I want you to turn with me first
of all to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I checked. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Our text
will be in 1 Samuel 25. We'll get to that in a moment.
Make a few opening remarks. We're going to be studying, once
again, the son of David. A scripture says that we read
a while ago, Psalm 53-1, Psalm 14-1, the fool hath said in his
heart, There's no God. That is, in the
fullest sense. Can you hear me, Sherry? In the
fullest sense of the word, of the name, God, there's no God,
the fool. A lot of foolish people today,
aren't they? The fool has said in his heart
there is no God. But Proverbs 8, Proverbs 8, verses
8 and 9 say, that the words of God, His words
are plain to them that understand. The word of God is plain to them
that understandeth and writes true to him that findeth knowledge. Another scripture says he that
is spiritual first Corinthians chapter two verse fifteen says
he that is spiritual. Discern it or understand it all
things. He is truly spiritually minded. And if you'll read the context
there in chapter two, first Corinthians, it says, God has given these
things unto us by his spirit, this understanding by his spirit.
So he that has been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, he discerns
or understands, he or she, all things, all things, or things
that are necessary to understand. It's quite evident to you and
to me. I look out on nearly everybody
here, and I can say this with pretty much confidence on ninety-eight
percent of you anyway. It's quite evident to you and
me that God is God. We don't say there's no God.
We try to worship God in spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
put no confidence in the flesh. We try to worship God as God,
and we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, which
John said, he that believes as born of God. It's quite evident
to us that Christ is the Lord of heaven, and that the Holy
Spirit is his sovereign all-powerful effectual messenger. And that's
why it's evident to us. That's why it is clear to us
who God is and who Christ is and what we are. Here's what
John said in 1 John 5 verse 20. He said, we know. You go through
and read John's epistle there. So many times he says, we know,
we know this. He doesn't Conjecture, he doesn't,
he's not presuming, he's saying, I know this for a fact. We know, he says, that the Son
of God has come. He's come. We know this. And
hath given us an understanding. He's given us an understanding
that we may know him that is true. Now, Terry I don't think it's entered into
our hearts and our minds right now just what a blessing this
is. We take it for granted, don't
we? That God has given us an understanding of the true God,
to know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true. Even
in His Son, Jesus Christ, this is true God and eternal life. Like Christ said in John 17 3,
this is eternal life that you may know, they may know thee.
the only true God in Jesus Christ. Now, we're all born fools, aren't
we? Born fools. Born losers. Born fools. That is, we're all
born without this knowledge of God. We're without God, without
the knowledge of God. And we do not become wiser with
age, do we? Some of you were Up in years
when God revealed himself to you hadn't become wiser if anything
you become more ignorant and more foolish. Churlish is the
word. Churlish and Romans chapter one
talked about people that did not like to retain God in their
knowledge. The older you get, the more set
in your ways, unless you even think about God. Don't ever like
to think about God. This is the reason people, violent
people, approaching their deathbeds in their seventies and eighties,
they think they're going to live forever. Why? They don't want to think
about God. They don't want to think about death. Don't give
them a thought. This not liking to retain God
in our knowledge, this is proved by our intellectual society that
we live in. All the agnostics and atheists
and so forth, we're headed that direction. We're professing themselves
to be wise, the scripture says, and that's this, and that's the
United States of America. We've become wise and we're in
a technological age, computerized generation. professing themselves
to be wise, they became fools. I mean, even more foolish than
we. They didn't become fools. They just proved themselves to
be more foolish. And they say things like this.
Who is God? Who is God? Who is Christ? But blessed are
your eyes, they say, and your ears, they hear. And who made
you to differ, though? One of my favorite passages.
Think of it quite often, 1 Corinthians 4, 7. Who made you to differ? Why do you give God a thought,
more than a passing thought? You worship God. You think about
God. You commune with God. You talk
to God. You seek God. Why? Why you and
not your cronies you work with? Why you and not your brothers
and sisters? Why you and not your mom and dad or maybe even
some of your children? Why? From which comes your wisdom? From which comes this change,
this repentance, this change of life and heart and mind? Where
does it come from? The Scripture says true wisdom
comes from above, from above. John said a man can receive nothing
except it be what? Given him from above. given him,
because the natural man receives not the things of God, does he?
