Today we’re going to head to another
chapter in First Samuel (Chapter 25) that tells a story about a greedy, selfish
fool, a nearly fatal act of retribution by a future king, and a beautiful, wise
woman who intervenes and changes a heart. And in the end, we see a lovely demonstration of kindness
and redemption.
King Saul is still alive and
pursuing David. (He never seems to give up; his jealousy is all-consuming.)
David is running around with a band of followers trying to stay alive.
While David is hanging out in the
wilderness with his devoted followers, (evading Saul), he and his men protect
the flocks and shepherds belonging to a thankless fool named Nabal. (His name
actually means “fool.”) Afterward, David and his men need some provisions, and David
sends some of his men to Nabal to ask Nabal to return the favor—really a
rightful compensation—by providing food for David’s men. And he does it in a
very respectful manner. David blesses Nabal in the greeting and all of his
flocks and possessions.
But old Nabal feigns ignorance about
David, who is the young king-elect. Scripture says all of Israel knows about
David, they’ve even made up songs about him and his successful battlefield
exploits and giant slaying, so it is hard to believe that Nabal doesn’t know
who David is, and what he is going to be to Israel.
Well, after Nabal’s disrespectful
(stupid) response, David’s hot blood explodes. He plans to make Nabal pay for
his insolence, in a big way. One of Nabal’s servants zips back to the house to
alert Nabal’s wife, Abigail, about Nabal’s response and David’s plans, and
beautiful, wise Abigail immediately makes plans to try to change David’s vengeful
mind. She gathers together a feast and provisions and rides out to meet David
before he can slaughter Nabal and lay waste to his belongings. She bows
reverently before David, takes the blame for her foolish husband, and begs
David to protect his own honor and reputation by changing his mind and
accepting the provisions she has brought to him and his men. She believes in
David and doesn’t want him to do anything that might endanger his throne or
position, or cause the people to mistrust or fear him.
Thankfully, David’s heart is
softened, by her words, her wisdom, and probably her good looks and changes his
mind. He listens to her wise counsel, voices gratefulness for it, and turns
away his wrath. Later in the story, we read how God, Himself, exacts the
vengeance on Nabal. Afterward, David hears about Nabal’s death and proposes to
Abigail, who accepts and becomes David’s wife. David proposal appears to be an
act of gratefulness and protection.
But where is peace in this story?
And what can we take away from it?
The Shalom (peace) is used three
times in verse 6. David sends ten young men to Nabal, who is out in the field
shearing his sheep, telling them to greet Nabal in the following manner: “And
thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: ‘Shalom be to you, Shalom to
your house, and Shalom to all you have!’”
David gives Nabal a greeting of
friendship and blessing. And Nabal throws it back in his face. His words
indicate that he is unimpressed by David, and not moved by his words, or needs.
This is something we’ve seen
previously in our study: when a greeting of peace is ignored or not accepted.
It is, in fact, thrown back at the giver.
And it takes someone else to recover
from the rejecter’s stupidity, a person close to the insult to rectify it and
turn the results around. In this case, it was a wise woman who didn’t pace
around waiting for her foolish husband’s return so she could blister him with
heated, nasty words; who didn’t wait around wringing her hands to see what
happened; a woman who didn’t run from the issue.
Abigail was a brave woman who took
upon herself the foolish actions of her husband, quickly prepared what was
necessary to take to David and his men, rode out to David herself and
proactively honored him and spoke wise, mind-changing words to him. She took
action, and she was fully prepared to receive the punishment herself, if
necessary.
All that because an extension of
kindness and request made in peace was rejected.
Sometimes it takes drastic measures
to rectify an insult or problem.
Questions to Ponder
1. Do you know
someone you have helped out and then extended a word of peace to and requested
some help from who has turned his face away from you? Someone who has actually
denied knowing you, and not come to your aid? How did you feel about that
rejection? How did you respond to it? Did you respond like David intended to
respond, in anger and with retribution on your mind and in your heart? How much
energy did you expend in that process?
What would the
benefit be to you, or the offender, if you do respond with retaliation? Would
it help you, or the situation? Could it make you look foolish, as though you’ve
lost control? Could you leadership be questioned and your authority then be
weakened? How much better is it to respond in meekness, which actually means
“strength under control”?
2. Pray about
how you might better respond to a person who rejects your peace overtures. How
could you be more of an Abigail? (Hint: Spending a lot of time in prayer and
reading how Jesus responded to people will give you much insight on how you can
respond in a way that pleases God, and grants you favor in the eyes of others
who are surely watching your behavior.
3. Finally, pray
also that you would be properly prepared to respond positively to sincere overtures of peace from others.
I think the
bottom line take-away here is: Always be prepared! Respond thoughtfully and
prayerfully. And keep control over your temper!
Until next Monday, may your week be
full of blessings that you receive and give, your heart be full of joy and
thankfulness, and your days be filled with laughter! Build a little heaven in
your life right now, and watch your heavenly garden grow!
In Christ’s love
and peace,
Andrea
No comments:
Post a Comment