath killed her beasts (past tense) Abigail
took… five sheep ready dressed
V 2 She hath mingled her wine Abigail took… two
bottles of wine
V 3 She hath sent forth her maidens Abigail has
five maidens which go before her (v42)
V 5 She cries: “Come eat my bread” Abigail took…
two hundred loaves
V 6 She cries: “forsake the foolish” Abigail says:
Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of
Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he;
Nabal is his name, and folly is with him…(“David…
forget him… he’s not worth it…David… forsake
the foolish”)
Abigail really was the epitome of wisdom on this
occasion. And notice, that Wisdom in Proverbs 9
is seen to have an effect on those that: ‘are
wise and hearken to rebuke’
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke
a wise man, and he will love thee.
This was the problem with Nabal… as that Servant
had said to Abigail… “you can’t teach him anything”
He would not respond to the call of wisdom – He’s
a fool! If you tried to correct Nabal all you
got was his antagonism…
What about David? Clearly implicit in Abigail’s
words to David lies a rebuke. Abigail has done it
in a very gentle and clever way, but a rebuke it
is!
Is he a wise man? he’s been under enormous pressure…
he’s completely justified in being angry at this
time, Nabal is in the wrong…
And just remember, this woman has stopped him in
his tracks, he has 400 men around him swords drawn,
ready to kill… Joab and Abishai don’t wanna be wasting
any time with some woman – 'David…lets just
get on with it'!
His response? Quite frankly, I think David was floored
by what she had to say, and his response is only
3 verses to her 8… I would say then that comparatively,
he was speechless!!!
32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed [be] the LORD
God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet
me: (he recognised God working in his life)
33 And blessed [be] thy advice, and blessed [be]
thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to
[shed] blood, and from avenging myself with mine
own hand.
34 For in very deed, [as] the LORD God of Israel
liveth, (Abigail you are right – he does live!!)
which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except
thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there
had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light
any males of Nabal’s household.
You see… David was teachable. To Paraphrase: 'Thankyou
for your advice Abigail… you are right… blessed
art thou'! David, recognised wisdom when
he heard it, and he responded to it.
Even though he was under enormous pressure, though
he had lost control momentarily… underneath, there
was still the man that could be touched by the wisdom
of God, and Abigail reached that man…
Her quiet, gentle but firm voice brought
David back to reality.
I think that is such a powerful lesson!
Because we go through experiences in life, when
reality fades. And all we can see is the tempestuous
sea of life in front of us, and sometimes it threatens
to overwhelm and sink us… and it’s only the voice
of wisdom that can calm that tempest, and guide
us through the storm…
And so surely, the key for enduring those times
of difficulty is still being able to hearken to
wisdom isn’t it? The key is still being able to
recognise wisdom when we hear it and still responding
to it despite the circumstances we are in.
The key is being able to remind ourselves of principles
which we know to be right despite the fact that
we might not see how they can fit in the current
circumstances of our lives…
I think that sometimes we can be like David… we
know what’s right but when it all gets too
much, we lose it… we momentarily lose control…
And when we are in those times, we need an Abigail
don’t we? We need someone to come along with the
gentle but firm voice of wisdom; we need to listen
to that voice of wisdom through the pages of God's
word, and in order to listen to that word we need
to ensure that we put ourselves where wisdom can
be found. And that is wherever this book is opened,
understood and explained.
We also need to strive to be Abigail’s for others…
and that means being teachable ourselves… that means
absorbing this word, to the end that we might be
able to supply it for the benefit of others…
Right when David needed it… there was the voice
of wisdom… there was Abigail, sharing wisdom with
David…
And its not that David was taught anything as such!
All Abigal was really doing was reminding David
of things that he knew to be right - appealing to
the wisdom that was in David, but was just latent
at the time because the pressures of life had overwhelmed
him temporarily…
And how often is it, that we don’t need to be taught
new things as such, we just need to be reminded
of what we already know to be right…
Abigail gave David a vision of the kingdom, and
reminded him of his God…
And when David returned to go to the wilderness
of Maon… his mind was at rest… he had been revitalised…he
saw things clearly once again… and at the end of
Abigail’s speech, she had asked David to remember
her… I don’t think he could forget her!
And we now come to the emblems before us. And what
is our Lord, but the epitome of wisdom. And it’s
that life of wisdom that is represented before us.
We now have an opportunity to unburden ourselves
before him, to remind ourselves of the principles
of his life, to be reminded of what we know to be
right, and to go from this place having been refreshed,
instructed and perhaps even rebuked.
And may it be that we have the opportunity to be
Abigails to one another in times of trouble and
distress, and may we ever be like David, willing
to hearken and respond to wisdom.
Tarinus |
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