A STORY OF A FOOL

What kind of mother would name her son ‘Fool’?  I don’t think I’d want to meet her.  Seems like a good chance that she was a fool herself. 

We find this man Nabal (means ‘fool’) in I Samuel 25.  Surprisingly, he was quite successful, owning at least 1,000 goats and 3,000 sheep.  His enterprise required the help of a large number of farm hands.  His wife was loyal to him and quite a beauty.

David had been hiding out in Nabal’s territory trying to elude the pursuit of King Saul.  During this time, he and his 600 men offered protection to the area farmers – including Nabal.  When shearing time arrived, David sent men to ask for a gift from Nabal in exchange for the protection he had received.  Nabal insulted David’s men and sent them away empty-handed.

David was furious and vowed to kill Nabal and all his men.

Nabal’s wife is told about the exchange and leaps into action preparing a huge feast and delivering it to David as he approaches the farm.  He is overwhelmed with her gift, her words and her wisdom!  She implores him to stay his hand against Nabal and keep his reputation unstained from unnecessary violence.  David accepts her gift and is truly grateful that she stepped in and stopped him from his impulsive actions.

That evening, Nabal feasts and drinks well into the night;  so Abigail (his wife) waits till morning to tell him what she had done.  This is another testimony to her truthfulness and willingness to accept responsibility for her actions. 

Although the scripture is not perfectly clear, it seems that Nabal had a stroke upon hearing what she had done.  He lived in this state for ten days and then died. 

When David heard that Nabal had died, he sent messengers asking Abigail to become his wife.  She agreed.

In verse 17, we read a description of Nabal:  “He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.” 

Chances are, you’ve run into someone like this.  Descriptive terms would be:  hostile, angry, sarcastic, bitter, unkind, stubborn, vindictive, hateful… 

We can’t help but notice that Abigail’s actions correct David’s misdirected intentions.  A righteous woman can have a dynamic impact on the lives of those around her!  Abigail shows us that destroying the evil person is not the way to deal with them.  She is forthright and honest with Nabal and leaves the results to God.  Interestingly, Nabal’s death is attributed to God’s action:  “About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.”  (v.38)

When we are forced to deal with unrighteous people, we must maintain godly standards.  We don’t have the option of using their tactics.  We live by a higher standard.  We stay righteous and trust God to work it out.  He will! 

ARE YOU CORRECTABLE?

 I Samuel 25 tells a story about David's intersection with Nabal (whose name means 'fool').  

Here it is in brief form:

David and his 600 men have been laying low in the area where Nabal lived.  Nabal was a wealthy farmer with 1,000 goats and 3,000 sheep.  He also had a wife, Abigail, who was intelligent and beautiful.  

When David and his men lived in an area, they provided protection for anyone else who lived nearby.  Consequently, Nabal benefitted from David lingering in his area for an extended period of time.  

At the time of sheep-shearing, David sent men to Nabal asking for a gift of food.  

Nabal is described several times in this chapter:

• surly and mean in his dealings  [v.3]
• a wicked man that no one can talk to - (his servant) [v.17]
• He is just like his name - his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. - (his wife) [v.25]

Nabal responds harshly to David's request:

Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?  [v.11]

David is incensed when he is given this report.  He arms his men and takes 400 men to exact revenge on Nabal.

A servant reports what has happened to Abigail including the arc of safety that David's men have provided over previous months.  She acts quickly and puts together  a large quantity of food and supplies to give to David and his men.  

• 200 loaves of bread
• 2 skins of wine
• 5 dressed sheep
• 5 bushel of roasted grain
• 100 raisin cakes
•  200 cakes of pressed figs

She did this without telling Nabal.

She met David descending into the valley.  She bowed at his feet with her face to the ground.  

She said:  “Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.

“Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.”

Wow!  She really is a wise woman!

1. She offers reverence to David by kneeling before him
2. She proclaims her husband a fool for treating David improperly
3. She suggests that she has been sent to prevent David from shedding needless blood.
4. She wishes him well and prays protection over him
5. She presents her very generous gift 
6. She suggests that he will always have God's protection since he fights the Lord's battles
7. She predicts that he will be the ruler over Israel
8. She suggests that if he turns from his intent toward Nabal, he will have a clean conscience
9. She asks for his favor when God has honored him

David graciously accepts her gifts and turns from his intent toward Nabal.  He acknowledges that she has been sent by God to keep him from bloodshed.  

Abigail went home and found Nabal having a drunken banquet.  The next morning she told him what she had done and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.  About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.  [vs.37-38]

When David heard what had happened, he sent word to her inviting her to become his wife.  She agreed and came to be his third wife and the mother of his second-born son, Kileab.  [Michal, Saul's daughter was his first wife, but Saul later gave her to another man;  as divine retrifution for mocking David, she had no children to the day of her death.  II Samuel 6:23]  

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APPLICATION

     I.   Those who are fools by character (according to Proverbs) are:

            1. Close-minded – thickheaded/stubborn (convinced they’re right)
            2. Lack spiritual perception
            3. Hardened

Nabal was all of these!  Be careful NOT to let these characteristics define YOU!

   II.    Abigail was wise and sensitive to the Lord's leading.  She courageously faced her problem  with tact, grace and humility!

  III.    David was correctable.  Even in his anger, he was able to back down and hear just counsel.