Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Introduction

Good morning. Appreciate those of us who are here this morning. And if if you are here and you could take a Bible, please open to 1 Samuel chapter 25. 1 Samuel chapter 25. As you think about life, one of the most difficult components of it is dealing with people. And not just dealing with some people, not just dealing with close people, but dealing with difficult people. And in 1 Samuel chapter 25, you see a woman named Abigail. And it’s very often that when people look at the Bible today, and I’ve had this said to me in a Bible study, even, and certainly you hear about it a lot. The Bible writers were misogynistic, right? They were anti-women. They were anti certainly feminist movement. And yet in 1 Samuel chapter 25, you have three main characters.

One is named Nabal, one is Nabal’s wife named Abigail, and one is David, who is not quite yet anointed king of Judah or Israel, but certainly is a man after God’s own heart and someone we come to know very well. But in 1 Samuel chapter 25, David is not the hero of the story. And Nabal is not the hero of the story. Abigail is, as she deals with the two of them, Nabal on the one hand and David on the other. When life puts you in a hard place, or as our as our vernacular likes to say, when life puts you between a rock and a hard place, how should we react? How should we respond? In 1 Samuel chapter 25, let’s note Abigail’s example. Pick up the reading with me in the second part of verse 1.

Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife, Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved. He was a Calebite. David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. And thus you shall greet him. Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

1. David’s Request Is Rejected by Nabal

I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm. And they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes. For we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David. Now when David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. Now before reading on, here is the situation. David, not yet king, but certainly a man of a great following, has found himself in need, you might say, or at least his people are in need. Now what is it that his people have done?

Well, we see in verse six, how were they to greet Nabal, this man of three thousand sheep and a thousand goats? How are they to greet this very wealthy rich man? First of all, with greetings of peace. But note verse seven. It gives us an important clue as to if we want to talk about fairness or what’s right or what’s deserved, that’s very often a component that we place into dealing with difficult people, what is fair. In verse 7, I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. What has happened? They were protecting these people. They had allowed them to exist, they allowed his, you might say, business as it is, to be successful, to grow, to be protected.

And of course, as we know what happens in verse 10, and Nabal answered David’s servants, here’s the conflict. 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? So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. And David said to his men, every man strap on his sword, and every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped up on his sword, and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage. This is getting rough quickly.

This is getting rough fast. David is here with how many men? Four hundred following after him, and two hundred even staying behind. David was not only a man of repute, not only a man of following, he had four hundred men ready with the sword to come after Nabal. Now, here’s something interesting about Nabal. David’s request is rejected by him. Did he have the ability to help David and his men? Yes, of course. But if you go back to verse 3, now the name of the man was Nabal. That’s a really important name because perhaps you know what the name Nabal mean? Fool. This man’s name means fool. In verse 3, we see that that was an apt description, because not only was the name of his wife Abigail, who was discerning and beautiful, but how was this foolish man named Nabal described?

Harsh at the end of verse 3 and badly behaved. Now, this is a difficult problem, because here is Abigail in verse 3, described as beautiful and discerning, married to this harsh and badly behaved, Nabal, this man whose name literally came with the idea of fool. That’s a pretty tough spot to be in. Now you add in that Nabal, this wealthy man, was not just living by himself in a in a single family home as we would designate it with him and his wife, and it just kind of made David mad, because he wouldn’t share some of his electricity or some of his grocery goods with him. He wouldn’t allow these people who were caring for them, taking care of them, any respite from their tough time in life.

He wouldn’t reward them with anything that they’ve done, and yet they’ve allowed protection. They’ve claimed nothing of Nabal’s up until this point. And David’s response is You’re going to give me what I deserve, what I should get. David doesn’t just say, No, no, no, you’re going to give in. What does David say? We’re going to come to battle with you. This is going to be rough. And of course, if you take if you’re taking sides, who are you going to trust? David or the fool? Who’s on board with Nabal here? Not quite any of us. I’m going to trust David and his four hundred men coming with the sword. Now, as you think about this, David’s request is rejected by Nabal. We’re going to discuss some of that as we keep going.

2. A Hero Steps Up: Abigail Acts on the Problem

But in this next section, we see a hero steps up, and the hero is Abigail, beginning in verse 14. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. Yet the two men were very good to us. Excuse me, the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm. And we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. They were all walled to us, both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know this and consider what you should do. For harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.

Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared, and five sayas of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. And she said to her young men, Go on before me, behold, I come after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal. And as she rode on the donkey and came under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. Now David said, Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed with all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him, David said, This man has it coming, I will deliver it to him, and not one male will be standing, because he repaid what?

He repaid my good with evil. This man, Nabal, deserves this. That was David’s line of reasoning. But as you think about this, I think it’s interesting to go back to verse 14. If you think about Abigail’s example, and that’s really what I want to primarily trace. We’re going to see some applications from Nabal, David, and Abigail at the end of the lesson this morning. But as we go through the story, note the many virtuous traits of Abigail. First of all, one we may have read over in verse 14. Note in response to David being rejected, note what happens. Abigail has built up trust with those around her. In verse 14, one of the young men told Abigail Nabal’s wife, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them.

How do you think they found her? Why do you think that one of David’s men came to Abigail? Now certainly she was the wife of Nabal. But consider that she had a trust here. In verse 15, the man continues, The men were good to us, we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we are with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know this and consider what you should do. For harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that no one cannot speak to him. Here’s one of the young men, one of the servants of the house, one of the men, you might say, who trusted Abigail and doesn’t just say, hey, this really bad things happened.

Note verse 17. Know this and do what? Consider what you should do. We don’t often think of Hebrew wives outside of those in the particular spotlight, like Sarah and Rebecca and the like that have to do in the in the book of Genesis, as really taking charge, taking ownership here. And yet, what are the what are the sl the servants? What do they say? They come to her and say, You consider this information and consider what you should do. I think that’s a powerful example to show that Abigail is not only a person of virtuous character, not only beautiful and discerning, but she was noticed by those around her and trusted to make this right, to make this good. But consider then as she takes action in verse 18.

Note the next description. Then Abigail made haste, and yes, she took all these goodies with her, you might say. But note Abigail acts on the problem. She doesn’t just complain. She doesn’t sit back and say, you know what, my husband is such a fool. He’s aptly named, he’s harsh, he’s badly behaved, he doesn’t do me any good. What does she do? She makes haste and brings with her that which she’s going to present to David and his men. That’s taking action. That’s actually fixing a problem. You know what’s very common for us in our society is to complain about a problem. To consider that, you know, someone else should be able to kind of empathize with me and know that this is tough, this is not right.

And yet Abigail says, You know what? I’m going to fix this problem. I’m going to go out on behalf of who? On behalf of Yes, Nabal and his household, including the servants therein. And as you keep going, you see, as she says to her young men in verse 19, the go on before her, she rode out, and who did she meet? She met with David, the leader of these men. Abigail went straight to David. And this is where the idea of the gender roles in the Old Testament really come into play. As you think about what this could possibly mean, what type of standing did David have, even at this point in time in the biblical narrative, verse Abigail, this wife of Nabal, this rich man, who had rejected David’s request.

3. On Me Alone, My Lord, Be the Guilt

Consider her words in verse 23, as she humbly presents herself before David, carefully reasoning with him about what was about to happen. In verse 23, when Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, On me alone, my Lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears and hear the words of your servant. Let not my Lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your servant, did not see the young men of my Lord whom you sent. Now then, my Lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from blood guilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil be to my Lord as Nabal.

And now let this present that your servant has brought to my Lord be given to the young men who follow my Lord. 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 as 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 dwelt well with my Lord, then remember your servant. This is a pretty powerful section. And I think it’s obvious that Abigail would approach David at this point with humility. I think that’s pretty obvious. We get that picture. Even if someone has mistreated us, if someone’s in a higher position, when we’re going to come to them, how do we generally approach? Very carefully, right? When we’re in that type of difficult situation with somebody who has a has a higher position than us or has better more authority, we’re very careful with how we come across. And if you note that, you see that right away from Abigail. What does she do as soon as she sees David? She hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground.

Now before we go any further, let’s consider for one moment who is at fault in this story. Who is reacting to the situation well? Was Nabal? No. Nabal should have been willing to help David, who is providing protection for his the very wealth that he had that David was asking him to share with. Just a piece or just a portion. Was David responding, well, well, this man’s not going to give me what I want, so I’m going to bring me and my four hundred men, we’re going to bring the sword, and we’re going to knock out till not one male is standing in this whole household. Well, no, that’s not quite exactly the beautiful picture that God would want for his servant, really, either. Now Abigail is, and yet know what Abigail says of anyone in this whole circumstance in verse 24.

