Living a Half-hearted life

How guilty are we of living in half-heartedness? We play with our religion much like Jehu and the children of Israel. We flirt with our idols. We dabble in the things of this world….ignoring Jesus’ words to us to deny ourselves, take up our Cross daily and follow Him.

What idols are you flirting with? Be specific! This could be one of the more important exercises that you go through this week. Write them down on a piece of paper. Then take them and confess them before our Father. Idolatry is an evil thing. Taking idolatry lightly in your life will lead you down roads to self destruction and nowhere else. My prayer for you?… Repentance for your idolatry.

Jehu: A Half-Hearted Hero 2 Kings 9-10

Jehu: A Half-Hearted Hero

Introduction:

You’ve probably never heard of him. Perhaps you’ve spent years in Sunday School, but never studied who he was, what he did, and what he might have done. You’re not alone. He is a little-known legend in Scripture. And yet he came into a world desperately lacking in faithful leadership, following dynasty after dynasty led by men who had willfully set aside the commandments of God and purposefully given their hearts to the works of Satan.

Generation after generation had gone one after the other in the ways of their fathers, until doing things God’s way did not even seem appropriate. (how much is that starting to look like our generation) And then along came a man named Jehu. No, he did not live a blameless life. In fact, the title of this lesson and the deeper truths of this lesson actually spring from his failures.

But God honored him in Scripture simply because, in an era when obedience was a little-known word, this man said “Yes, sir” to God, and did what he was told to do. And what he had been told to do, as we shall see, was not an easy task.

The Background

To see the kind of world into which our legend came, we have to but scan the pages of Kings and Chronicles and see how many times the words “and he did evil in the sight of the Lord” appear. The kings of Israel alone had developed such a pattern of disobedience and idolatry that the nation literally lived in the shadow of rebellion for generations. Just look at the legacy that preceded Jehu’s reign as King:

But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. (I Kings 16:25)

And Ahab did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.  (I Kings 16:30)

And he (Ahaziah) did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:  (I Kings 22:52)

And he (Jehoram) wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; (II Kings 3:2)

What a sad commentary on the condition of the spiritual leadership (or lack of same) that was indicative of the nation of Israel. And it is there that our story begins. It is found in II Kings, chapters 9 and 10.

The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.

When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room.

Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”    (II Kings 9:1-3 NIV)

The Calling

I trust you get a visual image in your mind of what was happening. The prophet Elisha was about to anoint a new king over Israel. He calls in one of his most trusted aides, tells him to tuck a flask of oil in his belt, run to where Jehu is staying in Ramoth-Gilead, draw him away from his buddies, and tell him , “By the way, Jay, you’re going to be the new King. Bye.” Then he was to hop in his Honda and head back home. No festivities, no ceremonies, no robes, no crowns, no nothing. Just get the guy alone, tell him he’s king, and run. (if you think you have the whole matter of “God’s calling” figured out… think again.

Now just suppose you were Jehu. Here you were, having a friendly discussion with some of your friends over who would win the Super Bowl between the Israeli Cowboys and the Judean Jets, when this strangely clad guy, out of breath, runs into the room, asks to talk to you privately… then tells you, “Guess what, you’re our new King. See you around.” How would you respond?

What would you tell your buddies when you went back to the den where they were gathered around their pre-historic television set waiting for the kickoff? I’m not sure but that I would have rushed our prophetic visitor off to the funny farm and gone back to the potato chips and root beer in the den. Here’s what happened:

When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said. “For which of us?” asked Jehu. “For you, commander,” he replied.

Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel.

You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord’s servants shed by Jezebel.

The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.

I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.

As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’” Then he opened the door and ran.

When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know the man and the sort of things he says,” 

Jehu replied. “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.” Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”   (II Kings 9:5-13 NIV)

So Jehu has informed his army friends of the prophet’s announcement, and probably much to his surprise, they believed it. Instead of passing it off as a childish joke, they took off their cloaks, spread them out on the steps, and began blowing a trumpet, shouting, “Jehu is King! Jehu is King.”

They were not mocking him, either. Somehow God had gone before the prophet’s proclamation and prepared the hearts of those under his command. Instantly, he was revered as king, even though another king still sat on the throne of Israel. God had called him. Jehu had answered.

The Challenge

But the calling was only the beginning. God had laid out for this seemingly unlikely candidate for kingship an apparently impossible task. He was to assume the throne by marching into the palace, assassinating King Joram and his heirs, and brutally murdering Jezebel, the high priestess of witchcraft, leaving her body to be eaten by the dogs. Not a pretty picture, and not a tidy first assignment for this monarch-to-be.

