Choose This Day the Way of Wisdom

Choose This Day the Way of Wisdom

1 Samuel 25:2-38

 

Intro: Win the day…

 

If you were to search in the dictionary for the word “wisdom,” you would find it defined as “the quality or state of being wise; or having knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgement in one’s actions, discernment, or insights.” Wisdom is often coupled with making sensible decisions or judgements. In our world, wisdom is tied to the store of knowledge that society or culture has stored up over time, and while that is the way the dictionary defines wisdom and its source, we find wisdom defined differently in God’s Word that has been given to you and I.

Wisdom is something the Bible urges you and I to seek and find. In Proverbs 4:7 we read that wisdom is something we should be seeking, that the understanding we gain may cost all we have, but the beginning of wisdom is to get wisdom! Proverbs 16:16 tells us that wisdom is better than gold. Wisdom is to be sought after and something valuable to secure, but as we look through the pages of Scripture, we also understand that true wisdom is found when the source of the wisdom is not from the storehouse of culture and society, but the wisdom that comes from God, and to those who ask for it, to them He will give wisdom freely! (James 1:5)

1 Corinthians 3:19 tells us that “the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God’s sight.” In James 3:13-17 we see as distinction between the wisdom that comes from God and wisdom that come from below. The wisdom from above is the wisdom God’s word consistently and continually tells us to seek and it is that comes from God, honors God, and results in a life that is shown as set apart for God.

This morning we turn to another chapter in 1 Samuel and also another chapter in the life of David. We saw last week that David had an opportunity while in a cave at Engedi to take out revenge on Saul who had set himself against David as his enemy. David decided to do the right thing, he spared Saul’s life, he decided to overcome evil with good, to leave the situation in God’s hands and though others had encouraged David to kill Saul, David responded “far be it from me because of the Lord that I would do such to Saul” (1 Samuel 24:6). He bowed before Saul, set the Lord as judge, declared that he would do no wrong to him that out of the wicked comes wickedness, his hand would not be against Saul and he declared trust in God to plead his case and save him from Saul’s hand.

Chapter 25 is a new day in David’s life, and while yesterday, he showed us our opportunity to overcome evil with good, the story we will see this morning is David getting offended by a fool, becoming angry at him, and rather than entrusting the situation to the Lord, he starts down a pathway of taking matters into his own hands as his anger gets the best of him.

David will start down the pathway that leads to destruction that day. He will allow his anger to get the best of him, but then a woman name Abigail will come and speak to him, reason with him, and show him the importance of choosing that day, the way of wisdom. 

In these verses and throughout the chapter, we see various postures, we see a foolish man, a furious man, a faithful woman, and our opportunity to live in light of God’s foresight.   

 

1. Don’t Follow the Way of Fools

 

1 Samuel 25:2-3, Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was a Calebite).

 

• The chapter begins by giving details of the situation David was in with a man named Nabal.

 

• Nabal is described as a man who had a business and was very rich.

 

• His wealth was not measured here by how much money he had in the bank, but by how many sheep he had (3,000) and how many goats he had (1,000).

 

• Nabal is noted as harsh and evil in his dealings.

 

• We also learn about his wife, Abigail, who was a woman of good understanding and beautiful in appearance.  

 

• The man’s name was Nabal, which literally means, “fool.”

 

• Abigail’s name means “my fathers joy,” she was a joy to her father and as we will see, to others as well.

 

• While Nabal’s name means fool, it is important to note that it was not a name he simply seems to be stuck with, it is portrayed in the way he lived out his life.

 

• Nabal chose to follow the way of fools as he lived out his life.

 

•  As we see in the story, David send some of his men to Nabal after he heard that Nabal was sheering his sheep and this is where we really get into the story…

 

1 Samuel 25:4-8, 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 visit Nabal, and greet him in my name; 6 and this is what you shall say: ‘Have a long life, peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! Now then, I have heard that you have shearers. Now, your shepherds have been with us; we have not harmed them, nor has anything of theirs gone missing all the days 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 have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

 

• Based upon the question and the interaction we understand that David and his 600 men, when they were out in the wilderness hiding from Saul, had encountered the shepherds of Nabal.