It's foolishness, isn't it? The natural man, the natural
woman, in all their wisdom, thinks the things of God is absolutely
foolishness. Absolute foolishness. And because
they're so foolish, They have foolish thoughts and foolish
notions and foolish ways, and this is what our generation,
where we're headed, this is where we're at. We call evil good,
and that which is good evil, right? We call the right way
wrong. That is what we preach here,
strictly according to this word. They call it wrong, and they
call the wrong way, which the word preaches against, they call
that right. They call black white and white
black. You talk about fools. This is
where we're at today. They make God like man and make
man like God. Don't they? This is how mixed
up, how... Fools! The fool has said in his
heart, it's no God, I'm God. God looked down, this is the
reason it says, God looked down from heaven upon the children
of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek
after God. He said, no, they're all going
out of the way. There's none. None. That included us, didn't
it? Now look here at 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Do you see your calling,
brethren? First Corinthians one look at
verse eighteen. Let's just read this. We've read it so many times,
but let's read it again. The preaching of the cross, verse
eighteen, is to them that perish foolishness. Even in so-called
fundamentalism and the average Protestant pulpit, you know,
they've gotten away from preaching the cross, blood and so forth.
To them that perish is foolishness, but unto us which are saved,
this is the dynamite of God, this is the power of God. Why
is it like this? Because God said it. He said,
I'll destroy the wisdom of the wise, Isaiah 29, 14. I'll bring
to nothing understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? Because in the wisdom of God,
And this is what's so marvelous. God may show his... Well, let's
go on and read. He explains it. I don't have
to paraphrase it. In the wisdom of God, the world, by their wisdom,
by their intellect and so forth, didn't know God, knew not God.
It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. Jews, after religious, they require a sign. But no sign's
going to be given. The Greeks seek after wisdom.
There's no natural wisdom going to be given. We, but we preach Christ crucified
under the Jews. This is a, this is a stumbling
block under the Greeks. It's foolishness, but under them,
which are called both Jews and Greeks are some of both in there.
Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the
foolishness of God is wiser than men, that is, that which they
think is foolishness. And the weakness of God, or that
is, that which they think is weakness, that is, this old-fashioned
religion, you know, they think it's a crutch. The modern society
thinks this is a crutch. It is. I am leaning on the arms of the
everlasting. I am. It is a crutch. I'll be
the first to confess. It's my crutch. I lean wholly,
not to my own understanding, but to Him. The weakness of God,
what they say is weak, is stronger than men. You see your calling,
brethren. How that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and
the base things of the world, things which are despised, God
hath chosen gay things that are nothing, nobodies, to bring to
nothing things and people that are something, somebody. Why? Because no flesh is going to
glory in His presence. If it were by our natural wisdom,
by our natural gifts and talents and so forth, we'd figure this
thing out on our own. And it's by our decision, our
will, and so forth. I could boast in that, couldn't
I? I could take some credit for my understanding of my salvation.
But God said, no, none of you got it. It was given. If you've
got it, it was given. Don't run around and say, I found
it. No, it was given to you. Don't say, I saw the light. No,
if you see the light, it's because the light shined on you, just
like Saul of Tarsus. He wasn't looking for the light.
No flesh should glory. No flesh is going to glory in
His presence. But it's all of God, verse thirty.
Now, these are marvelous passages. Have you read them so many times
that the meaning's gone out of them? It's of God Almighty that
you're in Christ Jesus, who of God, that is, according to the
good pleasure of the will of God Almighty, He's made unto
you, John Davis of all people. Wisdom. You were a fool like
everybody else, weren't you? Worshipping a God of your own
imagination? Going your own churlish, foolish way? Headlong into sin
and hell? That it's of God that you're
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto you. You see the wisdom
of the universe in this gospel, this glory of God in Christ. And righteousness? It's not unrighteous,
but you, Terry Kinsler, if you're in Christ, you're righteous.
Why? Because Christ was made that way. Sanctification? No,
you don't begin the Spirit made perfect by the flesh. You're
sanctified because Christ sanctified himself. And redemption. He paid that bloody price that's
required of us. Why? That is, according as it
is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord, and
not in himself for his own wisdom. They say, why do you say all
that? Turn back to 1 Samuel now and you'll see why. You'll see
why. You see, in light of that 1 Corinthians
1 there, there were a few hundred men who followed David. Compared to the thousands, millions
all over the world, but the thousands throughout the Mideast at that
time, hundreds of thousands, millions even, there were just
a few hundred followers of this man David. There were few in
number. They were poor. They were miserable.
