1 Samuel chapter 25, please. Tonight will be our last study in the 25th chapter of 1 Samuel. And before us, we've got a passage that most people just read over quickly. And here we have five verses, just a few lines on the page. that reveal a great deal to us. If God gives us eyes to see, all scripture does.

And as you know, David's been hunted by Saul. This has gone on for some time. He's lost his position in Israel. He's on the run. He's considered a common criminal. He's lost his home. He's lost his wife. He's lost his peace. His wife, Micah, was given to another man, but here in this quiet moment, God begins to restore him. That's the title of the message, restoration. That's a beautiful word, restoration. It means the act of returning something to a former owner. The process of repairing and renovating In our case, it's much more than that. It's not just repairing, it's making us new. It's not just renovating. It's tearing this old building down and rebuilding it. God restoring to its original and rightful condition. God restoring someone to their original purpose. What was our original purpose? To worship and glorify God.

And a man or a woman who's dead in trespasses and sin cannot do that. They not only cannot do it, don't have the ability, but they don't have the willingness to do it. No man can come to the Father, no man will come to the Father. We don't have the ability or the willingness. God restores that. You're here tonight, hopefully because you have an interest in the things of Christ. God gave that to you. God gave that to you. It's a restoration. God repairing what's been broken. And we've been broken. We've broken bad. Biblical restoration isn't just getting back what you had. It's much, much more than that. It's better and it's deeper and it's more secure than before.

So let me reiterate, if I may, restoration is God bringing back what was lost. Restoration is making better what was broken, renewing what was dead, making alive that which is dead and giving more than was originally there. I think about Job. Job lost everything he had, all his children, all his livestock. Then he lost his health. And then he had three, quote, so-called friends that came and said, all this happened to you because you've done something terribly wrong. You might as well just admit it, ask God for forgiveness. His wife said, why don't you just curse God and die? Job 40.10 says the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. God gave him 10 more children. He doubled his livestock and Job, after scraping boils in the dump, the dung hill, lived another 140 years. That's restoration. The scripture says Job died being old and full of days. That's a good epitaph. He lived a long and complete life. He finished well and he died satisfied. And here's the most wonderful thing about that. God was satisfied with him.

Joseph, what about Joseph? He went from the pit to the palace. He lost his freedom. He lost his family. He lost his reputation. Well, he was a prisoner. He was in prison. But God raised him to second in command over all Egypt. Gave him a wife, gave him children, gave him honor, and used him to preserve nations. What restoration. He gained more than he lost. And then I think about Naomi. I've pictured her so many times there. Lost her husband, lost her three sons. She's got two daughter-in-laws. Both Moabites, don't know God. She's left home. And she's returning home. She returns home to Bethlehem empty. Stripped of her husband, her sons, and all her security. She doesn't have anything. But through a kinsman redeemer. Her land was redeemed. Her family line was restored and she became the great grandmother to David. the very man in our story tonight. She was restored fully. This isn't just partial restoration. This is full restoration.

And speaking of Boaz, you remember what she said to Ruth? She said, he, Boaz, shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life and a nourisher, a provider of your old age. Ruth 4.15. And you know what? He was for her too. He was for her too.

And Boaz. Boaz, I still say they should have titled the name of the book Boaz instead of Ruth. But that's okay. That's okay.

And then what about the prodigal son? What a picture of the believer he is. He was restored to his father with honor. That boy was no count. He said, give me what's mine. Well, first of all, it wasn't his, it was his father. And his father graciously gave it to him. And sin stripped him of all that he had received of his father. And he wasted all he had. The scripture says on riotous living. He desired to return home. Came to his senses and he said, my father's got servants that are living better than me. I'll return as a servant. I'll be in a servant's position. But instead of being made a servant, his father gave him the same things that our heavenly father gives us. Gave him a robe, covering of Christ's perfect righteousness is what God gives us. Gave him a ring, proof of sonship, authority, identity, and belonging. Gave him shoes. Servants went barefoot. Sons wore shoes. Threw a feast, picturing fellowship, joy, and satisfaction with the Father. and gave him full sonship, not probation, but full restoration. Christ sets his sons and daughters free from the slavery of sin and he brings them into the liberty of his family, full restoration.

speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." More, gave me more than I'd lost. Gave us more than we lost.