It’s one thing to accept the honor of the calling; it’s quite another to realize the horror of the challenge that goes with the calling. Somehow, Jehu caught a glimpse of the awesomeness of it all and still said to God: “Yes, sir, Lord; I’m available.” There is somehow lacking in the Christian world today, that kind of obedience to seemingly impossible tasks.

One more thing: Jehu understood why God was so incensed with the present administration. Read what happened when he arrived at the palace:

Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.

When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.” “Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’”

The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’” “What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.” The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’” Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”

The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a madman.”

“Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.

When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?” (II Kings 9:16-22 NIV)

The Obedience

If this isn’t “High Noon”, I’ve never seen it. Our man heads for the royal residence with a clear set of objectives and thus knows how to handle the temptation to compromise that will come along the way. Joram isn’t alone. Isn’t God’s timing perfect? Ahaziah, king of Judah just happened to be on hand for a summit conference the same day Jehu approached. The man in the lookout tower sends a “fax” to Joram. “I see an army coming our way, what do I do?” Answer: “Send a messenger to greet them and ask, do you come in peace?” Good question. Problem is, the messenger never returned. So the nervous king sends his second string messenger service with the same assignment. He doesn’t return, either. Joram calls the watchman on his cellular phone, and in a panic asks… “Now what?” The watchman answers, “they’re still coming, and they’re driving like there is no speed limit. Must be Jehu!

Now where Jehu got his reputation for speeding, we don’t know. But that report was enough to get both kings in their chariots, and with their racing steeds in overdrive, they rush out to try to assess the magnitude of the problem before them. Joram repeats his question, this time in person: “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” Jehu’s answer was a classic. “How can there be peace when the idolatry and witchcraft of Jezebel, your mother, abound?”

Joram turned to run for his life, screaming to Ahaziah as he fled. Jehu simply drew his bow and shot the fleeing monarch between the shoulders, the arrow piercing his heart. Joram was dead. Assignment number one is complete. Ahaziah, king of Judah was the next to try to escape. He was wounded by Jehu, got away, but died at Megiddo. One bonus point for Jehu. Next he goes to Jezreel where Jezebel lived. The story is told in these verses:

Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window.

As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?”

He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him.

“Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.

Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands.

They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh.

Jezebel’s body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’” (II Kings 9:30-37 NIV)

Now I realize this story is “R” rated because of violence. But we must tell it like it is. Jehu arrives in Jezreel. Jezebel paints her face and fixes her hair, leans out the window and cries “Have you come in peace, you murderer?” No doubt the 10 o’clock news had already broadcast the tapes of the two dead kings. Silly question: “Have you come in peace?” That would be like asking Saddam Hussein if he was coming to draw up a disarmament treaty when he invaded Kuwait.

Jehu’s response: “Do I have any friends up there? If so, throw her down.” The next sound you hear is Jezebel hitting the pavement. Jehu’s horses race across the driveway, trampling her body underfoot. But when he goes back to arrange for a burial, (since she had been a king’s daughter) all they can find is her skull, her feet and her hands. Jehu’s men return and report what happened by quoting Elijah, who had prophesied just such an ending for the wicked witch.

So Jehu’s first assignments were finished as planned. Two nations were without their kings, the meanest woman in the world was dead, and God was preparing to rule His people once again. An auspicious beginning, to be sure. But more was to follow, and quickly. If you were to judge Jehu for his record to date, would you not rate him a legend? There’s more, and it gets even more gruesome. Jehu had been told to leave none of Ahab’s sons alive. Here’s how he handled it:

Now there were in Samaria seventy sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab’s children. He said,

“As soon as this letter reaches you, since your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons,

choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”

But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”

So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”

Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them.

When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel.

When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.” Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”

The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?

Know then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah.”  (II Kings 10:1-10 NIV)

Isn’t it amazing how God ultimately does what He said He would do? His timing is often slower than ours. That’s because His ways are so much higher than ours. But in due time, our God vindicates His reputation and glorifies His Name. And if you think Satan, through the Jezebels and Jorams of this world has gained the upper hand, Beloved, take heart. Now, as then, His Word is sure. “What He has promised, He is able also to perform.”(Romans 4:21 KJV) “There has not failed one word of all His good promise…” (I Kings 8:56 NKJV) Not one. And the darker this old world looks, the nearer we are to that day when the light of His Presence will fill the Eastern skies and He will once again vindicate His Name. His arm is not shortened, nor His ear heavy.