They lived in a cave. The time when we last left them,
they were in a cave, weren't they? Scared, frightened, troubled,
in debt, distressed, discontented. And David became a captain over
them, a twenty-five, twenty-eight year old young man. a boy by Jewish standards. What a crew! What a crew! In trials and tribulation, these
poor little nobody's, nothing's. Boy, the world, if the world
had thought about that little crew in the cave, what a bunch
of fools. What in the world did they go?
Boy, they'd gone down there in a handful. But they were the
wisest people on the face of the earth, you know? They were
the wisest people on the face of the earth because they were
following the king. They were following the king.
He wasn't king at this time, that is before man, but he was
God's king. He was God's king and they were
living by faith. They were living by faith that
he would be someday made king. And though they had nothing in
the world, they had everything. They had the king. And someday
they were going to see. They were going to reign with
this king. When he got into power, he finally came into power, they
went in with him and reigned and ruled with him. He appointed
them special places. No weak to the world, they were
wise and they were strong in David, as long as they were with
David. Now look here at our story, 1 Samuel chapter 25. Let's look
at this fool. Here's a fool, but he's exactly
what the world would call the wise man. This man is exactly
what the world, who the world would look up to. The men down
in the cave with David, they were a bunch of fools. But this
man who, well, let's read it. 1 Samuel 25, verses 2 and 3. There was a man in Maon whose
possessions were in Carmel, that is, his business was in Carmel. The man was very great. That
is, he was rich, he was famous, he was prosperous, he was well
off. Three thousand sheep. If he had a car, he'd have had
a Mercedes Benz. If he'd had a house, it'd have
been in Hollywood or Palm Springs or somewhere. He'd have had a
yacht. But he had his wealth in sheep
and goats. That was riches back then. Three
thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was sharing his
sheep in Carmel. Now, the name of the man was
Nabal. I like the way God names people. We don't name people according
to where they ought to be named. We name our children. We don't
name our children Chint, Snake, Phineas, that means snake, Hophni,
Jacob, supplanter. You're going to name, you expectant
parents, if that child, are you going to name him Nabal? No,
you wouldn't dream of it. But that was his name and that's
what he was. He was well named. A fool. Why? Well, first of all,
because he was rich only in this world. All of his eggs were in one basket.
He was in sticks. All of his eggs were in one basket. All of his riches were in this
world only. I've told you many times of those
ants that I discovered at one time that made their home in
that garbage can. Tim James tells of an illustration
where he was out chopping wood and he found ants in a log. He
was chopping wood, cut down a tree, and there were ants in this old
log. And he said it was going to be kindling for his fire,
but they made a home out of it. And that's what people do with
this world, don't they? Drive their stakes deep. This is their
home. This is all they've got. They've
put all of their worldly affection and possessions, it's in this
world. It's going to be kindling for God's fire. That makes a
man a fool, doesn't it? That make a man a fool? Secondly,
he was a fool because He didn't know David. Look at verse 5 with
me. It says, David sent out ten young
men, and David said unto the young men, they came down here
where Nabal will shear in his sheep. And David said unto these
young men, you get up to Carmel, go to Nabal, there's a man, a
great man down there named Nabal, greet him in my name. In the
name of David we've come, and they came in peace. These were
good men, fine men. Thus shall you say to him that
liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, peace be to thine
house, peace be unto all that thou hast. God's been good to
you, Nabal. Oh, can't you see how you've
been prospered by the Lord and so forth? God's given you all
the goodness. And now I have heard that thou
hast shearers. Now thy shepherds which were
with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing unto
them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men,
they will show thee. Wherefore, let the young men
find favor in your eyes. We come in a good day. It's a
good day. Give, I pray thee, whatever you
feel like giving, whatever is in the goodness of your heart.
Come unto thine hand. Whatever comes to your hand,
give it to your servants and to your son David." And when
David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all
these words in the name of David, and they quit talking. And Nabal
answered David's servants and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Why, there's many servants nowadays
that break away from every man from his master. Who's David?