Now, the story before us tonight is much more than just a story of marriage. Some of the commentators that I read not, you know, just cause you're a commentator don't mean you know the Bible. A lot of commentators, but this is more than a story of marriage. It's a story of providence. It's a story of loss. It's a story of God's restoration. And here we have a profound lesson in God's providence and God's justice and God's grace toward his chosen servant, that being Abigail. and that being David.

And in this quiet aftermath of Nabal's death and Abigail's faith, God begins to quietly restore what had been taken from both David and Abigail. And this is just a picture of what God does for us in Christ. When the Lord removes something or someone, now listen, from his servant's life, he never does so without purpose. Many of you here tonight have lost loved ones. Never does so without purpose. God's purpose is being accomplished in all things. He works all things together after the counsel of his own will, his own purpose. and he replaces loss with something purer and wiser and better in his purpose. In most cases, it's a renewed and deeper knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Some of you have lost husbands. You got a heavenly husband that's second to none. Verse 40, and when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, They spake unto her saying, David sent us unto thee to take thee to him to wife. And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth and said, behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord.

Now, the first thing we see here is that God's providence works through unexpected means. That's what, that being what the world calls foolishness, preaching. God works through preaching. That's the means that he saves those who believe.

Now David's men don't arrive here at Carmel with an agenda of politics or desire for public alliances, relationships. They arrive here with a proposal of marriage. They don't come as soldiers demanding tribute to the king. They come as messengers offering honor. They come with a message of hope for the recipient. And this message was for someone in particular. It was for Abigail. You see the picture there? This wasn't for all the women that were in Carmel. This was for Abigail. And it came to Abigail, who's a picture of the believer. The message to Abigail was, David sent us to thee to take thee to him to walk. Isn't that the message of the gospel to sinners? The gospel message is preached to all who will hear, but the call is effectual to particular men and women.

That's why I love in the scriptures when you read a certain man and a certain woman. That's why we got here tonight, certain men and women. whom the Lord sent a messenger to with a proposal of an eternal union, Christ, our heavenly husband.

Abigail had much turmoil and suffering in her life. She had just buried her husband. And he was a man who was harsh and foolish and proud. And in this, she very well pictures us, of us in our trouble of sin. Trouble. The Lord determined in His divine providence to show her love, to show her mercy and grace and compassion in all her troubles. And that's what Christ has done for us. Oh, He came to us in our trouble of sin, condemned. deserving of wrath, deserving of eternal condemnation.

Abigail didn't pursue David. She didn't manipulate circumstances after he had showed mercy to them. But God, in His own time, showed mercy to her. Friends, we didn't pursue God. I don't know where people get that out of the Scriptures. There's none that seek it after God. We didn't seek after God. Not until He first came to us and gave us a revelation of our sin and our need of Him as the Great Position. We love Him, why? Because He first loved us. The Lord Jesus said, you didn't choose me. I chose you. He pursued us. We didn't pursue him. He came to us in mercy.

David claimed that God had restrained him from sin, and God had used Abigail as the instrument to do just that. And at the same time, God judged Nabal and took his life. David was going to, but God intervened so that he wouldn't have that on his mind and heart the rest of his life. And God was at the same time gracious and merciful to Abigail. And all these things, all of them were God's doing. You know, people talk about multitasking, you know, he or she's a good multitasker. They can do this and do that. God is a very good multitasker. He can do He controls this whole world, this whole universe, and with no issues, all at the same time.

The Lord knows those who are his. Abigail is publicly restored to God's anointing. Believers will publicly confess their union with Christ. They'll bow as Abigail did. to her husband and her king. And at the same time, David is given a wife by providence, not one with selfish ambition. Don't you imagine all the women in Carmel that were single would have given anything to have been David's wife? But no, the Lord gives David a wife who has some wisdom and has some love for God.