It is Abigail that falls down at David’s feet in verse 24 and says, On me alone, my Lord, be the guilt. Verse 25, perhaps more miraculously, let not my Lord regard this worthless fellow Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. Let not my Lord regard this worthless fellow Nabal. Now I can’t really defend her calling him worthless, and the idea of pointing out his name is to mean fool, depending on which translation you’re reading. It may literally say his name is fool and folly is with him. That’s the idea of the name there. And I can’t really defend that aspect of it. But note that Abigail says immediately, let the guilt be on who? Me.

I will deal with it. As she’s on her knees before David, she says, Let the guilt be on me. I didn’t even see your servant, as she points out at the end of the next verse, but she says, Let the guilt be on me. She took ownership. Why? Because it wasn’t about finger pointing. It was about what? It was about doing right. It was about sparing innocent blood. And Abigail, even between a rock and a hard place, between Nabal and the furious David, is willing to take the blame, take the fault. But I find it interesting, her message shifts. And you want to talk about challenging, it kind of comes out of a humble attitude, yes, but she starts to challenge David. You see that in verse 26.

As the Lord lives as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from blood guilt and from saving with your own hand. Now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my Lord be as Nabal. What is she asking for in verse 28? She’s asking for forgiveness. She’s saying, Don’t commit this crime, not just against my father’s house and my husband’s house, but against God. You see that underline as verse 28 continues. She says, 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. And verse 31, she doesn’t want her lord to have what?

No grief, no pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause. Abigail humbly, yes, but aggressively and boldly reasons with David, do not do this. First of all, on the basis of humility and of asking for forgiveness and patience. But furthermore, out of what respect? Do not commit this sin against God. This is not the way to go. It’s not just about saving me, it’s not just about saving my worthless fellow of a husband Nabal. Do not commit this sin. Remember, as the end of verse 31 says, the Lord has dealt well with you. So please remember your servant. As this passage continues, we might we have some degree of a happy ending in verse 32. 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 for who have kept me this day from blood guilt 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 mourning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male. Then David received from her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition. And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk.

So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. In the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head. Then David sent and spoke to Abigail to take her as his wife. When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.

And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord. And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife. Note a couple things in there. Not only was Nabal still acting the part of fool, he was drunk, he had had this feast to celebrate, and when he was told what happened, when he’s told that he would be spared, that he would be saved, that his beautiful, his discerning, his wise and humble wife had gone out on his behalf, brought all that she could with him, had satisfied David, and the wrath that surely was about to rain down on them, and his response is what?

His heart died within him, and he became as a stone, and ten days later the Lord struck this fool dead. But I find it more interesting to see in the story, not that David took her as his wife, although that’s of note, but to note David’s response in verse 39. He’s celebrating the Lord, punishing, you might say, or giving Nabal what he had coming. But note what David says over and over in this section. In verse thirty three, beginning, he says, Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have kept me this day from blood guilt, and working salvation with my own hand. Thank you. Blessed be your name, because you kept me from certain sin. Even in the case of after Nabal has died, note what he says in verse 39.

God has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal and has kept back his servant, David, from wrongdoing. Abigail was in a very tough place. As you think about this lesson, you think about Abigail, she is absolutely a hero. She’s absolutely a child of God. She kept not only Nabal from having his whole entire household destroyed, she kept David from sin. She made peace where there was none. How often do we look at a situation where we’re between a rock and a hard place, and we say, I just can’t do anything about this. I’m not going to be able to get out of this. I just can’t. It’s not fair. Nabal’s not treating me well. David’s acting out of wrath. They’re not going to change.

4. Nabal Was a Selfish Fool

It’s just the way that it is. Abigail didn’t take that idea. Not only do we see Abigail already having trust with the servants, but she acted immediately. She went out. She fixed the situation humbly, taking the blame herself. And this you can tell this is not some sort of insincere, yes, David, it’s on me. You know that I’m not really guilty, but if it’s on me, no, she took the blame. She humbly bowed before David and said, Please do not commit this sin against our household. Do not commit this sin against God. And David, with the good heart that he has, listened. This is a fantastic story. I do want to see a couple lessons. Nabal was a fool for a bunch of reasons, beyond squandering what was apparently a wonderfully discerning wife.

In verse 11, note his response. When the request first comes, not only did Nabal just say no, you see part of why Nabal was the great fool that he was. At the end of the chapter, you see with this feast where he became drunk. But note in verse 11. Note his response to this request. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shears and give it to men who come from where I do not know where? Nabal was a selfish fool. Not only was he selfish, not only was he obviously a fool, but what was the problem? The problem was that David’s men were protecting his stuff, his things. David’s men were providing the very protection that allowed Nabal’s household to thrive.

Perhaps if I consider my role in any dis in any problems in any rock and hard place, I have to wonder, am I the rock or the hard place first? What do you think about Nabal here? He obviously didn’t change. He didn’t have a happily ever after part of the story in 1 Samuel chapter 25. But don’t we act sometimes like Nabal? Not just when it comes to not wanting to share, although I think that’s an important thing. We should be willing to proactively share what God has blessed us with. What about forgiveness? Do we offer forgiveness to others the way we want forgiveness from God? Because if you think about it, that’s the very point of Jesus in Matthew chapter 18, and even in Matthew chapter 6, when it comes to the model prayer, we must forgive our brothers so that we can be forgiven by God.

Time and again that point is made by Jesus, and yet often we find ourselves saying, Why would I forgive them? Do you know what they have done to me? Do you know what has happened? How can I forgive that? And we forget that the only way that we can have forgiveness is the forgiveness that God first has offered us. And we look just as foolish as Nabal when we when we reason that way, not only with our physical possessions, although that’s an important strike to see how it looks when we withhold from those who are in need, but also when it comes to the important spiritual blessings that we want from God every single day. I do want to see something about David, though, in addition to acting rashly, and we could talk about not acting out of emotion, out of a loss of control.

5. David Took This Counsel

Note with me these Proverbs. In Proverbs chapter 12, David took this counsel, he took this advice. That says a lot about David. In Proverbs chapter 12, turn with me there. In Proverbs chapter 12, you see, we have a smaller group this morning. I can see who is and is not turning. So I’m going to ask you if you can go ahead and turn with me in Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 1. These are some important principles. If we’re going to deal with these tough situations, we need to be willing to heed the counsel of God. In Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 1, whoever loves discipline loves knowledge. But he who hates reproofs is, as the English Standard Version says, stupid. Now, this is a pretty interesting lesson.

I’ve brought in Nabal, which means fool, and a proverb which says stupid. But as you think about David here, he could have easily rejected Abigail, said, It’s too late. You certainly have no standing in my sight. I am going to work salvation with my own hand. I’m going to go and strike down the household of Nabal. And yet, not only was he moved by Abigail’s apology and humility, but what did David call out? That she had spared him from wrongdoing. He knew that. Do you think that David in his emotion just stopped thinking about whether or not avenging his this wrongdoing by Nabal was wrong? I don’t really know. But the point is, it would have been wrong. It would have been blood guilt on his hands, on his soul.

And when Abigail presented that to him, saying, Trust in God, do not do this. David listened. In Proverbs chapter 19 and verse 20. Consider in Proverbs chapter 19 and verse 20.

Listen to advice and accept instruction that you may gain wisdom in the future. The easiest way to find yourself in a tough dilemma is to think you have the answers, you have the right. That’s a big problem in America, isn’t it? My right, say I can do this and that. This person violated my right. This person didn’t act right. This person has it coming. If anyone had it coming in the story, it was who? Nabal. Who did he have it coming from? David. The way we would reason, we’d say, well, I don’t see why David couldn’t just go and knock him out. That’s his fault for being a fool. And yet God doesn’t deal in such petty affairs in that way. In fact, if you consider in Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 1, we think about Abigail’s role.

6. A Soft Answer Turns Away Wrath

She did a few things I want to highlight before the lesson is concluded this morning. Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 1, she was able to dissolve the wrath, not act on it, not choose the lesser of evils, but to choose the path of righteousness. In Proverbs 15 and verse 1, a soft answer turns away wrath. But a harsh word stirs up anger. Perhaps this is a piece of what Jesus intended in the Beatitudes when he said, Blessed are the peacemakers. Abigail didn’t make the situation worse. She didn’t cower in fear and say, I hope Nabal doesn’t just ruin it for us once and for all. Or I hope David takes out Nabal because he’s going to strike all the males and he’ll live me. Maybe David will take me as his wife, maybe as a servant, this will get better for me.

No. She acted on behalf of others, and certainly even for herself. And she was a peacemaker in this very hostile situation. Make no mistake, this is a hostile situation. Anytime you have somebody plus 400 other somebodies bearing the sword about to come and kill all the males. That is a tense situation. And Abigail was able to defuse that how. The Proverbs says a soft answer turns away wrath. What we like to do when someone says something ridiculous to us or something that we don’t think we have coming towards us or that’s unfair or unjust, we like to turn it back. We like to have the second part of verse one what? We respond with a harsh word, or perhaps kindish words with a very harsh tone.

That’s the human reaction, is it not? To repay evil with evil. Isn’t that exactly what David was upset about? He said, I have done good, and what was said in the middle of that text in 1 Samuel 25, he has repaid my good with evil. He has it coming. That’s not the way where to act. If you look in Romans chapter 12, consider this passage with me. Find it interesting in my research. I found something humorous about this passage. In Romans chapter 12, beginning in verse 17. Just to go to show you that everyone has an opinion on something. In Romans chapter 12 and verse 17, repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. When we look at this passage, and particularly verse 19, I have heard it on the record that people argue, they say, You just don’t know. In verse 18, I it’s not within me. If possible, so far as it depends on you, it’s just not in me to respond with good here. I just can’t, if possible, it’s not possible. You haven’t met my boss, you haven’t met my coworker, you haven’t met my family member.

It is not possible for me. Does that seem like the point of the passage? You think Paul’s saying, well, you know, unless someone’s really difficult, then you need to not be overcome by evil. But if someone’s really difficult, go ahead and give in. Repay evil with evil. Take vengeance yourself. That’s obviously not the pathway of God. Of course, in James chapter 4 and verse 6, Abigail’s attitude played a huge role in this. God resists the arrogant but lifts up the humble. When you consider the humility of Abigail as she presents this message of not repaying evil for evil, of telling David to knock it off and to spare her, to forgive her of the wrongdoing that she took on her own shoulders. She diffused the situation.

Conclusion

She made this right. Sometimes, and let me conclude with this one point. Sometimes when times are hard, when we’re between that rock and a hard place, we reach a point where we look to ourselves and we say, This just isn’t right. I’ve been hit. I want to hit back maybe twice. But God says, turn the other cheek. And you say, but they don’t deserve it. I should get my vengeance. God says, it’s not about them deserving it, it’s about the peace that I deserve as your God. God deserves our peace. God deserves that we make things right. God deserves that we humbly come before Him and others and offer and ask for forgiveness when we have offended and when we have been offended. God deserves us to make peace, to step out of the fight that always takes to.

God says, don’t be the one. Don’t be part of the fight. Don’t be a victim. Be the solution. Abigail’s a wonderful example. She did not delay. She acted out of humility. She took the blame. And most importantly, she focused on not trespassing against our great God. We need to follow Abigail’s example of acting today, acting humbly, taking on the blame, not pushing it towards others, and most importantly, pleasing our great God. Will you go to God in prayer with me at this time? Our dear God and most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this day that you’ve blessed us with. We’re thankful for this opportunity to study your will, to examine the Old Testament text and to learn from it as we should apply it to our lives.

We’re thankful for Abigail’s example of humility, of taking on ownership of blame. We pray that we take on her attitude of a willingness to see what is sin and what is righteousness and to choose righteousness. We pray that we emulate David’s example of listening to instruction. We pray that we avoid Nabal’s foolish reaction of being selfish and cowardly. Forgive us of all our wrongs. Help us to strive to be more like you, to be more forgiving, to be more merciful, to be more loving, as we want you to be forgiving, merciful, and loving towards us. Thank you, most of all for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Help us to remember each and every day that we are strive to be in his image.

That if we have been forgiven of our sins, that we should ascribe to be transformed by the renewal of our renewal of our mind and to be dedicated in your service. Help us to be lights into the world. Help us to be pleasing in your sight. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.