If he comes to you in the name of David, who's David? Who's
the son of Jesse? You see, Nabal was a fool. He
didn't know David. Who's David? He's God's king. God has vested in him the power
to destroy your body, man. He's going to be your judge and
your king someday. Someday you're going to stand
before this man. He's going to be your judge. He's God's king.
He might not look like it right now, but he is. Mark it down.
He's God's king. He's Israel's savior. If you
hope to be saved, Nabal, you're going to be saved by this man.
He's God's judge, too. And I tell you what, just like
old Nabal, though a man may be rich and wise in the things of
this world, though he may be rich in this world, if he doesn't
know Christ, he's a fool. He's a fool. If he doesn't have
Christ, I don't care how rich he is in this world, he's bankrupt.
If he doesn't know Christ, if he doesn't know Christ, he doesn't
know anything, because Christ is all. If he doesn't have Christ,
he doesn't have anything, because Christ is all. Look with me over
to 2 Thessalonians. Keep your place there. 2 Thessalonians. You've got to look at this. This
is a powerful passage. And though these men, these few
stragglers, nobodies, nothings, weak, debt-ridden, distressed
men that were hiding out in the cave with David, they were in
dire straits, cave dwellers. much of cave dwellers. Boy, these
fellows were rich and didn't know it because they had to keep. And us, we've seen your calling,
brethren. Look at verse seven, Second Thessalonians,
chapter one, verse seven. You troubled, you distressed,
you in debt like those men, discontented, not found anything in this world
that really satisfies you. Are you troubled? Rest with us. I hope we can do that tonight,
just for a little while. Just rest. Rest in Christ. When the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, look at that,
in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall
be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of His power But someday he's
going to come, he's going to be glorified in his saints, and
he's admired in all of them that believe. The old men down in that cave
didn't have much, did they? Oh, they had David. They had
David. As long as he was with them,
they were rich. And he spoke peace to their hearts. I know
he did. Old Nabal was a fool, thirdly,
first of all, because he put all his eggs in this old world
in his one basket. Secondly, he didn't know who
David was. And men are fooled if they make this world their
only pursuit and set all their affection on things below. And
thirdly, Nabal was a fool because he was self-willed. Look at verse
11 back in the text. He was a selfish man. He was
what you might call a freewheeler. Look at verse 11. When they said,
David needs some provisions down here. Would you give what you've
got? He said, shall I then take my
bread that I've earned by my hard labor
and my sweat, by my industry and my wisdom and wit and power
and industriousness and all? Now, I got this job. I worked
my way up through the ranks. My bread that I've earned? my bread and my water." Now,
wait a minute there, Bob. Where'd bread and water come
from, buddy? "...and my flesh," as if he grew
it, lambs and sheep and goats and all that, "...that I have killed for my
shearers." Do you see all that I and my and me and I? I told
the Lord. I accepted Jesus. Yeah, I did. One day He came to me and I said,
Lord, Lord. He said, What? I decided to believe. I give my heart. I commit. I
dedicate. I consecrate. I rededicate. I'll
give all I've got. I'll serve the Lord. I, I, I.
My, my, my. Man sent it. and give it on the
man whom I know not whence they be self will I will witness the
sin of Satan. I will I will my way that's the
sin of Satan and all his son. I will is the sign of the saint
that we that we what I have I've received that's the sign of a
son. Fourthly Maybaugh was a Fool,
because he rejected David. Verse 14. He rejected David after
hearing from his messenger. One of the young men told Abigail,
Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent out messengers out
of the wilderness to salute our master. And he rolled on them. He flew upon them. The men were
very good unto us. Verse 15. We weren't hurt. He didn't miss anything. Just
talk to them. They were in the field. They
were a wall under us. They did us good. They protected
us. All the while we were with them, keeping the sheep. And
Nabal railed on them. He was a fool because he rejected
David. Romans 10.3 says this, that there's
some people who are ignorant of God's righteousness. They're
going about to establish their own righteousness and have not,
what's the word? submitted, have not submitted
themselves to God's righteousness. What is God's righteousness?
The very next verse says Christ is the end of the law for rights
have not submitted. In other words, they say, still,
we will not have this man to reign over us, certainly not
as the Lord, our righteousness. And in effect, spiritually speaking,
this is what Maybaugh did. And this is what men are doing
today, aren't they? Out and out, reject, cry. Oh, they'll have
a good, they'll have a man who's a humanitarian, a healer, and
get them out of a mess and so forth. And we'll have this sovereign
Lord of righteousness with them. This Lord our righteousness,
Jehovah Sidken, he won't have that. OK, look down to verse
36 with me. But old Nabal was comfortable.
He was rich, increased with goods. He had need of nothing. He had
a false security. He was comfortable in this world.
Look at verse thirty-six. And Abigail came to Nabal, his
wife. We'll see about her in a minute.
And behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of
a king. He didn't have a problem in the world. And Nabal's heart
was merry with him, and he was drunk. Drunk as a skunk. He just
turned away. Just spit in the face of God's
anointed king. God's judge. The only savior. He spit in his face. Turned,
rejected, and spurned him. And he was getting drunk. He
was having a big old time. Not a worry in the world. And she
told him nothing. Let him go. He is a reprobate,
wasn't he? A reprobate. I remind you of
that passage over in Ecclesiastes 8 verse 11 that says, I might
want to mark that down sometime. It says, Because judgment, sentence
against an evil work, is not speedily executed, therefore
the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil. This
is the reason men lay on their bed and wake up first thing in
the morning thinking about plotting evil, and they carry it out.
They live their lives in evil to see how much they can get
by with it. And they do, and God leaves them alone until that
day, until finally there comes a day. And you know what? The
wrath of David was abiding upon this man at that time. David
said, look down at verse, when he heard this, David in verse
13, David said unto his men, get your swords on, boys, we're
going to cut some heads off. We're going to kill everything,
it says here, that pisses against the wall. Let's hear one of these
televangelists just read that verse of Scripture. He said,
we're going to kill every man and boy born to that fool. drunk. He's a fool, wasn't he? The fool said, there ain't no
king. There's no king. Ain't David anyway. You know what the fool said? Jesus Christ ain't my judge.
He loves me. Christ's not going to sit on
the throne and cast men into hell. He wouldn't do that. Why,
he died for me. You just wait around long enough,
bud. You fool. You fool. Mabal didn't know it, but he'd
sinned against the Lord's anointed, hadn't he? And so have men. We, with wicked hands, have taken
and killed the Lord of glory. Well, I mean, so what he didn't
know won't hurt him. Yes, ma'am. It killed him. What he didn't know, or rather
who he didn't know, Terry, killed him. Killed him. Look at verse
37. It came to pass in the morning
when the wine was gone out of Nabal. His wife told him these
things, but you're under the wrath of God. His heart died
within him. He had a stroke, he became as
a stone, and it came to pass ten days later the Lord smoked
an eight ball and he died. Let me read to you from Hebrews
chapter three, listen to this, turn if you want. Christ as a
son over his house, whose house are we if we hold fast to confidence
in the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore?
As the Holy Ghost saith today, if you'll hear his voice, harden
not your hearts, as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the
wilderness. Old Nabal hardened his heart.
His heart came like stone. Well, let's get to the good part,
the good news. Look back at chapter 25, verse
3 now. Let's look at the fool's wife
real quickly. That old fool had a wife. But
it turned out she wasn't so foolish. Look at verse 3, chapter 25.
Now, the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife
was Abigail. She was a woman of good understanding, of beautiful countenance. But
the man was a churlish fool, evil, wicked, no good, wretched,
vile. a fool, though he was of the
house of Caleb. He must have heard the truth
sometime. Well, he did. He heard it from David's servant.
But his wife was a woman of good understanding. Good understanding. Why? Where did her understanding
come from? Why? Who made her to differ? We'll ask that question again.
What did she have that she had not received? The wisdom that
she had, the understanding that she had. That's the reason I
read those verses in 1 Corinthians. Came from above. She didn't figure
out on her own, did she? Listen, folks. She was a fool,
too. She wouldn't have been married
to that fool if she wasn't a fool. Huh? How did that boy swindle
her? Why in the world was she married
to such a fool? That made her a fool. Guilt by association,
you better believe it. I'm not calling any names. Folks, we're fools. Why? Because
we're a member of Adam's race. Guilt by association, right?
