Most of you have heard this story
before. You've read it before. We've
looked at it together at least six or seven times. I hope and
pray and hope that you will too, that the Lord will make this
brand new to you. I hope that you will listen to
it for yourself. And when I was studying it, it
just blessed my heart. It blessed my heart. This is a true story, not an
old Jewish fable. It's a true story. And it's a
story that represents the Lord Jesus Christ and His great salvation. We know this is true because
it speaks so clearly of Christ, so clearly. We know this is God's
Word for that reason, don't we? Our Lord said, they are they
which testify of me, all the way through, all these old stories. are real stories of real men
and real women like David and Abigail and Nabal. But they're
stories that represent the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation
of His people. That's why this story is in here.
That's why this book was written, to bear witness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That you might know Him, whom
to know is to have eternal life. If you don't know Him, you're
going to perish. If you don't bow to Him, you're going to perish. David is king. And at this time, he doesn't
look like a king. He looks just like a man. He
said to Nabal in that, he said, your son, didn't he? When our
Lord Jesus Christ came as a man, He said there was no beauty about
Him that we should desire Him. There was no form or comeliness.
He was not tall, dark, and handsome. He wasn't born royally in a palace. He didn't wear royal robes. He was just a common man. He
called Himself the Son of Man. And most people didn't see a
kingship in Him, a royalty in Him, but He was. He always has been king. In fact,
he is everyone in here. He is your king right now. He
is your Lord right now. David in this story was reigning
and ruling over everything that Nabal and Abigail had. Though
Nabal didn't acknowledge him, though Nabal didn't know him,
he's Nabal's king all right. And he's not Nabal's king when
Nabal says he'll let him be king. That's what fools say, don't
they? That's what foolish preachers say. Let Jesus be your Lord.
O people, He is your Lord. And right now,
you're in His hands to save and to crush. And He's a good man. He's a merciful
man. He's a kind man like David. He
delights to show mercy. He has an open hand right there.
He's King. Christ is King. We sang that
song, Oh, worship the King, shouldn't we? Everything we are and have
is from His hand. Daily loatheth us with benefits.
All shall worship the King. That's what Psalm 2 said. I have,
God said, I will declare the decree, I've set my King on my
holy hill of Zion. He said, let everything that
hath breath worship my Son. We're doing a good thing here
today, our reasonable service unto our King as servant. He
said, kiss the Son lest he be angry, lest he be angry. David's king, he represents the
Lord Jesus Christ. There's this fool, a fool named
Nabal. Look at verse 2 and 3. The reason
he's a fool, verse 2 and 3 says he was a man whose possessions
were in Carmel on earth. He had possessions on earth.
He had none in heaven. He was a very great man, meaning
he had great possessions. many material possessions, 3,000
sheep, 1,000 goats, sharing his thriving business. His name was
Nabal. That means fool. Why was he a
fool? This man is a fool because he
doesn't fear God, number one. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. A fool is one who only has possessions
on this earth, material things. And you gain your life, our Lord
said, and lose your soul. This man's a fool because he
doesn't give God the glory for his riches. He doesn't acknowledge
God. He thinks, I did this. What a
fool. We may look at Hannah's prayer
Wednesday night. Hannah. She said, don't talk
so exceedingly proud or arrogantly. God maketh rich, and God maketh
poor. He killeth and maketh light.
You see, the Lord gives, and you know something, He will
take it all away. He's going to take it all away. except the unspeakable gift. It's a fact. A man's a fool if
he doesn't understand that we brought nothing into this world,
and everything we have is by the grace of God, and God's going
to take it, what belongs to Him, take it all back. And this man, nope. And this man, all his business,
all his possessions was in this world. He doesn't acknowledge
God's King. He has no use for David. He is the one God sent. God in great
mercy and grace to Israel sent His blessed King David, a type
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David. God who is rich
in mercy sent His blessed Son into this world of fools. And everybody in here was a fool,
if not one still. God sent His Son into this world
that he that believeth on his Son might have everlasting life.