The enemies of God who had so polluted His worship and misled His people fell in utter defeat the very moment God’s clock said High Noon. Not one minute before. But be reminded, not one moment late, either.

Jehu’s job was not quite finished. He still had the prophets of Baal to contend with. So he pretended to want to worship their satanic idols, called all their priests together for a meeting, and posted guards outside the temple. The story ends like this:

So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”

As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal.

They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it.

They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.

So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. (II Kings 10:24-28 NIV)

American Presidents tend to revel in how high their “acceptance” ratings are in the polls a few months into their term of office. Had Jehu been President, he would have “galloped” into the “Gallup” poll with a 95% approval rating. What no man had been able to do for five or six generations, this man did in days. And God approved, as well. In fact, verse 30 of chapter 10 says this:

The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”   (II Kings 10:30 NIV)

What a commendation from God. This unknown was guaranteed four generations of royalty just for having done what God asked him to do. And God has done even better for you. The rewards for your obedience are eternal. They will be yours forever.

There are reasonably good odds that before today you’d never even heard of Jehu. Chances are, this whole story is new to you. Tucked away in the midst of a legacy of wicked kings “who did evil in the sight of the Lord”, it seems almost buried beneath the sins of the nation. But to God, his life was not incidental. Through this one unheralded hero, Jehovah overturned generations of vile witchcraft, immorality and flagrant disobedience to His laws. In a few short months, Jehu rose from total obscurity to spiritual greatness. And the interesting thing about it is that he didn’t have to possess a thread of creativity or organizational skills or even great leadership ability. In fact, there’s no real record that any of those things were found in him. All he possessed was a record of obedience. God called him. God commissioned him. God sent him. He listened. He went. He did. He did…exactly what God told him to do. And the rewards God bestowed upon him were far beyond what he must have expected simply for doing what he was told.

Somehow we often long for greatness, and believe that if we only had the skills of Moses or the faith of Abraham or the boldness of Peter or the tenderness of John we could change our worlds. Jehu, in all likelihood, had none of the above. He was just an average guy, a soldier, who clearly understood what God wanted of him, raised his arm in salute, and said, “Yes sir.”

The rest is history. And the man became a living legend. Not because of his ability…but because of his availability. And that’s a skill everyone has in equal proportions.

The Exception

But the story does not have a happy ending. Though God called him from nothing and commended him for his faithfulness, tucked away in the final dialogue about his life is a sad note. And it is this note that we must focus on in closing, for each one of us has the potential of having the same words etched upon the gravestones of our lives. Verses 29 and 31 of chapter 10 leave the stain of tears upon the pages of an otherwise rather unblemished life. It reads like this:

However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit. (II Kings 10:29,31 NIV)

What a sad ending to an otherwise glorious story. Jehu did the will of God…but not with all his heart. He was a faithful man in the trenches. He fought God’s battles with fervor. He did God’s will with abandon. In our day, he would have been elected chairman of the church board, and been awarded “layman of the year” honors by the local Christian Men’s Group. Compared to his predecessors, he was “Mr. Obedient”. Compared to his peers, he was “Mr. Spiritual”. So he allowed the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan to continue. No one is perfect, right? Right. No one is perfect.

But it isn’t the fact that he caved in to one movement of idolatry that did him in. It was his heart. He was doing all the right things, and receiving the praises of men, but in his heart of hearts there was territory marked “Do not touch—reserved for Jehu alone.” God will have none of that.

It didn’t make his acts of valor less sensational. It didn’t make his religious zeal less impressive. But oh, how it broke the heart of God. For the one thing God wants most of each of us is that “we love the Lord our God with all our hearts” That means no compartment left unopened. That means no hidden closets with secret sins. That means no “almost” committed lives, who will go wherever God leads…unless.

The Application

The entire calling of the Christian life is to be willing to “forsake all that we have” (or we cannot even lay claim to becoming His disciple). And so often we become so spiritual compared to our friends, and so seemingly indispensable to our church or our organization, that we think God is looking at us with the same measure of pride as our peers. The trouble is “God looks on the heart.” And if we are not what we claim to be, God is not impressed at all. Jehu’s final footnote reads like this:

In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites…  (II Kings 10:32 NIV)

Jehu began to lose battles. Israel began to become a second-rate power again. The nation began to shrink beneath the weight of compromise, even though compared to their fathers, they were walking in the ways of God. Jehu became a living legend. But he was just a millimeter away from real greatness. All he lacked was one thing. But that was everything. He did not seek the Lord with all His heart.