And all that God gave to Christ will hear this message of grace. And like Abigail, they'll bow to the Spirit's effectual call. No one comes to Christ kicking and screaming against their will. God makes them willing in the day of his power. Is that not what he did with you? He made you willing, didn't He?

And here we see David acting through representatives in a honorable, orderly manner. Isn't that what gospel preachers do? Messengers. That's what these men that David sent picture. They're messengers. And that's what gospel preachers do in bringing Christ and His bride together.

How does a sinner come to Christ? Well, the Lord, pictured by David, sends them a messenger. So in essence, Christ comes to them through a messenger. If you're gonna learn anything about the Son, it's gonna be through a messenger. That's God's ordained means. David came to Abigail through a messenger of good news.

And we clearly see the attitude of the saved sinner. It's one of humility. It always is. Abigail pitches the believer here. She bows herself to the ground, falls on her face. She takes the lowest place. She offers herself as a servant, a handmaid. And the first thing she says is she says, behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord. He's my Lord. No striving, no arguing, no demanding, no debating, no bargaining, no conditions whatsoever. Just humble obedience to the will of God.

Grace humbles a sinner. Salvation brings humiliation and servitude. That's just how the gospel works. Christ lavishes undeserved mercy upon us. The believer's response is a willing surrender. Abigail's a picture of the bride who gladly submits to her king. Doesn't that mirror Christ and his church so well? And her willingness to wash feet foreshadows the servanthood of the gospel.

Our Lord Jesus Now this is God, God in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lord, the King of kings. And one day he took a basin and he took a towel and he washed his disciples' feet. And at first Peter said, no, no, you're not gonna wash my feet. You're too far above that. He said, if I don't wash your feet, Peter, you can't have no part of me. And Peter said, well, in that case, wash me from head to toe.

The redeemed follow their Redeemer. Grace produces servants, not spectators. In this proposal of marriage, David takes all the initiative. And in the spiritual marriage between us and our Lord, Christ takes all the initiative. That's what our Lord did. Salvation begins with His grace, not our merit. We have no merit. We have no good works that we can offer God that he would accept.

Abigail refers to David as my Lord. And the believer refers to Christ as their Lord. He's my Lord. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. Is he not your Lord? She bows at the message she received, and so do we. We bow every time we hear it, don't we? It's not just a one-time bowing. We bow every time we hear the good news of the gospel.

No one comes into the kingdom of God standing tall, I can tell you that. Pride always collapses at the king's effectual call. Me? Don't you imagine Abigail thought that? Me? He wants to marry me? That's the way I feel. Gospel doesn't make people arrogant. It makes them servants. Gospel don't make people proud. It makes them humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. And hadn't He?

Verse 42, And Abigail hasted, hurried, and arose, and rode upon an ass with five damsels of hers that went after her. And she went after the messengers of David and became his wife. She left behind her home. Listen, Nabal was a wealthy man. She left behind her wealth. She left her comfort. She left everything that was familiar to her and she followed God's anointed king into the wilderness. He's not yet on his throne. He's not yet coming to the kingly honor of his kingdom. But she didn't hesitate. She hasted it said. You know, a believer who's been awakened to who Christ is, they don't delay. They don't put this off till tomorrow. Grace makes the heart willing.

And what did God give her? Everything. He gave her everything. A better life, a better husband than she had. While the wife of a fool, that was what his name meant, and a fool he was, becomes the bride of a king. Oh, that's God's doing. Do you hear what I'm saying to you? The fools we are. God sends his son as our king and husband. That's what salvation is. We leave the old life and we leave the old master and we're joined to Christ. He's the king of kings. And her submission is joyful, not grudgingly. She doesn't go because she's forced to go. She goes because she wants to. Don't you want to serve Christ? Yes, God changes you want to. The believer's relationship with Christ is not coerced, it's a glad and a willing devotion. The king initiates and she responds, and Christ calls his people and what do they do? They come. It's effectual, it's an effectual call. That simply means that you can't resist his will. You wanna come, you're glad to come, and you're gonna come. You're not gonna be fighting and kicking all the way. What a picture we have here of the sinner's willing and joyful response to the call of the Savior.