But a fool says, we all did esteem him strict and smitten of God,
despised and rejected him. Who is Jesus Christ? He doesn't acknowledge God's
King. He's not great to God. He's a fool. He's great to men. Everybody on earth thought, what
a great man Nabal is. I sure want to be like Nabal.
Oh, no you don't. You want to be like Abigail.
Well, what does she have? She has a fear of God and a knowledge
of His King. We have, as a woman, In town,
it's very rich. Very rich. In houses and lands. She had literally thousands of
acres all over this southwest Virginia. And she's been marking
her territory. Literally. Marking, laying claims,
saying, this is mine. Everywhere. It's mine. People, I've got news for you.
Psalm 24 says, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and the inhabitants thereof. We don't own a blessed
thing, people. We don't own a thing. God, whatever we have, it's on
loan to us. This man's a fool because he
won't listen to anyone. He won't listen. He's married
to a wise woman. He's married to a good woman.
He's married to a God-fearing woman, a godly woman. A wise woman. He will not listen
to anyone. It says he's churlish. Verse
3, he's a churlish man. Churlish means hard, stubborn,
stiff-necked. that even his servants said,
no, you can't talk to him. He won't listen to you. He knows
everything. He thinks he knows everything
because he has a lot of money, because he has a lot of things.
He thinks he knows everything. He's a fool. Why? Because he
doesn't know God. He doesn't know David. David's
his king. He's a fool because he's rejecting
the one that right at that moment is protecting everything he has. At that very moment, he's sustaining
his life. Nabal's life is in David's hands
at that very moment. And Nabal's rejecting him. What
a fool! Like a dog biting the one that
feeds him. What a fool. Fools, God says, say no God. There's no God. Who is the Lord?
Pharaoh said that I should serve Him. You're going to find out,
buddy. You're going to find out. He's going to cast you into the
river. You'll find out real soon. It's
salvation to find out before He does that. And bow. Make haste. The fool won't give
God the glory, but robs Him. Will a man rob God? Malachi said,
will a man rob God? Yes, he will. But he won't get
away with it. He's got to get it back. Fools, males and females, are
married to fools. They won't listen to them. You
know, this makes Abigail a fool of them. She married this man. She knew what he was. He hadn't
changed. She knew. That made her a fool, didn't
it? Was she unconverted at the time? Probably. Oh, but God was
so good to Abigail, wasn't He? Abigail was one of His elects.
We'll look at that in just a moment. David saw this man. David was
watching this man. David heard all about him. David
was watching this man. David's king. Though He doesn't
look like it, He is. Though men can't see Him on the
throne, He's reigning. So is our God. So is our Lord. The eyes of the Lord, Scripture
says, run to and fro through the earth. Behold Him, the good
and the evil. His eyelids behold, His eyelids
try the sons of men, Scripture says. Listen to this. The Word
of God is quick and powerful. This is what beholds men. and makes them naked. There's
no creature, he says, not manifest in his sight. All things are
naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. David is watching Nabal and his
stuff and his men, and Nabal doesn't realize it, but he's
going to. It's going to be too late. Abigail
realizes it. She makes haste. This is an urgent message, people. It really is. This is true. That's
why I started out by saying this is true, not just an old story,
not just good preaching. This is true right now. Right
now, if you don't know Christ. Alright. He sent ten young men,
David, in mercy, in grace, in great kindness. and peace, sent
ten young men to give this blessed message of peace and protection
and salvation. Sent ten young men, verses 4
and 5. It says, he sent these ten young men to Carmel, go to
Nabal, greet him in my name. Sent in the name. Sent by David
the king. Ten young men. and say to him, peace be to you,
peace be to your house. And now they said to you, you
have shearers, you have shepherds, we haven't hurt them, nothing
missing of all that thou hast, we've watched over you, we've
watched over your men, sure that nothing would happen to them,
and so give what is their reasonable due to my men, they need some
food." David sent this word. Give to my young men who come
with this message of peace and goodwill. Give them what's their
reasonable due. Now we don't say, and I am not
young now, but when I first came here I was, 33, and same message,
same exact message. But we, God sends preachers. with the gospel, gospel of peace,
message of peace and of salvation. We don't tell men, God loves
you, Christ died for you. We don't tell them that. We don't
say, peace, peace, when there is no peace. But we do say, there
is peace with God. God has sent peace on earth,
and peace with God is through the Lord Jesus Christ. We come
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We come preaching this
gospel of peace concerning God's Son, who is our peace, who was
made sin for His people, came to bear their iniquity and be
made their sin and give them His righteousness. But there
is peace to be had. And there's peace for all who
bow. It's a blessed message. Look
at verse 8. It says, We come in a good day.
You see that? Let the young men find favor
in thy eyes, give what's their due. We come in a good day. This
is a good day. Today's a good day. You know
that? Like Hebrews says, Today is a
day of salvation. This is a good day. It's a good
day. I have one. It's a good day. The gospel is
being preached. One more time. One more time. This might be
it. It's a good day. It's a good day. I've got good
news for you. This might be it. I am serious,
people. I speak as one, preach as one,
and may never preach again. As a dying man to dying men.
Christ died and arose and is coming again soon. It might be
tonight. And I tell you, there's peace
with God for all who bow to Him, all who worship Him, all who
kiss the sun, all who come to the King for mercy. But do it
in haste. Don't wait till tomorrow. They may meet on tomorrow. Young
people, don't wait on tomorrow. Don't say, well, I'll get older.
Oh, no. And I'm here to tell you that
everything you have, God's given you, and everything you are and
have, the Lord's tender mercies over all His work. And He's protecting
you, and He's giving to you, and He's having mercy on you,
and He's having grace towards you, and He's protecting you
and providing for you. You know, we come here, we're
not doing God a favor. We're coming here for thanking
Him for all that He is and all that He has done for us, especially
through His Son. They said, you look around, they
told Nabal and his son, you look around, they'll tell you. Heavens
declare His glory. The firmament showeth His handiwork.
Day unto day others' speech. The goodness of God should lead
us to repentance. God keeps giving. We give in support of the Gospel.
Those of you who have heard this great news, give to support those
who preach the Gospel. It's nothing, is it? And we're
not giving anything that belongs to us. We're giving back. David said that in 1 Chronicles
29. He said, it's of thine own hand that we receive, and we're
just giving back what you gave us. Thanks be unto God for His
unspeakable gift. And in gratitude to Him, it's
the least we could do. You know that David said, you
give to these young men. David doesn't need anything.
David doesn't need anything. If he were hungry, he wouldn't
ask an eight ball. He'd take it. Well, He has to these young
men. And if He does it to these young
men, He's done it to David. Right? Isn't that what our Lord
said? Now look at the king's wrath and
old Nabal. Here's a fool, Nabal verses 10 says, who is David?
Who is this son of Jesse? There's many servants now today.
And men today mock and scoff and make fun and say, there's
been many Christ, many Messiahs come around. Who is this Jesus?
I've heard of Him. Yeah, but I don't believe Him.
I read these blogs on Sermon Audio sometimes. It's sickening
me. It makes me tremble to hear,
you can't believe some things people say. You can't believe
it. Defying God. Defying God. Calling God sick. Calling God a monster. Who is
this David? You're going to find out. You're
going to find out. Oh my. Who is this? He said, I've killed.
This is all mine. It's all mine. David said to
his young men, strap on your swords. He said, I'm going to kill every
male, every man. There will be nothing left. The women will just die out.
I'll kill them all. You know, if someone
thinks that God loves everybody, think again. I was going to have
you look with me at Psalm 5, 5, 11, 5, 11, 7, 7, 11, these
passages that talk of the wrath of God. John 3, most people know verse
16, they don't know what verse 36 says. He that believeth not,
the wrath of God abideth on him. Not the love of God. Those that
reject God's Son, God doesn't love them. He's angry with the
wicked every day. And though He protects, His wrath
is coming down. It's coming down. Kiss the Son,
that's why it's an urgent message. Oh my, God is rich in mercy and
grace and gives some people an understanding and a wise heart
to know Him that is true. This woman named Abigail, enough
of that fool. The Lord gave this woman Abigail,
it says, of good understanding. She was a woman of good understanding
and a beautiful countenance. Two things that are usually mutually
exclusive. To be pretty and to be wise.
They generally don't go together. But she was both. I know she
was a woman of good understanding, but I think she was of a beautiful
countenance because she knew God. And if God's face shines on your
face, your face will shine brightly. A wise woman of good understanding.
Why is she of good understanding? She understands and knows Him
that is true. true King. She fears God. She
knows David is His King. She knows the King has been good
and merciful and gracious. Here's a wise person. They know
that God is good, that God is merciful, that God is gracious,
and that God has sent His Son to be a propitiation for our
sins. His blood on the mercy seat.
He's been so good to us, so kind to us in sending this unspeakable
gift. And all that I am and all that I have has been given to
me by the grace of God. And all that I owe, I owe to
Him. and I'd bow to his blessed son and acknowledge him in everything."
That's a wise person. And she knows the king is angry.
He's not all love. He's angry. And she's concerned
about her house. And she's concerned about those
she loves. David's coming down hard. And
she warns them all, and she intercedes on their behalf. Abigail is not
only a sinner who comes to Christ for mercy, but she represents
Christ Himself. She represents the one mediator
between God and men. Those servants of hers came to
her and said, you've got to do something. David's going to kill
us all. Abigail said, I'll do it. And
she brought those things, you know. Blood. She brought bread
and wine on behalf of those men. She prayed on their behalf and
said, let thine iniquity fall on me. Let me be made sin for
them, Christ said. Accept them on my behalf. And David did. And God does. Accepted in the blood. That's
another part of that story. See, Christ is all and in all
of this. That Abigail comes as a sinner
in need of mercy. And she made haste. How do I
know she's a seeker? How do I know she's... I found
somebody that's really listening to this. She made haste. She couldn't
get there quick enough. She had to hear from David's
mouth. You're not going to kill me. Like Manoah's wife, huh? She came to the king for mercy
for her house. She came to the king for mercy
for herself. She came with an offering, bread
and wine and blood of a lamb. Our people, Scripture says, he
that believeth who God is and what we are will make haste.
This is a good day. Today is a day of salvation.
Why will you die? Scripture says. Why tarryest
thou? Arise, be baptized, washing away thy sin, confessing thy
sin, as mercy for every sinner that comes by Christ's blood
and righteousness. Bring forth fruit, meet for repentance
like her. Verse 19 says she didn't tell
her husband. She didn't tell her husband.
I know why. There's some in here who are
married to fools, male and female. And you've talked to them and
talked to them and talked to them, and they won't hear you until
you quit talking. Well, let me tell you, let me
just say this. Don't quit talking. Don't do it. But I think she
didn't tell him. She's bringing all of this. She's
bringing all this stuff. to David, and she didn't tell
him because he would have tried to stop her. He said, oh no,
you're not going to give that to that fellow. Let not your right hand know
what your left hand does. She said, oh, he's not going
to stop me from giving what I must give out of gratitude. He's not
going to stop me. Let him go to hell. I ain't doing
it. I ain't doing it. That's what she said. She talked
to him. She blew into faith. He wouldn't
listen. He's a churlish man. He's a fool.
She didn't tell her husband. She didn't tell her husband.
Oh, my. She hasted. Look at her confession
real quickly. I've got to hurry. Verse 23 and
24. She saw David. She saw him coming. And his majesty,
riding in his majesty with a sword strapped on his side. David's not coming meek and lowly. He's not going to ask her anything.
