David and Abigail (part III – final)
“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; and — the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle — of a sling.
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;
That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offense 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.
And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:
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.” (Vs.28-30)
“But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him — these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote — Nabal, that he died.
And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded — the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept — his servant from evil: for the Lord hath returned — the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.”(vs.37-40)
The whole chapter is the story of David and Abigail. In trying to piece specific verses together so not to be too lengthy details that enrich the story are missed. I would encourage you to read it in its entirety. In recapping major points we see David, soon to become King of Judah and later King of Israel, being scorned by Nabal. We see Abigail understanding the magnitude of her foolish husband’s offense, and seeking to mitigate the offense prior to needless bloodshed. She seems to be aware that David is to be Israel’s next King. Also interesting are her final words “when The Lord has dealt well with thee then remember thy handmaid.” David was over the Israeli army for several years and Abigail must have heard the reports of David’s victories and how he trusted in God.
This story has a personal meaning as well. Back in 1989 I was terminated from my job of being the lead grower for the ornamental division of a wholesale nursery. I answered to the owner and our two philosophies of growing plants clashed. He was not interested in producing quality plants and I was. So in 89′ I found myself walking from his office to my truck unemployed not sure what I was going to do. The girls were 5 and 7 and Lisa was a stay home mom. However as I made that walk the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me very clearly “but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God” and the emphasis was that my soul was bound in God. In other words ‘He had me.’ Ever since then this verse has always reminded me of God’s faithfulness. All that we have been through in running a business has been a first hand experience of seeing God’s faithfulness to me and to my men (and women). I would hope that we all have a story to tell of God’s faithfulness.
And true to God’s character He was also faithful to David. Once David let go of his right to defend his name then God was free to be God. David consented to Abigail’s wisdom and even acknowledged that God had sent her. Even Nabal seemed to have recognized the magnitude of his offense. It would seem that he had a heart attack with complete failure ten days later. In our culture it is hard to appreciate the story, but speaking brash or proudly against a King or a general Nabal forfeited his life. Fortunately for David he was stopped from doing so. Gods King was a man that fought God’s battles not his own, and that’s the lesson David learned. It is the same with us. It is not our honor we seek, but God’s honor. That we would be small so that God can be big in our lives.
Over the last three devotionals we have discussed several points and the final one would be summed up with this verse “vengeance is mine sayeth The Lord” (Romans 12:19). This is a major point with God. As believers in Christ vengeance is not ours to take. To take vengeance is to be judge, and there is only one who can judge righteously. If the truth were told we are all guilty of punishment because we are all sinners. To God sin is sin, or as we put it “a miss is as good as a mile.” We are to forgive for we have been forgiven. The rest of the details are God’s, and it is easier said than done. So may God bring you your Abigail in that moment.
Father God,
Thank you for the lessons from David’s life and the security we have in You. Even when we are wrong You intervene. Help us always to have a humble heart before You. A heart that welcomes your correction and guidance. Also remind us to not be our own vindicator, but to allow areas of judgement to be Yours alone to deal with. Thank you and Amen
Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur