Sermon for Sunday morning, July 21, 2024 at Unionville Presbyterian Church, BPC
Old Testament reading:
[Gen 20:1-7 ESV] 1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
New Testament reading:
[1Ti 1:8-11 ESV] 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
Gospel reading:
[Mat 5:43-48 ESV] 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Scripture reading:
[1Sa 25:14-35 ESV] 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. 15 Yet 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. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 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 one cannot speak to him.” 18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. 22 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.” 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. 24 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. 25 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. 26 Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt 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. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 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. 29 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. 30 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, 31 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.” 32 And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 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.” 35 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.”
Introduction
David’s rage is high. He has been slighted by Nabal. He didn’t get the invite to the feast, even though David and his men have been good to Nabal. They have been “a wall” protecting the herds of Nabal from all enemies, perhaps meaning both human animals and wild predators.
But David gets nothing in return.
And so last week we looked at the Foolishness of Nabal.
But just because Nabal is a fool, that doesn’t mean David is perfectly wise. In fact, we now see in this text that David is “jumping the gun” on seeking to kill Nabal and his men. And David should know better. It wasn’t long ago in the text that we were learning that “Vengeance is Not Yours”; that is, vengeance is of the Lord. David should not be seeking his own vengeance. But that is where we find him in our text; seeking to kill Nabal and all of his people.
But in comes Abigail. She is the protagonist of the story; the good guy or rather the good gal. And so, we have one of the women of the Bible who is a great example for us. No doubt she is an example for women, but she is also an example for all people. She does a number of things right. (and maybe a few things wrongs). And so we’ll look into the Abigail as an Example.
I. Abigail as an Example.
Word comes to Abigail via one of the young men. He explains how, while David was good to them, Nabal only returned evil for good. And, he explains how David is now seeking their destruction. This is risky for this young man to tell this to Abigail behind Nabal’s back. But it is riskier for him to say nothing. And he must know that Nabal is a fool. The very fact that this young man comes to Abigail instead of Nabal tells us a lot. It tells us that SHE, not he, is the rational discerning mind of the relationship.
We know that from the text that Abigail is beautiful and also discerning. She’s not a weak character, prone to flights of fancy. She is a truly clear-sighted wise woman who is trusted and now must step in to save all her family and friends. This is serious business. She must act or they are all going to die at the hands of David.
So this is the first thing she does, as she provides an example for us. Abigail makes haste.
1. Abigail Makes Haste
With trouble nearly on the doorstep, Abigail must act fast. And because she is discerning she knows exactly what to do. David is angry because Nabal had refused him food and water. So Abigail will now intervene and do what Nabal should have done. She, in fact, even does it better. She puts together a fine spread of food, and not only provides water but wine as well.
Here’s what she puts together. (and this tells us that she keeps a well-stocked pantry! She is prepared for such emergencies as these. She has:
200 loaves (of bread)
two skins of wine
five sheep already prepared
five seahs of parched grain
100 clusters of raisins
200 cakes of figs
This is not just regular fare but as one commentator says, “the most valued products of the country.” (JFB)
The amount of food that Abigail gathers shows us how wealthy Nabal was, and how stingy and ungenerous Nabal was. It wasn’t for lack of food that Nabal denied David’s request. He was foolish. But now the wise Abigail saves the day.
She follows that same wisdom that Jesus speaks of in a parable in Luke 14 when he speaks of the king at war:
[Luk 14:31-32 ESV] 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
So, before David arrives, Abigail sends the present of food out to him, seeking to turn away his wrath then and there.
So Abigail makes haste. She is also a great example in her wisdom.
2. The wisdom of Abigail.
While Nabal is the fool, Abigail is wise. Its not just that she acted fast, but she acted rightly. She must be thinking “what use is food, if we are all dead!” “Better to give this gift to David than to die at his hands.” We don’t know how many fighting men Nabal had, but presumably it was less than David’s.
The text doesn’t speak of Abigail as “wise” but of the similar word, “discerning.”
She pulls out all the stops.
Not only does she provide the food, but then, when she meets David, she “falls down on her face and bows on the ground.”
She honors him by calling him “my lord.”
And she asks for forgiveness, even willing to take the guilt upon herself.
This must have made a great impression on David. Such actions are not the actions of an enemy!
Then she chooses gentleness.
Abigail could have come at David more forcibly, but choose gentleness.
She doesn’t demand to be heard, she requests to be heard.
She doesn’t say “David, you dummy, is it really worth killing people over a slight? Over a missed meal?”
She very well could scold him for attempting to return evil with evil.
But she comes with all gentleness and humility.
This is a great lesson. A soft answer turns away wrath is, again, what Proverbs 15:1 says.
3. The limits of subservience displayed in Abigail
Then, we have another way in which Abigail is an example. We see in her the limits of subservience. Or the limits of submission.
We know that Paul says in Ephesians 5:22, “wives, submit to your husbands in everything.” That is a truth that we should take to heart, and teach and live out. And it is not just a passing thought of Paul. He teaches the same in Colossians 3:18 and Titus 2:5. And Peter also says “wives, be subject to your husbands.”
But, there are limits to that submission. Just like there are limits to our obedience to government. It is like we read in Acts “we must obey God, rather than men.”
And so there comes this point when Abigail and Nabal’s lives are at stake, along with all their people, that Abigail must a decision above and entirely without her husband. Even though it is HIS food, and even though HE is the husband, SHE is wise in taking the right action swiftly.
Her actions were not based on her own pride but based on the necessity of the preservation of their very lives.
