Last week we saw how Nabal
immediately jumped to conclusions about David without having all
the facts. He judged David, without even listening to his own
shepherds testifying of David. He judged him and refused to give
even a crumb to him. We learned that we should be different and
rather gather all facts and allow God to be the Judge. He and He
alone knows best. And to share with others from all the prosperity
that we have.
Now Nabal's reaction made David
very angry. He immediately called four hundred of his forces
together and advanced towards Nabal and his household. He was ready
to kill all the males in Nabal's household. One of the young men of
Nabal's household ran to Nabal's wife, Abigail and told her what
had happened. She immediately reacted and prepared two hundred
loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep, one hundred
clusters of raisins, two hundred cakes of figs and roasted grain
and sent it to David. She also went after the supplies to
personally meet with David. She apologized profusely for her
husband's bad behavior. She had the correct facts about David and
praised him as the future ruler of the land. David relented from
going on and killing all the men in Nabal's household:
"For indeed, as the Lord God of
Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you
have hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males
would have been left to Nabal!" So David received from her hand
what she had brought him, and said to her, "Go in peace to your
house. See I have heeded your voice and respected your person." 1
Samuel 25:34, 35
David relented because one woman
was brave enough to humble herself and to give freely of what she
had. And what is wonderful to me yet again, is that David glorified
God as the One keeping him from hurting them. He looked past
Abigail and saw God working through her.
God wants to work through us too.
Jesus is our Mediator; He is the One mediating on our behalf in the
Throne room. And we are part of His body, therefore to mediate
between men is part of our heritage. We are to shine God's light
and bring peace to potentially explosive situations. God's Spirit
will flow mightily through us and give us the wisdom on how to act
in certain situations. We simply need to be willing to be used. You
might literally save lives by your actions.
But having said that, there are
moments where the tempers have flared too much, and in the heat of
the moment it might not be the wisest thing to intervene. That is
why I am saying that you must go where, how and when the Spirit
leads you.
Abigail definitely moved with the
Spirit. She did what she could to alleviate the situation and left
the judgment of her husband to God. The very next day the Bible
tells us:
"….Nabal's heart died within
him, and he became like a stone. Then it happened, after about ten
days that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died." 1 Samuel
25:37,38
God will intervene on our behalf.
We must just do what He places on our hearts and then leave the
rest to Him. He knows best and knows what timing will work.
Plus God looked after His daughter
that acted so wisely. The moment David heard that Nabal had died,
he sent for Abigail and made her his wife. And today He will look
after us too, we needn't fear.
Father, please give us the wisdom
to know when to intervene in a situation and when to leave it. Help
us and lead us onto Your pathway for our lives. We want to be
obedient in all things. And thank you very much that You are
looking after us, and that You will be the Judge on our behalf. We
rest in You. Amen