Now, David, he'd lost his wife, Micah. He'd been wronged. But God gave him Abigail. Her name means joy of the Father. And she represents you and I as believers. It's hard for me to believe that when the Lord looks upon us, we're His joy. Isn't that something? I remember, well, you know, my name, David, I've always, that's what I answered to, you know. It means beloved. That's hard for me to believe. that God would give me that name. She was God, the Father's joy, a woman of discernment, a woman of grace, a woman of spiritual depth. And the believer must always remember that when God takes something out of their life, he's not punishing them, he's preparing them. When it comes to his people, he always does what's right. Some losses are really deliverances. And some delays are really preparations. And often God empties our hands of some things so that we're able to receive the things that He brings next.

Then in verse 43, we're reminded once again that there are no perfect types of Christ. I tell you that all the time. All the types and pictures of Christ in the Old Testament are imperfect because the types themselves are mere sinful men and women. David is no exception. And we'll see later on, especially in 2 Samuel, of just how true that is. David's not excluded. Yes, he was a man after God's own heart, but he was a man. He was a man after God's own heart. His choices here will later bring pain. Verse 43, look at this. David also took Ahinoam, I believe that's how you say it, of Jezreel, and they were both of them his wives. Now, why did David take a second wife? Well, we're not really given any detailed explanation here. It just says that he took this woman of Jezreel to be his wife. It doesn't seem to be out of love or romance. It looks to be a strategic political move.

You know, it was common in ancient Eastern times for rising kings to form alliances with other nations and tribes through marriages. And no doubt a Hinnom of Jezreel strengthened David's standing among key tribal groups in Judah. And these marriages were often just political tools, not personal choices driven by affection. It just, it was an advantage for him to take hers as his wife. He made alliances with more people. It strengthened his hand. It strengthened his army, his political standing.

But that's really all beside the point. The lesson here is this. Even through men and women's mistakes, and we make plenty of them, don't we? Even through all our bad choices, we make a lot of bad choices. I make a lot of bad choices. I have. I've made a lot of bad choices. But God's purpose is always, always, always accomplished. What good news that is for us. Because if God only worked through perfection, we would all be passed over.

The flaws and failures of someone like David shows us the beauty of the Lord Jesus and His perfection. You see, a type of Christ can not only show us the positive things, but it can also show us the negative things about ourself that shines a brighter light upon the perfection of our Lord. It's kind of like, you know, the jeweler, you know, wanting to show you a beautiful diamond or white pearl gets out that black backdrop and puts it against it. And sometimes what a type of Christ is shows us the type's flaws so that we see Christ in a better light.

Later on, David's house, because of this decision to take another wife, made things messy, divided, and gave him a flawed household. His wife's competed for his affection. His sons warred one against another, and his family suffered greatly, and yet this contrast points to Christ and his marriage that'll never fail. See, when we see David making a mess of things, we see Christ who did it all perfectly. He has a marriage that'll never fail. And that's his marriage with us, the bride, the church of Christ.

When the Lord Jesus took his redeemed bride, the church, it cost him the shedding of his blood and the taking of his life. And it's affectional. It'll never fail. The Lord doesn't build his church through perfect human vessels, but through his sovereign mercy and grace and purpose. David's taking of a hen on is an imperfect shell of Christ gathering his own spotless bride. And he does so by grace, not merit, completing what fallen men and women could never accomplish. Even if they picture the Lord Jesus in other ways as David did.

And this verse is much more than just a historical note. It highlights the nature of God's grace to even the most unworthy. Who does he have grace to? Wretched, no good, no count, sinners. That's what he came to say. Faithful, sane, worthy of all acceptation. Christ came into the world to save who? Good folks. The righteous. The perfect. There is none. Sinners. Christ came into the world to save sinners. Paul said, of whom I'm chief. And if Paul is the chief sinner, what does that make me? Neither of these two women earned a place as his bride. Their marriages were based on David's choosing. And what a beautiful picture that is. Paul said, for by grace are you saved. It's only by God given faith. It's not something within us. It's the gift of God. It's not by works that we've done. where His workmanship, the Scripture says, created where? In Christ Jesus. That's where His perfect work was accomplished in Christ, not something we did. He restores us fully. He doesn't renovate us. He doesn't make us better. He doesn't take wretches like we are and improve them and renovate them, and then they're able to do something that He'll accept. No, it doesn't work that way. We're His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. It's Christ's work that saves us. No other way to be saved, Ephesians 2, 8, 9.

