Rescue from Self
“And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!” 1 Samuel 25:32
King David played a significant role in the unfolding of God’s redemptive plans. But he wasn’t a one man army. He had a lot of help and he needed it. At pivotal times in his life, God sent godly men and women into his life to not only give him strong support, but to save him from himself. During a difficult time in David’s life, God used a wise and godly woman to run interference and stop him from committing a great atrocity.
Nabal’s Rebellious Foolishness
While David was still on the run from King Saul in the wilderness, he came into close proximity to a miserly and miserable man named Nabal (see 1 Samuel 25:4-8). His name means "fool." A fool in the scriptures is someone who does not know God (Psalm 14:1). In the times of David, it was customary for a band of soldiers camping out in the fields to provide protection for shepherds and their flocks. In exchange for the protection, the owner of the flocks would compensate the soldiers and their leaders with provisions.
Knowing this custom, David sent ten of his young men to respectfully request to be given provision for their sustenance. But although the request for provision was respectfully given, it was not respectfully received. Nabal’s response was laced with contempt, ridicule, and insults. His response was characteristic of the kind of fool that he was. “And Nabal answered David's servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” (1 Samuel 25:10-11)
Regarding Nabal’s insults, Paul Tripp insightfully observed: “I would ask you this as you face the harsh realities of life in a fallen world, as you face that boss who accuses you of something you didn't do, as you face that professor who seems intent on making your life hard, that roommate who seems so accusatory and so selfish, so hard to live with, a husband or wife who doesn't seem to care for you as much as you would expect your spouse to care, an extended family member who gossips about you behind your back. What happens inside of you? How do you respond? What do you think? What do you desire? When you're suddenly hit with the unexpected insult, unexpected trial, unexpected accusation, what do you do? Now hear this, you live in the human community, and you will be sinned against. David’s story is your story. People don't always treat you with love. They don’t always treat you with respect. They’re not always happy to meet your needs. And I must say this; you are both victim and victimizer because you’re not always loving to others, you’re not always considering others' needs. Sometimes your peace, comfort, happiness, joy, pleasure, and satisfaction are much more important than the people around you. This is life in the real world.”
If you were David, if you were in line to be the king, if you had power and 600 loyal warriors by your side, how would you respond to Nabal’s insults? What would you do if you were in his shoes? The truth is we’ve all been in his shoes, albeit a few sizes smaller, and have not responded in a God honoring way.
David’s Revengeful Ferociousness
“And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” (1 Samuel 25:13).
David’s reaction was uncharacteristic of who he was as a man after God’s heart. David knew God, and because he knew God, he experienced the restraint of the Spirit of God in his life. When on occasion he resisted the Spirit and gave into his sinful impulses, God would work in other ways to run interference in his life.
God in His grace used Nabal’s wife to run interference—to cause David to think twice about the fury he was about to unleash. Likewise, if you know Christ as your Savior and Lord, the same will to be true in your life.
Abagail’s Rescuing Faithfulness
Unlike her husband Nabal, Abagail was a woman of wisdom and beauty inside and out. And because of her beautiful character and wisdom, one of the young men, who overheard Nabal’s nasty reply to David’s men, came to her with a word of warning. As Abagail rides out to meet up with David, his anger had not subsided. Instead, his blood was boiling (1 Samuel 25:21-22). Abigail sees David and his 400 hundred blood thirsty warriors fast approaching and rather than running the other way, she hurried off her donkey and fell at his feet. After asking for the guilt to be placed on her and admitting the folly of her husband, she makes her wise appeal.
“Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant” (1 Samuel 25:27-31).
Repeatedly, from verses 26-31, Abigail reminds David, who had spiritual amnesia, of who God is and the call of God upon David’s life. She clearly understood that God was using her to restrain David and to keep him from taking matters into his own hands. Trusting God, Abagail stood in the gap for David and he responded favorably and gratefully to her appeal.
“And David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.'” (1 Samuel 25:32-34).
David didn’t need to be rescued from Nabal. He needed to be rescued from himself. And God used Abigail to be the instrument of his rescuing grace. Again, as Paul Tripp powerfully explained: “It’s a God of grace, who by His grace, raises up instruments of grace that have the power to be used by the Spirit of grace to radically turn our hearts. God sends His servant to rescue David from David. I would ask you this: where, right here, right now, are you in need of that rescue? Where is temptation powerfully on you right now? Where are you tempted to forget who God is and who you are? You can't read this passage without hearing the familiar strains of the Gospel. God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, on the ultimate mission of rescue, because our deepest, greatest problem could not be solved by us. We do not have the ability to escape the thing that holds us most powerfully and most deeply - our own sin. And so, God did a radical thing; He sent His one and only Son to take on human flesh, to suffer the ravages of life in a fallen world, to live a perfect life, to take on our sin in His death, to rise from the dead, conquering sin and death, so that, at our point of need, there would be rescue available to us. Listen, that rescue is not just your past forgiveness; that rescue is not just your future eternity; that rescue is for the here and now. There is grace for what you face.”
When faced with difficult challenges and difficult people, don’t take matters into your own hands. Look to the cross of Jesus and let His self-giving and costly love shape your approach to all your interactions with people. There is grace for you at the throne of grace (Hebrew 4:16). Look to His grace not only to rescue you from others but to rescue you from yourself.
Appreciate the Abigails in your life. Welcome discerning saints to speak into your life and bring you out of your spiritual amnesia (Hebrews 3:12-13).
Who in your life needs divine intervention and interference? As believers, like Abagail, like JESUS we’ve been sent by God to be vessels of rescue. May God use us in His grace to be Abigails—to be peacemakers—to share the message of the gospel and be instruments of his rescuing grace.