 

• Shepherds leads their sheep to green pastures and to places for water, and while they lead their sheep day and night, there are robbers and attackers who would come and try to take them, kill them, or destroy them.

 

• David’s men gave protection to Nabal’s shepherds so that they would remain in safety, they provided a service and now he is coming to Nabal at the time of shearing for some compensation for the service. 

 

• And for what David and his men had done in offering protection, it was culturally appropriate that something would be given.

 

1 Samuel 25:9-11, When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal in accordance with all these words in David’s name; then they waited. But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?” 

 

• Nabal decides to play the fool here. Asking as if he didn’t know who David was, but he did. He indicates it in saying “there are many servants who break away from their master,” and he seems to pretend that he knows nothing of David and decided to offer nothing to him and his men.

 

• David will become angry at the response, and we will look at his reaction; but what can’t be missed is that Nabal wasn’t just named “fool” his actions made that name stick.

 

• David’s men encouraged Nabal to ask his men, but Nabal would not listen.

 

• From verse 17 it seems that his men tried to talk to him, one of his men shared with Abigail that “he is a worthless man, and no one can speak to him.”

 

Proverbs 12:15, The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a person who listens to advice is wise.

• In the Bible we find reference to “fools” in various scriptures. Today, the word fool is defined as “a stupid or silly person who lacks judgement or sense.”

 

Illus. Metaphors.

 

• The Bible depicts the fool as the one who disregards God’s word, instruction, and way.

 

Psalm 14:1, The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

 

Illus. Much to say about the fool’s way…

 

• In the Bible we often see wisdom or foolishness tied to a person’s way, path, or the road they travel.  In Matthew chapter 7, in Jesus’ sermon on the mount, He gave great insights into how one’s way in life is tied to wisdom. In verse 13 of that chapter, He said that there is a road, a path, a gate that leads to life, and there is another one that leads to destruction. Many, He said, walk the wide road, and enter through the wide gate. But few go the way that is narrow. Though few go the narrow way, it is the way that leads to life, and the wide way leads to destruction.

 

• As He continued, He began to speak of trees, and how trees are recognized by their fruit. Good trees bear good fruit, and bad trees bear bad fruit. Then, every tree that does not bear good fruit is headed in the way that leads to destruction. 

 

• And then He closed out the sermon looking at the way that leads to life and the way of destruction as the way of a wise person vs. the way foolish person.

 

Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

• In that text, Jesus ties both the way of the wise, the way of wisdom and the foolish to the choices one makes in building their life. One life is built on His words, and the other disregards them.

 

1. See That the Way of the Furious is Dangerous

 

1 Samuel 25:12-13, So David’s young men made their way back and returned; and they came and informed him in accordance with all these words. Then David said to his men, “Each of you strap on his sword.” So each man strapped on his sword. And David also strapped on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David, while two hundred stayed with the baggage.

 

• David receives the news and of Nabal’s response and he is angry, as we will see, he is actually furious.

 

• He hears what Nabal said, gets angry, and decides not just to take Nabal out, but to take out all of his men.

 

• He told 400 of his 600 men to strap on their swords to go and hunt down Nabal and his men, the other 200 hundred of David’s men stayed back with the luggage.

1 Samuel 25:14-23, Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he spoke to them in anger. Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did anything go missing as long as we went with them, while we were in the fields. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. Now then, be aware and consider what you should do, because harm is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

 

• With David on his way, a young man comes to tell Abigail, Nabal’s wife about what went on and what is happening.

 

• He lets her know that David and his men greeted Nabal in peace, but Nabal spoke in anger, he tells her that David and his men were good to all of them, they protected them while they were out in the field, but after Nabal responded the way he did, bad things are brewing!

 

• He tells Abigail, Nabal is a worthless man, the word there means “good for nothing, wicked, evil, ungodly.”

 

• He essentially says, Nabal is a messed up guy who wont listen to anyone, and you’re his wife, you’ve got to do something!

 

1 Samuel 25:18-20, Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine, and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys. Then she said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. And it happened as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them. 

 

• David, in his fury, is headed toward Nabal with 400 men ready to take them all out.