Now, verse 44, it says, but Saul had given Micah his daughter, David's wife, to Phauti, the son of Laish, which was of Galem. Now this shows us a king named Saul in rebellion trying to undermine God's chosen man. You see, Saul didn't just pursue David. He tried to destroy him any way he could. He gave his daughter Micah, who was David's wife, to another man in order to hurt David, cause him suffering, ruin his reputation. Why look, this man is no good. He ran off and left his wife. He made her lie for him. Act like he was sick. put a dummy in a bed and pretend it was him, he's no good. He sought to ruin his reputation. And it's a bitter unjust mood fueled by jealousy and hatred.

But the lesson here is this, the sin of man can never overturn the purpose of God. Just as the sin of Joseph's brothers, who hated him without a cause, were jealous of him. They couldn't overturn God's purpose for Joseph to save much people alive, could they? They tried. They threw him in a pit, he got sold into slavery, he got accused in Potiphar's house, he went to prison, and he winds up on the throne of Egypt to save diverse nations. God's anointing suffers unjust before being exalted, and again, this is a foreshadowing of Christ. Our Lord faced wrongful opposition from the day he came into this world. He suffered betrayal, he suffered loss before entering into his glory as the savior and justifier of all that God the Father gave to him. And in this, David's path previews our Lord's.

And Saul's abuse of authority shattered David's marriage with Micah, but the gospel shows us the opposite. Christ, the greater king, does not have his bride torn away from him. You just try. None can pluck her from his hand. He rescues her. He cleanses her. He keeps her. He never gives her to another. God's faithfulness is never threatened by human wickedness. Saul's spitefulness here only highlights the contrast. Saul's kingdom is collapsing under sin. David's kingdom is being established by God. And in the gospel, the contrast is even greater. Adam's failed kingdom is contrasted in Christ's enduring and saving kingdom. And chapter 25 highlights this all so well.

Now I'm about finished. Nabal's foolishness, he was a foolish man. And Saul's jealousy illustrate to us human failure. God's faithfulness remains. Doesn't change God's faithfulness. This foreshadows the gospel. Christ always secures victory for his people. It doesn't matter what wickedness comes against you. It doesn't matter what the world does to you. It doesn't matter what anyone does to you. If you're one of his, he is out to do you good. How? He's working all things together for your good. Human sin and injustice is evident in this world in which we live, but God's purpose of redemption and protection for His people always prevails. And the Lord Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that. He suffered unjustly, yet as He did, He at the same time accomplished His purpose and salvation for His own.

So may we always remember that when human sin and injustice seem to triumph, and it often does, doesn't it? When the wicked rebel against God's divine purpose, His purpose cannot be defeated. It's not going to stop Him. It's not going to thwart His purpose in any way. It's going to be accomplished always.

Though David faced loss, betrayal, and all such schemes against him, God protected him through it all. He winds up as king. He winds up on the throne. He's a man after God's own heart. And this all points to Jesus Christ, the anointed one, the king of kings who suffered rejection and betrayal and death at the hands of sinful men. Yet God's ultimate purpose of salvation was accomplished. And the gospel shows us no human opposition can undo what God has promised to do.

Aren't you glad? I tell you, this little mealy-mouthed Jesus that I hear about today, I could find no comfort or assurance or confidence at all if I was left in His hand. But my Savior is God. He's just. And He's the justifier of those who believe in Him. And through the Lord Jesus Christ, every believer is secure in God's faithful love to an inhale.

What does that mean for you and me? Full restoration. We get back much, much, much, much more than we lost.