God Repays and Saves
David learns one of his most valuable lessons in 1 Samuel 25. Saul only gave him lip-service of peace. David has more worries now than before. So when the Nabal incident occurs, you can see why he's so angered.
Abigail's words are pure poetry and heavenly wisdom to David:
1 Samuel 25:28–29 (ESV) Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
David is assured that the Lord will repay his troubles on those who trouble him. David needs this reminder now more than ever. For the man who anointed him to be king in place of Saul is gone. He needs wisdom in these final days as Saul's kingdom comes to an end and his begins.
The Lord repays. I believe we are living in times when we need that reminder ourselves more than ever. There is clear evidence both in America and around the world that the Gospel oriented person will not be welcomed, beloved and adored. No, in fact, we will endure the same hostility Christ and the Apostles experienced.
Hebrews 12:3 (ESV) Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
During these dark times of animosity and hatred, what do we need? We need what Abigail describes for David in poetic terms: "the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God." What a phrase! But look closer. The picture is not of isolated protection from one's enemies but rather the community of the saints ("the living") bound together in the presence of the Lord. God puts you in His family (the Church) to empower and embolden your faith. You NEED this. You cannot stand strong in Christ without it.
Consider Jesus' words from John 15:
John 15:4 (ESV) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Now we rightly imagine abiding in Christ to be prayer and meditation on His Word. But there's another experience too many self-proclaimed Christians ignore: that is abiding in His family.
David knew a thing or two about slings. But the picture here is intentional. Only one stone per sling. Here it speaks of our enemy. We really have only one, Satan. Now while Satan produces a mirage of this multitude of enemies, we come to know that it is really only the instigation of that roaring lion. Why is this important? Because we need to love our physical enemies in Christ! The Gospel is not just for those we like, it is for those we would otherwise hate. So even if they are under Satan's delusion, we hope and pray for God's illumination that they may one day become friends through the same grace that saved us.
The best way to see the destruction of our enemies is to see their hearts of stone demolished by the unstoppable grace of God.
Abigail's words are pure poetry and heavenly wisdom to David:
1 Samuel 25:28–29 (ESV) Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
David is assured that the Lord will repay his troubles on those who trouble him. David needs this reminder now more than ever. For the man who anointed him to be king in place of Saul is gone. He needs wisdom in these final days as Saul's kingdom comes to an end and his begins.
The Lord repays. I believe we are living in times when we need that reminder ourselves more than ever. There is clear evidence both in America and around the world that the Gospel oriented person will not be welcomed, beloved and adored. No, in fact, we will endure the same hostility Christ and the Apostles experienced.
Hebrews 12:3 (ESV) Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Consider Jesus' words from John 15:
John 15:4 (ESV) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Now we rightly imagine abiding in Christ to be prayer and meditation on His Word. But there's another experience too many self-proclaimed Christians ignore: that is abiding in His family.
Paul says,
1 Corinthians 12:27 (ESV) Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
The Lord protects and empowers individual faith through the corporate faith experience. You need to join yourself to a church, find a people who will pray for you, build you up and bear your burdens. Then you do the same for them! God does not call individuals, He calls brothers and sister together in Him. That is where we experience His protective care.
Finally, the last line from Abigail must have driven straight to David's heart: "And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling."
David knew a thing or two about slings. But the picture here is intentional. Only one stone per sling. Here it speaks of our enemy. We really have only one, Satan. Now while Satan produces a mirage of this multitude of enemies, we come to know that it is really only the instigation of that roaring lion. Why is this important? Because we need to love our physical enemies in Christ! The Gospel is not just for those we like, it is for those we would otherwise hate. So even if they are under Satan's delusion, we hope and pray for God's illumination that they may one day become friends through the same grace that saved us.
The best way to see the destruction of our enemies is to see their hearts of stone demolished by the unstoppable grace of God.
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