We're fools. We're fools and we prove it every
day by what we do, by what we think, by what we get into. We're
fools. Abigail was no different than
her husband. And whatever she had, whatever good understanding,
was given to her from above. Right? Sure it was. The Scripture says, "...the wisdom
that cometh from above." Now listen to this. James says, "...the
wisdom that cometh from above." And he went on to say, "...it's
easy to be entreated." It's easy to be entreated. In
other words, it listens and hears and believes. Abigail was wise
and understanding. What made her wise and understanding? Because she heard those servants,
what they said about David, and she believed. She believed. She heard and she believed. Look
at verse 14. She heard who David was and she
believed who he was. Now, one of the young men told
Abigail, Behold, David sent out messengers and so forth." He
said, "...they were a wall unto us." Down in verse 17, "...now
therefore know and consider what thou wilt do. Evil is determined
against our master, against all his household. He is such a son
of the devil, nobody can speak to him." She heard through a
man. Do you see that? Messengers,
young men, told Abigail. She heard through a man, a servant,
yes, but it was as the words of God to her. No matter if it
was a man, it was as if God had spoken to her. She heard of the
messengers and she heard of who David was. And I tell you what,
spiritually speaking, those that are wise unto salvation, the
wisdom that comes from above, is easy to be entreated. That
is, we're not fools and slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have spoken concerning what? Concerning Christ. All
the prophets have spoken. We believe the prophets, although
they were just men. And we hear the messengers of
Christ, even now. And like Nabal, look at verse
18. She didn't tarry. When she heard
of David, it says, Abigail made haste. When she heard of who
David was, she was in a hurry to get to him, wasn't she? Verse
23. When Abigail saw David, she hasted. She hurried, got off her ass
and fell before him. Fell down before David on her
face and bowed herself to the ground. Abigail was wise because
she understood who David was. The fear of the king gave her
some wisdom, didn't it? And the fear of the Lord is what?
It's the beginning of wisdom. Knowing who Christ is, bowing
for, and I'm not talking about some silly, sentimental Jesus
who wants to and can't and tries and fails and so forth. It's
knowing who the Lord is saying, and bowing and worshiping him
as he is. That's the beginning of wisdom
that's able to make a man wise under salvation, isn't it? And
that wisdom comes from above, doesn't it? Man doesn't figure
that all out on his own. No, his wisdom is totally the opposite
of that. And Abigail was wise because she realized who she
was. She realized who she was. Look at verse 23. And she hasted
and fell down on her face and bowed herself to the ground and
fell at his feet and said, Upon me, my Lord, let this iniquity
be. I pray thee. That sounds like
David later on, doesn't it? Against thee and thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. First twenty five. Oh Lord, I pray thee regard this
man of Belial, even Nabal as his name and he is Nabal his
name. Follies with him, that is I'm
with him. I'm a fool too, because I'm with
him. Now thy handmaid Saul, not the
young men of my Lord, whom thou didst send. First twenty eight.
I pray thee forgive the trespass of thine handmaid. May Abigail
was wired because she knew who David was. She was wired because
she knew who she was. She was wired because she got
to David just as fast as she could. Even though she knew who
he was, even though she knew who she was, she got to David
just as fast as she could. She knew that he was her only
hope. Like a dog. Have you ever whipped
your dog? Your dog get into something,
tear up the garbage or whatever? And you take a belt to it or
whatever, however you whip it. Have you ever had your dog get
in just as close to you as it can? Instead of running from
you, get in next to your feet, you know, get a good blow at
it. Have you ever had that happen? A smart dog will cower up and
lick and come to the master for mercy, right? Isn't that what
the Syro-Phoenician woman did? I'm a dog, I'm a nobody. huddled
up next to the master, hugged up to him. I'm a dog, but I'd
like a crumb or two. Tall woman. In fact, somebody
said, she didn't get a crumb, she got a full plate. Got a full
plate. She got the whole table. And
Abigail, that's what she did. Oh, you know, it doesn't appear
she did anything. But she knew who she was. She
married to a fool. She took part in his foolishness.
