We're covering 1 Samuel 25 through 28 today. You guys--I am Phineas level excited to talk to you about Abigail! It's about time we have a woman we can look up to and admire. Scripture affirms how wise she was. We're told she's beautiful, and we can see she's resourceful a problem solver, and all the while incredibly humble. Even in difficult circumstances, God can guide and rescue us.

Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 25-28

Scripture Read: 1 Samuel 25:14-19, 23-30

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Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

This is a dwelling place

from a trusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Cock and we're

covering one Samuel 25 through 28

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in studying Saul's downward spiral.

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I couldn't help but notice that he

most often sins when he's afraid or

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impatient, and that's pretty humbling.

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'cause I would say that's

probably true of me too.

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His fear often led him to disobey

God and to seek his own welfare.

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But his sin removes God's

hand of protection from him.

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thankfully we get to focus on

someone much more admirable.

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And you guys, I am Phineas level,

excited to talk to you about Abigail.

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Today.

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it's about time we have a woman

we can look up to and admire.

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Let's remind ourselves that when

scripture tells a story, it's not

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elevating everything that someone did.

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But in the case of Abigail

Scripture affirms how wise she was.

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We're told she's beautiful and we can

see she's resourceful a problem solver,

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and all the while incredibly humble.

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When Abigail speaks to David, it's

the longest speech spoken by a

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woman in all of the Old Testament.

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We've seen a song sung by Miriam and

then by Deborah, but in terms of speaking

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parts, Abigail has a starring role.

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Unfortunately,

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she's as unequally yoked as they come

She's married to Neal, whose name

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means fool, and it's not a misnomer.

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He's arrogant, and evil.

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And for Samuel 25, we

find out Neal is rich.

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He's got 3000 sheep and a thousand goats.

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And apparently some of these

wilderness areas we're really

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dangerous places back then.

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People might steal your flock or attack

you, and David and his men have been

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protecting Neal and his shepherds.

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It's the time of year where it's the

annual shearing of the and this would've

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been a time of celebration and feasting.

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David sends some of his men to

greet Neal with peace and say,

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since it's feast day and we've been

protecting you, might we share?

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In some of your meal,

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but Neal rebukes them for their request.

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He decides to selfishly hoard what

he has and completely disrespects.

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The ways that David and

his men have served him.

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David's Men return to give

this offensive report,

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and David says, basically it's on.

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Get Your Swords, boys.

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He sets out with 400 of his men.

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But thankfully God intervenes but one

of the young men told Abigail Neal's

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wife, behold David sent messengers

out of the wilderness to greet

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our master, and he railed at them.

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Yet the men were very good to us and

we suffered no harm and we did not miss

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anything when we were in the fields.

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As long as we went with them, they

were a wall to us, both by night and by

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day, all the while we were with them.

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Keeping the sheep now therefore,

know this and consider what you

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should do for harm is determined

against our master and against all

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his house, and he is such a worthless

man that one cannot speak to him.

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Then Abigail made haste and took

200 loaves and two skins of wine and

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five sheep already prepared, and five

se of parched grain and a hundred

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clusters of raisins and 200 cakes

of figs, and laid them on donkeys.

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And she said to her, young

men, go on before me.

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Behold I come after you.

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But she did not tell her husband, Neal.

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and continuing in 23, when Abigail

saw David, she hurried and got down

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from the donkey and fell before David

on her face and bowed to the ground.

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She fell at his feet and said on

me alone, my Lord, be the guilt.

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Please let your servant speak in your

ears and hear the words of your servant.

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Let not my Lord regard this worthless

fellow nal for as His name is.

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So is he.

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Nal is his name, and Folly is with him.

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but I, your servant did not see the

young men of my Lord whom you sent.

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Now then my Lord.

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As the Lord lives and as your

soul lives because the Lord has

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restrained you from blood guilt

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and from saving with your own hand.

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Now then let your enemies and those who

seek to do evil to my Lord, be asal.

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And now let this present that your

servant has brought to my Lord, be given

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to the young men who follow my Lord.

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Please forgive the

trespass of your servant.

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For the Lord will certainly make my

Lord a shore house because my Lord

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is fighting the battles of the Lord.

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An evil shall not be found

in you so long as you live.

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If men rise up to pursue you and to seek

your life, the life of my Lord shall

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be bound in the bundle of the living

and the care of the Lord your God.

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And the lives of your enemies, he shall

sling out as from the hollow of a sling.

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And when the Lord has done to my Lord,

according to all the good that he has

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spoken concerning you and has appointed

you print over Israel, my Lord shall have

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no cause of grief or pangs of conscience

for having shed blood without cause, or

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for my Lord working salvation himself.

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And when the Lord has dealt well with

my Lord, then remember your servant.

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And David said to Abigail, blessed

be the Lord, the God of Israel

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who sent you this day to meet me.

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Blessed be your discretion and blessed

be you who have kept me this day

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from blood guilt and from working

salvation with my own hand, for surely

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as the Lord, the God of Israel lives.

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Who has restrained me from

hurting you unless you had

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hurried to come and meet me?

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Truly by morning there had not been

left in a ball so much as one male.

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Then David received from her hand,

which she had brought him, and he said

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to her, go up in peace to your house.

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See, I have obeyed your voice and

I have granted your petition, and

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Abigail came to Neal and behold.

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He was holding a feast in his

house like the Feast of a King.

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And Neal's heart was married within

him for he was very drunk, so she

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told him nothing at all until the

morning light in the morning when

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the wine had gone out of Neal.