In your service,
Pastor Marco
King David played a significant role in the unfolding of God’s redemptive plans. But he wasn’t a one man army. He had a lot of help and he needed it. At pivotal times in his life, God sent godly men and women into his life to not only give him strong support, but to save him from himself. During a difficult time in David’s life, God used a wise and godly woman to run interference and stop him from committing a great atrocity.
Nabal’s Rebellious Foolishness
While David was still on the run from King Saul in the wilderness, he came into close proximity to a miserly and miserable man named Nabal (see 1 Samuel 25:4-8). His name means "fool." A fool in the scriptures is someone who does not know God (Psalm 14:1). In the times of David, it was customary for a band of soldiers camping out in the fields to provide protection for shepherds and their flocks. In exchange for the protection, the owner of the flocks would compensate the soldiers and their leaders with provisions.
Knowing this custom, David sent ten of his young men to respectfully request to be given provision for their sustenance. But although the request for provision was respectfully given, it was not respectfully received. Nabal’s response was laced with contempt, ridicule, and insults. His response was characteristic of the kind of fool that he was. “And Nabal answered David's servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” (1 Samuel 25:10-11)
Regarding Nabal’s insults, Paul Tripp insightfully observed: “I would ask you this as you face the harsh realities of life in a fallen world, as you face that boss who accuses you of something you didn't do, as you face that professor who seems intent on making your life hard, that roommate who seems so accusatory and so selfish, so hard to live with, a husband or wife who doesn't seem to care for you as much as you would expect your spouse to care, an extended family member who gossips about you behind your back. What happens inside of you? How do you respond? What do you think? What do you desire? When you're suddenly hit with the unexpected insult, unexpected trial, unexpected accusation, what do you do? Now hear this, you live in the human community, and you will be sinned against. David’s story is your story. People don't always treat you with love. They don’t always treat you with respect. They’re not always happy to meet your needs. And I must say this; you are both victim and victimizer because you’re not always loving to others, you’re not always considering others' needs. Sometimes your peace, comfort, happiness, joy, pleasure, and satisfaction are much more important than the people around you. This is life in the real world.”
If you were David, if you were in line to be the king, if you had power and 600 loyal warriors by your side, how would you respond to Nabal’s insults? What would you do if you were in his shoes? The truth is we’ve all been in his shoes, albeit a few sizes smaller, and have not responded in a God honoring way.
David’s Revengeful Ferociousness
“And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” (1 Samuel 25:13).
David’s reaction was uncharacteristic of who he was as a man after God’s heart. David knew God, and because he knew God, he experienced the restraint of the Spirit of God in his life. When on occasion he resisted the Spirit and gave into his sinful impulses, God would work in other ways to run interference in his life.
God in His grace used Nabal’s wife to run interference—to cause David to think twice about the fury he was about to unleash. Likewise, if you know Christ as your Savior and Lord, the same will to be true in your life.
Abagail’s Rescuing Faithfulness
Unlike her husband Nabal, Abagail was a woman of wisdom and beauty inside and out. And because of her beautiful character and wisdom, one of the young men, who overheard Nabal’s nasty reply to David’s men, came to her with a word of warning. As Abagail rides out to meet up with David, his anger had not subsided. Instead, his blood was boiling (1 Samuel 25:21-22). Abigail sees David and his 400 hundred blood thirsty warriors fast approaching and rather than running the other way, she hurried off her donkey and fell at his feet. After asking for the guilt to be placed on her and admitting the folly of her husband, she makes her wise appeal.
“Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant” (1 Samuel 25:27-31).
Repeatedly, from verses 26-31, Abigail reminds David, who had spiritual amnesia, of who God is and the call of God upon David’s life. She clearly understood that God was using her to restrain David and to keep him from taking matters into his own hands. Trusting God, Abagail stood in the gap for David and he responded favorably and gratefully to her appeal.
“And David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.'” (1 Samuel 25:32-34).
David didn’t need to be rescued from Nabal. He needed to be rescued from himself. And God used Abigail to be the instrument of his rescuing grace. Again, as Paul Tripp powerfully explained: “It’s a God of grace, who by His grace, raises up instruments of grace that have the power to be used by the Spirit of grace to radically turn our hearts. God sends His servant to rescue David from David. I would ask you this: where, right here, right now, are you in need of that rescue? Where is temptation powerfully on you right now? Where are you tempted to forget who God is and who you are? You can't read this passage without hearing the familiar strains of the Gospel. God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, on the ultimate mission of rescue, because our deepest, greatest problem could not be solved by us. We do not have the ability to escape the thing that holds us most powerfully and most deeply - our own sin. And so, God did a radical thing; He sent His one and only Son to take on human flesh, to suffer the ravages of life in a fallen world, to live a perfect life, to take on our sin in His death, to rise from the dead, conquering sin and death, so that, at our point of need, there would be rescue available to us. Listen, that rescue is not just your past forgiveness; that rescue is not just your future eternity; that rescue is for the here and now. There is grace for what you face.”
When faced with difficult challenges and difficult people, don’t take matters into your own hands. Look to the cross of Jesus and let His self-giving and costly love shape your approach to all your interactions with people. There is grace for you at the throne of grace (Hebrew 4:16). Look to His grace not only to rescue you from others but to rescue you from yourself.
Appreciate the Abigails in your life. Welcome discerning saints to speak into your life and bring you out of your spiritual amnesia (Hebrews 3:12-13).
Who in your life needs divine intervention and interference? As believers, like Abagail, like JESUS we’ve been sent by God to be vessels of rescue. May God use us in His grace to be Abigails—to be peacemakers—to share the message of the gospel and be instruments of his rescuing grace.
In your service,
Pastor Marco