And she said, oh, forgive my trespasses. And look at what
her testimony concerning David. Oh, my. The Lord will certainly
make my Lord a sure house. The Lord is made with my Lord
an everlasting governor, ordering all things in sure, because my
Lord fights the battles of the Lord. And evil, he's holy. Evil hadn't been found in thee
all thy days. I know who you are. You're the king. And I know who I am. I'm a fool. Old King, would you have mercy
on a fool? Would you? And look at how she approached
David. She was wise because she knew how to approach David. First
thing she did, verse 18, was she gathered her up some bread.
some wine and some sheep. Look at verse 18. She came to
him with the right sacrifice, the right pleasing sacrifice.
She took 200 loaves in case one wouldn't do, in case one bottle
of wine wouldn't do, in case one sheep wouldn't do, a little
bit of corn. She took all this, bread, wine,
and sheep, corn, raisins, fruit, Figs, laid them on asses. She knew what to come to David
with, what pleased his heart. If you're going to come to God,
you need that sweet-smelling sacrifice, don't you? That sweet-smelling
Savior. What is it? It's the blood of
Christ. It's the bread and the wine of
Christ's body and His blood, isn't it? It's the righteousness
of Christ. It's that lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. It's His blood without which
no soul will be atoned for. And that's the only way you can
approach this thrice holy God, this king, this judge, or else
he'll cut your head off. She knew she was wise. She didn't
figure it out on her own either. She got it. And look what she
did. Verse 30. And I'll wrap this thing up. She pleaded for
mercy. Verse 30, It'll come to pass
when the Lord shall have done to my Lord according to all the
good that hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed
thee ruler over Israel. The last part of verse 31, Oh,
and the Lord shall have dealt well with my Lord. Would you
remember me? I know you're coming into your
kingdom. Remember me. That sounds familiar, doesn't
it? Would you remember me? And David said, no hesitation.
Verse thirty-two, because of the good, compassionate, gentle,
kind, forgiving, and merciful king that he was. What did he
say? I'm going to cut your head off. No. He said, Abigail, blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, blessed be the Lord God of Israel which
sent thee this day to me. Today, you'll be with me in paradise. David promptly forgave her and
he blessed God. Look at these three things he
did. He blessed God. Verse 33, he blessed her testimony, blessed
be thy advice, and he blessed her, blessed be thou. He blessed
God, he blessed her faith, and he blessed her. And listen to
this over here in Luke chapter 10. You don't have to turn. Listen
to this. Luke 10, verse 21. Christ said, in that hour, Jesus
rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank you, Father. He thanked
God. He blessed God. for revealing
these things unto the babies, hiding them from the wise and
prudent, revealing unto the babies. He said, All things are delivered
me of the Father. No man knoweth who the Son is
but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom
the Son will reveal him. And he turned to his disciples
and said, Blessed are your eyes, blessed are your faith, blessed
is the vice given to you, the understanding. The seeing eyes,
those hearing ears, blessed are those. I tell you, many prophets
and kings have desired to see the things you've seen and not
seen them. They hear those things which you hear and have not heard
them. And he blessed them. Bless God, bless the faith God
gave them, and bless them. And not only did David forgive
this woman, that's not the end of the story. That's just the
beginning. Verse forty, when the servants
of David, verse forty, Old Nabal was killed, and David spoke peace
to this woman's heart. And the servants of David were
come to Abigail, to Carmel. They spoke unto her, and they
said, David sends unto you. Yeah? What's he want? He wants
to marry you. I didn't say that. He said he
came to take you to marry you. He came to take you to marry
him. So you wouldn't be willing unless you were willing in the
day of his power. And he came and he got this woman,
says he took him into his mother's house, and he loved that woman. And though she was a fool, she
was now the wife of the king. Though she lived in sin with
her evil and wicked former husband, he was dead now. She had another
husband. She was married to another. She's about to live with the
king. She'd been married to a fool, Joe. Now she's married to wisdom
personified. Though she was poor, she was
about to be heir to all that the king had. Sitting beside
him on the throne, living in the palace, sitting at the king's
table. Though she deserved to have her head cut off, she was
about to get a crown on it. Christ not only forgives us our
sins, he marries us. He's called the bridegroom, we're
called the bride. He makes us join heirs with him,
sits us down at his table to feast on the king's cuisine,
manna. We dwell with him throughout
all eternity in the palace of the king, simply because he decided to
do so. Pleading for mercy because God came to us and gave us the
knowledge and understanding The wisdom that comes from above
made us easy to be entreated, made our ears to hear, our eyes
to see, caused us to come to Christ, to see Him as our only
hope, to plead for mercy and forgiveness. And all who come
to Him this way, the Scripture says He'll marry them and take
them on to be with Him in glory. I want you to read this in closing
with me. Daniel chapter 2. I read this today and whooped. And if somebody wants to, that's
fine with me. Daniel chapter 2. This goes so well with this
thing of this understanding and wisdom of God given to us. This
mystery that's been revealed to us has been kept hidden before
the foundation of the Word. You remember the story how the
king had a dream and Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
were in prison? And the king tried to find somebody
that could answer the mystery, the dream, and none could. Look
at this. Here's the story. Chapter 2,
verse 10, and we'll quit by reading this. The Chaldeans answered
before the king and said, There's not a man on earth that can show
the king's manner. Does that remind you of anything? Who can understand the Lord?