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His wife told him these things

and his heart died within

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him, and he became as a stone.

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And about 10 days later, the

Lord struck Neal and he died.

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When David learns that God brought

justice, he rejoices and sends word

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to Abigail to take her as a wife.

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It is hard to know for sure, but one of

my commentaries believes that at this time

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it would've been widespread knowledge.

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That David was going to be King.

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Abigail certainly affirms this

as she's not just concerned about

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protecting her life and her household.

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She's also concerned that David

would go into the kingship with

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honor both Abigail and David credit

the Lord for keeping him from sin.

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we've studied the name of

God, the Lord, my sanctifier.

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And sometimes it Humbles

you to see how God has

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kept you.

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Maybe not just from sin, but maybe

from making it through after sleepless

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nights and caring for everybody and

doing all the things how he sustains us.

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There are a lot of implications

we could look to for this

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to teach us about marriage.

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It's fascinating that Abigail

is quite clear about the

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kind of man her husband is.

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But scripture agrees with her and she

actually moves to protect his life.

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God ends up striking him dead,

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but it's not because of

anything Abigail does.

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she was still a blessing

to her husband in all this.

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Neal was having the Feast of a King.

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He had plenty to share and he still

wouldn't honor God's anointed.

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Hospitality matters to God.

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And Abigail moved quickly in wisdom

and wasn't her humility astounding.

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She didn't cause the problem, but she was

quick to make restitution and she gets

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a pretty sweet reward out of the deal

as she gets married to the future king.

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They're not headed to the palace yet.

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They'll still have to run for their

lives for a time, and it's not a

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complete Cinderella story because she

doesn't get to be David's only wife.

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In the next chapter, David

and his nephew Abbasi.

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Sneak into Saul's camp by night.

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Saul is once again on the move

to kill David, but God puts him

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and his men in a deep sleep.

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David sneaks in and steals

Saul's water jug and his spear.

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Even though Abishai was more than

happy to put Saul to death, David once

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again says he will not put out his hand

against the Lord's anointed six times.

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In his chapter, it talks about Saul Spear.

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Why is that so important?

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Because it's probably the same spear.

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Saul hurled across the room at David

multiple times when trying to kill him.

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when they're awake, David I shows the

spear as evidence that Saul is wrong.

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To think that David is a

danger to him, if it were me.

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I'd probably say some snide

comment like, Hey, look at this.

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Remember when he tried to kill me with it?

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But David takes the high road

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and says, you chasing after me is

as worthless as a king chasing a

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flea and as hopeless as chasing

a cartridge in the mountains.

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It's not worthy of a king,

it seems saltless convicted.

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And that he realizes he's been in

the wrong, and this will be the

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last time that Saul and David speak,

David even gives the spear back.

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What a display of abundant

trust in God to protect him.

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And Chapter 27, David hides

among the Philistines because

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he still has some fear.

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all in all.

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He'll be on the run for about a decade.

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He's seen Saul's ups and downs.

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It appears to be pretty

discerning to be on the lookout.

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And then Aish, the head of

the Philistines, gets his men

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ready to fight against Israel.

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And Aish lets David know, Hey, you're

aware that you and your men are gonna

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come out and fight with me, right?

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Even though these are your people.

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David's in quite the predicament.

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So while we put a pause on David in

chapter 28, we find out that Samuel

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dies and all of Israel mourns for him.

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Rightfully so.

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There were three ways that at this

time, that God communicate with people.

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The first was their dreams, then

it was through the priest, through

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the stones that they would carry to

cast lots, and then by the prophets.

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Well, Samuel, the prophet is dead.

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Saul has killed all of the priests

except one, and that one ran with

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the EFA and the stones to David.

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And God is not communicating

to Saul with dreams.

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The Philistines are closing in and he's

just terrified and wants some reassurance.

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Even though he was supposed to have

all of the mediums killed, he actually

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just cast them outta the land.

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But someone knows that there's

one remaining in Endor, Saul puts

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on a disguise, which he's like

a head taller than everybody.

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So what kind of disguise

do you put on him?

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I don't know.

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But they go, they promised to the medium.

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We won't have you hurt.

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And they call up Samuel.

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We don't know if this medium was a

complete sham or if she was using

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demonic power before, but when

God actually has Samuel appear to

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her, she screams and is shocked.

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It's not the normal visitation she's

used to and, and this is the only time

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in scripture something like this happens.

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Samuel has bad news for Saul.

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First of all, he says.

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You are gonna die tomorrow.

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Your sons are gonna die tomorrow with

you, and the Lord is going to give

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Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

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This is pretty much as

bad as it gets, right?

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Finding out you and your kids

are gonna die the next day

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and your nation's gonna fall.

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He was terrified before, but now

he's paralyzed in fear, literally.

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Thankfully, we have a king sitting on

the throne right now that we can look to.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you that

you are the Lord, our sanctifier, you

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began a good work in us and you're

being faithful to complete it.

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But I'm convicted, that often.

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I sin because I'm afraid or impatient,

and I pray for all of us that you would

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guard our hearts and our minds with

your peace that surpasses understanding.

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And help us to walk in Abigail's

example, to bless our household,

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teach us to walk in wisdom so we

can support our husbands and guide

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them to honor you with their lives.

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May we be models of

restoration and of humility.

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And Lord, we're not gonna

complain if you give us.

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The blessing of beauty

that you gave her too.

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And slow the aging process.

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It's in the true anointed

king of Jesus that we pray.

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Amen.