Christian Foundations

DEVOTIONAL ARCHIVE

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May 28, 2008      

WISE PROTECTION
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read 1 Samuel 25:1--19

Four hundred men! That'll probably handle Nabal, don't you think? When you overdo something in our house, we have a saying, "You're killing a roach with a shotgun." You kill the roach all right, but you blow the wall out at the same time. Hey, nobody puts on a sword just to have a discussion, so we have a pretty good idea what's going through David's mind here. But talk about overkill! There's no need to take four hundred men to squash one tightwad. David has lost control.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, put yourself in Abigail's sandals. Candidly, this could be her opportunity to get rid of an obnoxious loser of a husband! She gets word from the servants that David is going to finish him off. She could say something spiritual like, "Oh, I better pray about this." Those thundering hoofbeats are coming down the hill, and she's in there praying, "Lord, take him swiftly!" It's her chance! After all, Nabal has set himself up for this! It's time he learned a lesson.

That's the way a carnal wife (or a carnal husband) thinks. That's the way a carnal employee thinks. "Now's my chance. He's vulnerable, and it's all his fault anyway. How great is this?" Depravity on parade. Instead, observe what happens.

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he scorned them. Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not insulted, nor did we miss anything as long as we went about with them, while we were in the fields. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him." (1 Samuel 25:14--17)

Note that the messengers come to Abigail, not to Nabal. Why? Because he wasn't approachable. That's another indication of Abigail's wisdom. She sees her husband for what he is. She knows his weaknesses. And in his weakest moment, Abigail did not fight, she protected. How gracious of her... how wise!

Reprinted by permission. Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Purchase "Day by Day" here.