Who by searching? Can any man by searching find
out the Lord to perfection? And not another. There's not
a man on earth that can show the King's man. No king, lord, ruler,
musician, astrologer, chaldean, doesn't matter. This is a hard
thing the king required. What does he require? To know
God. God requires that you know him to be saved, doesn't it?
Well, who can know God? There's none other that can show
it before the king except the gods. God's the only one that
can reveal these mysteries, darling. He doesn't dwell in flesh. For
this cause the king was angry and very furious and commanded
to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went
forth that the wise men should be slain, and they sought Daniel
and his fellows to be slain. They were going to be killed
right along with everybody else. And Daniel answered with counsel
and wisdom to Ariadne, the captain of the king's guard, which was
gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. He answered and said
to Ariadne, the king's captain, why is the decree so hasty from
the king? Then Ariadne made the thing known
to Daniel. In other words, Daniel heard
this proclamation. He wasn't sure what it was, and
then his fellow told him. And Daniel went in, desired of
the king that he would give him time, that he would show the
king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house
and made the thing known to Hananiah, that's Shadrach, Meshiah, and
Azariah, Meshach and Abednego, his companions. He made it known
to them. They talked about these things.
that they would desire, and they got together collectively and
desired mercies of God. They prayed to the God of heaven
concerning this secret. They sought the Lord, that Daniel
and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men
of Babylon. Verse 19, Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel
in a night vision. Oh, Daniel, bless the God of
heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed
be the name of God forever and ever. Wisdom and might are his. It's his to give. Wisdom and
strength. Oh, he changes the times and
the seasons. He removes kings, sets up kings.
He gives wisdom. Anybody's wise, God gave it.
He gives knowledge to them that have no understanding. If anybody
has any understanding, God gave it. He reveals the deep and secret
things. He knows what's in the darkness.
Light dwells with Him. He's light. Oh, I thank Thee
and praise Thee, O Thou God of my father, who has given me wisdom
and might, and has made known unto me, yes, me, Daniel, prisoner,
what we desired of Thee. Look at this now. For You've
now made known unto us the King's matter. The king's business. Do you remember
that back there where David told the people, he said, I got business
to attend to. The king's business. The king
had business. Do you know what the king's business
is? Do you know what God's in the
business of doing? You know what Christ is in the business of
doing? You know what the business, you know what this whole thing,
this whole mess is about, this whole world? You know what the
business purpose of all this universe is? If you do, you can
bless God to the top of your lungs like old Daniel for revealing
this wisdom unto you, because it didn't come from within. It came from above. It came from
above. All right, stand with me. Father, we thank you for revealing
the gospel, revealing Christ, the glory of God in the face
of Christ to such dead dogs as we are, such fools. And we all
deserve to bear that name, Nabal. And we're yet fools. We're still
very foolish in all that we are and all that we do. But Lord,
in your mercy and grace, and because you're the good, wise,
compassionate, kind, tender, gracious Lord and King and Savior
that you are, you've revealed yourself unto nobodies and nothings
like we are. Lord, we ask that you'd ever
continue to reveal yourself to us. Not let us grow wise in our
own understanding, but make Christ always be our wisdom. May we
find all that we need to know and all we marvel at, may it
be found in Him. And may we be found in Him in
that day, not having our own righteousness, but His. Lord,
how we thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ. In His name we
pray. Amen.