He's not going to ask anybody anything. He's not going to knock
on anybody's door. He's going to burn their houses
down. She saw him. King of kings. Lord of lords. She ran to meet
Him. She ran to meet the one she feared. She ran to meet the one whom
they sinned against. She ran to the very one whose
life was in her hands. She ran to Him. Our Lord said,
Come unto Me! He said, Do you think I've come
to sing peace on this earth? A sword! He said, I've come to
bring a fire, our Lord said, and it's already kindled. Oh, may it burn in our hearts.
And our Lord said, but come unto Me. Hurry! All ye that labor
and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Come unto Me. If you
wait, if you don't come, I'm coming for you and all that you
have. But come. Bow. He will have mercy. She did. She fell at his feet. She saw David as he was. She
hasted, lighted off her ass and fell before David on her face
and bowed herself to the ground and fell at his feet and says,
I'm a sinner. My husband's a sinner. Every
one of us are sinners. Here's her message. This is what we heard on the
radio this morning. Confession of sin and a promise
of mercy. You hear it? Well, hear it again. Here's the confession of sin.
To everyone that confesses, I'm nothing but a sinner. Would you
please have mercy on me? David's a merciful man. David
loves to show mercy. He delights to show mercy. He's
like his Lord. She comes seeking mercy. Comes
bringing that which he loves, bread and wine. Lamb, blood of
a lamb. Oh, blessed is the man whom God
chose. Why do I know she's elect? Because
she comes seeking mercy. She comes bringing what God told
her to bring. That's how I know. Do you? Blessed is that man or
woman whom God has chosen and causes to approach unto Him.
God will accept, God will receive, God will hearken to, will hear
every single sinner's cry that comes to Him in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, seeking mercy by His blood and righteousness.
Every single one. If you all don't want to hear
this on Sermon Audio, anybody, anybody out there, Come now! Come now! It will soon be too late." And playing games here. Not just being a preacher and
shouting. This is true. Christ said, Come! He commandeth
all men everywhere to repent, not this mealy mouth, oh God
love you, just take your time, it will be okay. No! Wrath of
God abides upon the ungodly, angry with the wicked every day,
hateth all workers of iniquity. This is the God of the Bible,
Barnard used to say. The God of the Bible, the Jesus
Christ of Scripture. And I can't scare anybody into
salvation, I'm not trying to, but the fear of the Lord. By
the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. Abigail saw Christ,
Jesus, yes, saw David, but saw Christ. came and bowed at his
feet like Mary Magdalene. Oh, if He gave me what I deserve,
He'd kill me, Mary Magdalene, and say, but I'm at your feet
for mercy. I'm suing you for mercy. I'm
pleading with you for mercy. Would you accept me, O Lord?
I know you came to save sinners, and I'm the worst. Will you save
me? What'd David do? What'd David do? And he'll do
it for every single one. If you don't, if you don't get
off your ass, I just said it, didn't I? Come! Can't help but think that's a
play on words, the Lord used, isn't it? Huh? Get up! Come,
bow, believe, confess Him if you don't. Yeah, I know God's elect and
He's sovereign. If I'm one of His elect, He'll
save me. You're going to perish is what you're going to perish
to. Just like that. If you don't seek the Lord. If you don't ask him. That's
what Nabal said. That's what Nabal said. And he
didn't hear any of this. He didn't believe any of this.
And he's drinking himself drunk. And he's eating and drinking
and drinking himself senseless. All the while, David is going
to kill him. There's another story later on. when Abigail is taken captive
by the Amalekites and the Ziklang. Alright? Abigail and all her
fellows are taken captive by the Amalekites, and David comes
and finds out. And he's going to get them. And
Abigail, I know, I know she said to her Amalekite captive, to
those whom she was captive to, like the believers in the world,
I know she told them, listen, you don't know who you're messing
with. I'm David's bride. He's coming
for me. He's a powerful man. He's a mighty
man. And he ain't happy. He ain't
happy. And he's coming for me. David's
a merciful man. My husband's a gracious man.