 

• Abigail finds out about it all, loaded up a great deal of goods and pursues David in peace to try and make peace.

 

• David on the other hand is fuming and focused on his fury.

 

1 Samuel 25:21-22, Now David had said, “It is certainly for nothing that I have guarded everything that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing has gone missing of all that belonged to him! For he has returned me evil for good. May God do so to the enemies of David, and more so, if by morning I leave alive as much as one male of any who belong to him.”

 

• It seems that as David and his men are walking, he is doing a great deal of talking.

 

• David said, this man is giving me evil for good, so I am going to get him back.

 

• Remember that last week, David did the opposite of that. We looked at and commended the love David had for his enemy Saul in the previous chapter in David’s story.

 

Romans 12:18-21, If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

 Matthew 24:43, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…

 

• We studied David’s story and could clearly see him do those very things, we saw him walk in great victory and we can easily think, what happened?

 

• Well life happened…and as life goes on, day in and day out, we have to keep making the right choices as to how we are going to live it out.

 

• So often we have these situations were we expect certain things and can walk in those with victory, but then we become blindsided by the unexpected things.

 

Illus. Decisions, decisions.

 

Matthew 5:21-22, You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

 

Illus. Anger Defined.

 

• Note this, the word “anger” is only one letter away from “danger.”

 

 Ephesians 4:26, Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.

 

• Though this Scripture can be easily misapplied, there is a place for righteous anger, and there is a righteous way to vent that anger.

 

• Righteous anger is the type that wishes no one evil, or harm. An anger that understands where the real battle is.

 

• When you hold onto that anger, when you refuse to let go, and harbor a heart of anger and resentment rather than a heart of reconciliation; you are in danger.

 

• Anger is then no longer something you carry, but something that is carrying you, and taking root in your heart.

 

James 1:19-20, But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

 

• David had decided against retaliation, and this is an important decision for us as well if we are going to overcome evil with good.

 

Illus. Angered.

 

Proverbs 29:11, A fool always loses his temper, but a wise person holds it back.

 

• There is a way the angry walk, there is a footpath for the furious. But that way is not the way of wisdom, it is not the way of a victorious life.

 

Proverbs 19:11, A person’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

 

Illus. Overlooking the offense.

 

III. Faithfully Select What is Right in God’s Sight

 

1 Samuel 25:23-30, When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face in front of David and bowed herself to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your slave speak to you, and listen to the words of your slave. Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him; but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

 

• When Abigail meets David, she humbly bows before him.

 

• And that moment, she states some facts about the matter at hand. While it is not a good thing to badmouth one’s husband, it seems she is stating some facts about the matter. He is as his name says.

 

• She states some facts, which, weren’t super honoring facts, but she takes the blame for his actions, “let them be on me,” and she is trying to save not only her husband’s life, but the lives of many through this meeting.

 

1 Samuel 25:26-31,

 

• In Abigail’s words to David, she faithfully points David toward the wise way, and brought foresight into how his decision that day could impact his life.

 

• Abigail pleaded with David for forgiveness, verse 28, and then pointed him to the fact that the Lord was making an enduring house, because David was fighting the Lord’s battles, and evil would not be found in him.

 

• The way she is communicating with him, was pointing him beyond the moment, and by bring insight to what was she knew of his life, and offering foresight into what she and he knew was right.

 

Proverbs 15:1, A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

 

1 Samuel 25:30-31, And when the Lord does for my lord in accordance with all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, this will not become an obstacle to you, or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having avenged himself.

 

• Abigail points David to what is right in God’s sight. And in doing so, she spares the life of Nabal, and keep the call and life of David from undue blood and blemish.

Proverbs 18:21, Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Proverbs 31:26, She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue…

 

• Abigail used the right words at the right time to bring wisdom to David, keep him from doing something wrong and David listened.

 

Proverbs 17:10, A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

 

Proverbs 1:5, A wise person will hear and increase in learning…

Proverbs 12:15, The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a person who listens to advice is wise.

• Here is David’s response.

 

1 Samuel 25:32-35, Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, there certainly would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male.” So David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request.”

 

Illus. Choosing each day…

 

James 1:5

 

James 3:13-18

 

 

1 Samuel 25:2-38