There is then another, a fourth, way in which Abigail is a good example. She is loyal.
4. Abigail is Loyal.
This might sound surprising. Abigail is Loyal? Perhaps she was right to give up some food for their protection, but didn’t she call her husband a fool!
I’m not entirely sure how to handle that fact. But, I think, for one, she was simply stating the truth. She wasn’t so much verbally attacking her husband, as just stating a truth. And she had a reason behind this. It was part of her statement to David, to help him understand the circumstances. She’s basically saying “have mercy on us, he knows not what he does!”
But we’re making a greater point here at Abigail is even LOYAL! Not just acceptable in these words, but truly loyal. And we can see that in a couple ways.
A. For one, she’s still married to Nabal even though he is a fool. If she wasn’t loyal, she would have left him a long time ago. And she is right in staying with him. She’s not taken in by that modern tendency to “end it” with anyone who you are dissatisfied with. Marriage requires forgiveness, patience, and the ability to pass over harm that has been done to you. Abigail is loyal despite the sinful foolish actions of her husband.
B. Also Abigail is loyal in her efforts to save Nabal and the rest. She could have just “thrown him under the bus” and said “I’m not like him, save me.” But instead she is asking David to restrain his anger against Nabal; even take it out on her if necessary.
There is more that could be said in praise of Abigail. She is a peacemaker. And she succeeds in her quest, turning aside Danger’s anger in a way much like the proverb: [Pro 15:1a ESV] 1 A soft answer turns away wrath.
Abigail then is a good example to us (especially women) in many ways. But like all Biblical characters (except for Jesus) she isn’t perfect. Abigail isn’t universally praised. Her decision in the first place to marry Nabal (the fool) must be considered a slip-up in her otherwise discerning behavior. She may have been going after wealth more than character in a spouse. Nabal is a wealthy man. Now she is unequally yoked, and she is paying for it. So we are to learn the importance of seeking a godly spouse, not an earthly rich one.
But while this text is “about” Abigail, it is even more about God. Abigail is an instrument of God’s work. He employs Abigail for the purpose of keeping David from sinning. Abigails intervention keeps David from killing many people in his anger.
II. God Works to Keep us from Sin.
Twice we find this importance truth in our passage. Once in the words of Abigail and once in the words of David.
Abigail says in verse 26:
26 Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt 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.
And David says in verse
33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand!
David recognizes that she has protected him from sinning.
So Abigail has been used by God to restrain David from sin.
David says as much in the next verse, 34:
34 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.”
So the Lord is at work.
We often speak about the salvation God gives us from the sins we have committed.
But we should not overlook His work is keeping us away from sins that we otherwise might commit.
The Lord is at work TO KEEP US FROM SIN. [REPEAT: The Lord is at work TO KEEP US FROM SIN.]
How does the Lord keep us from sin? How should we pray that he continues to keep us from sin?
1. The law as a curb.
You probably have heard of the three uses of the law. A curb, a mirror, and a guide. Most prominently he law is a mirror. Through the Law we know our sin, we see as in a mirror, the evil that we are. And therefore we can recognize our need for a savior.
But another use of the law is as a curb. If you know that a punishment awaits a crime, you will be far less inclined to commit the crime. So if your conscience isn’t strongly enough saying “don’t do this,” then perhaps your rational mind will say “It’s not worth it.” And so God keeps sin at bay through the law. This is a great thing. We can live in a more orderly and peaceful society when sin is curbed by law.
2. Keeping us from sin through people in our lives.
Then God keeps us from sin through people in our lives.
This is what we have in our account today. Abigail’s actions keep David from sin.
We might experience something similar in our own lives.
The guidance of a parent might keep us from sin.
The very presence of a Christian in our lives may make us think twice about a sin.
And so there is no doubt in my mind that God arranges the encounters of our lives. Every person you’ve ever interacted with, you have done so IN the plan of God. And so you must think “what is the Lord teaching me at this time.” Whenever you might someone you must look for God’s plan in the encounter. And one of the things God is doing is teaching you to avoid sin
3. Keeping us from sin through the Holy Spirit working in us.
Then, we are kept from sin by the Holy Spirit working in us.
Without the Holy Spirit we can do no good thing.
But the Holy Spirit comes and works in us many good tings, including keeping us from Sin. The Holy Spirit renews us so that we do not even desires sin; so its not even that we fight against sin, we don’t even considering sinner. That is the work of God. Delivering us from evil before it arrives.
Conclusion
Now, the Lord’s work upon David has another purpose. Not only it is to keep him from sinning, but to let Vengeance be the Lords. We saw this recently. Vengeance is not your. God says “Vengeance is mind.” So David isn’t led to kill Nabal. But Nabal soon dies, on the Lord’s timing and without David’s involvement. So it is fulfilled that God gets His vengeance.
The lord forgives our sins, but even better he keeps us from sinning.
And it is better to have never sinned than to sin and be forgiven.
It is better to know the Lord from an early age than to be pulled out of a tailspin later on.
It is better that we are blessed than that we have scars of sin. Healing is great. Never getting sick is better.
The Lord great blesses us as He keeps us from sin.
That job you didn’t get.
That program you weren’t accepted into.
That relationship that didn’t work out.
Maybe God was keeping you away from something you couldn’t see. He was keeping you from trouble.
Perhaps one day we will know just how much God keeps us away from sin, and keeps evil away from us.
So let us thank God for His mercy and grace, restraining us from sin, and forgiving us when we do.