My husband's a loving man. If you right now will drop your
guns, if you right now will stop this foolishness, if you right
now call on him, he's watching you. David was up on the hill
at that store, watching them with their swords strapped on.
And Abigail said, right now, everybody drop what you're doing
and bow down and say, have mercy on us, O son of David. He will. He will. It's what kind of man
he is. And he laughed, turned his scorn.
Ha! They don't see him. Where is he? Where's the promise
of his coming? Oh, he did. But he took Abigail out of there.
Twice. Twice, Melanie. At the end of Nabal, he was drinking
himself drunk, and it came to pass when that morning light
came up, He heard about this and says his heart died, verse
37, within him. He became as a stone. It doesn't
mean he died right then. It means he hardened his heart. I'm not going to hear any more. Abigail told him again, Roberta,
and he said, I'll hear no more of this matter. Until ten days later, he's gone. Everything he has,
gone. Gone. But this story ends wonderfully. It's going to be a marriage.
She's married to a bad man. A fool. She was a fool. She's not a fool anymore. She's
married to another. And David sent word. Oh, look at this. Oh, I love
this. First Samuel 25 says, verse 39,
David heard Nabal was dead, blessed be the Lord. And he said it down
in verse 39, he sent and communed with Abigail. He sent his young
man, verse 40, he sent his servant, to commune with Abigail. Oh,
that the Lord would commune with you in here this morning. Oh,
that the Lord has communed with somebody. Anybody. Anybody the
Lord would commune with. That the Lord, this is how He
does it to me. To preach the gospel. Oh, that the Lord has
communed with somebody this morning. To tell you the good news. that this King, this all-powerful
King who is angry with the wicked every day, has sent me with good
news. If you bow to Him, you believe
Him, you trust Him, you come to Him for mercy through His
blood and righteousness, He is sent to tell me, He is going
to marry you. He is going to marry you. He loves you. He loves you. He set His love
upon you. Notice it didn't say, He came
to ask you for your hand in marriage. It said, He's come to take you.
He's come to take you. He sent the young men down there
to tell her, to fetch her. Verse 40, see the Lord, the King
of kings always fetches people, doesn't He? Verse 40, the servants
came to commune with her, and they spake unto her and said,
David sent us to thee to take you. Where are we going? You're
going to Him. He sent me to take you to Him.
God fetches His people twice. When the Gospels preach to a
young man, an old man, through the preachers of the Gospels
sent by God, how shall they hear without a preacher? Oh, how beautiful
are their feet. She saw those men coming. She heard the message straight
from David's mouth. But then she saw those men coming.
Oh, she said, I love those men. Oh, they've got good news for
me. I know. David said, what is it? What is it? What is it?
And they said to her, Abigail, David loves you. He can have any woman he wants.
Any woman he wants in all the kingdoms. But Abigail, we're
sent to tell you, he's coming in. Yeah, He doesn't need what
you've got. He's got. He doesn't need your
stuff. You need Him. He came for her. And He took her. She arose and saw Him, verse
41, and bowed herself to the earth and said, Behold, let Thine
handmaid be a servant. She was so grateful, so happy,
just so thankful to be spared and
you had mercy on her and to be included in his household. She
said, I just want to be a servant. Just let me be a servant. Well,
you can be that, but... And she came in and David said,
you can wash the servant's feet, but you're my bride. You're going
to sit by me. You're now a joint heir with
me. She brought five damsels with her. She told them, come,
come, come, come. One of them, down there in verse
43, a Hinoam of Jezreel, David married her too. Anybody? Anybody? Abigail means father of source of goodness. Abigail means
father of joy. Ahinoam means the brother of
pleasantness. Who for the joy set before Him,
Christ endured the cross, despised the shame, sat down at the right
hand of God, and it pleased the Lord. Joy and pleasantness, it
pleased the Lord to make you His bride. Gave the Father great pleasure. And He took them both. And they're
there right now. They're there right now. May we be found with them. Okay, number 16, in closing,
hymn number 16. Stand as we sing, I think it's
the first, third, and last verse. Yeah.