How about you? Are your family and friends impressed with your spirituality, or is your church impressed with your leadership? And yet, when you get alone with your God, and the accolades have vanished, does a picture of that one area of your life nobody else knows about surface? And does the guilt of it or the shame of it or the stench of it tell you how it makes God feel? Are you almost a living legend?

God is looking for faithful men. But He wants more than Jehus. He wants men and women who love Him with no strings attached, no stones unturned, no sins unconfessed. Jehu just missed greatness.  We don’t need to.

A Challenge to Further Study

1- Write an essay, describing a modern-day parable of Jehu’s life. What would you have him stand for in our generation? What enemies would you have him slay? How would you define the compromise that tarnished an otherwise glorious life?

2- Get alone to the secret place where just you and God have fellowship. Be quiet long enough for God’s Spirit to direct your heart to those areas of your life where you do not seek Him with all your heart. Fall on your face before God and repent. Remind yourself He is not impressed with your religious performance; He is too busy looking at your heart.

This narrative of the life of Jehu was written mostly by a man whom I considered to be my mentor… Russell Kelfer. Whenever I sit do do these studies, I am seldom able to come up with anything that even comes close to the content, style and depth of Russell’s writings. So, I want you to know that wherever you see pearls of great wisdom, they are probably from Russell’s pen and whenever you see stuff that is questionable or inane, it is more than likely from my hand.

Abigail…Warm Bread, Fig Cakes, Grilled lamb & the hard stuff

Warm Bread, Fig Cakes, Grilled Lamb and … the hard stuff
I. A Funeral and a Wedding… The story begins with a funeral and ends with a
wedding. And in between there lies the life, which as it unfolds, demonstrates a
wonderful quality called courage lived out in the life of a woman whose name is hardly a household word….except in my household.

Tucked away, however, in the quiet places of life, there have for generations been a handful of men and women who may not have gained greatness in the eyes of their peers, and may not have chapters reserved for them in the annals of history, but who, when the heat was on, demonstrated such depth of character that they truly are worthy of our respect.

Some of them are like the linemen in a football game who dig in the trenches week after week and make it possible for that famous quarterback to have time to throw, or that speedy back to get into the open. Not too many people know about them. But those who are watching with the magnifying glass of the spirit know that without them, the stars would be nothing.

The pages of Bible history are stained with the blood of such men and women, and the stories their lives tell may well teach even deeper truths than the tales of those whose names live engraved in God’s Hall of Fame.
For these next few months, we are going to scan the pages of God’s Word, and
search the hidden places for the lives who, though not well known, are indeed well known to God.

Today’s story is about such a person. Her name was Abigail.
We will be looking in detail at I Samuel, chapter 25. The story begins like this:
Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for
him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David
moved down into the Desert of Maon. (I Samuel 25:1 NIV)
A very simple beginning, indeed. So often new chapters in Scriptural history begin
with the ending of an era. This is the case here. Samuel, the prophet was dead. Having
been scorned by Saul, and rejected by the nation, he chose to live the final years of his
existence as a recluse, living in total obscurity, no longer attempting to rebuke the
people who had scorned him. But as is so often the case, at his death, the whole nation
mourned.
One reason may have been that the last restraining factor who stood between Saul’s
mischief and God’s mercy was now gone. Another may have been that Samuel,
intercessor that he was, had stood in the gap between them and Jehovah for years, and
now that intercessor had gone home.
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 1
Never had the nation needed him more than now. And now he was gone. Verse one
says “They buried him in his house at Ramah. This does not mean they buried him in
his house, but rather that:
a) they buried him within the city gates, a privilege reserved for kings and prophets,
and
b) they built a rock tomb, considered in those days to be “houses for the dead”
where sometimes the entire family would be ultimately buried. His place of burial was
befitting his stature.
c)
“And all the Israelites lamented him”. There was great mourning throughout the
land. David, no doubt, was among the mourners. Fresh from his latest confrontation
with Saul, he and his men proceeded to the wilderness of Paran, an area to the south of
Judea, in the land of the Amalekites.
II. A Fool and a Beautiful lady… The passage goes on:
A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel,
was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three
thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She
was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a
Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings. (I Samuel 25:2,3
NIV)
What a lot of information is packed into this couple of verses. First, the cast of
characters begins to unfold. Two names that come to the surface are a husband and wife
whose names and whose character qualities indicate that they certainly have little in
common.
They lived in a town named Maon, near Carmel. This was not Mount Carmel, but a
small village located further south on the Mediterranean, in the northern part of the
wilderness of Paran. From this passage we know several things about this man.
1- We know His name was Nabal. The word “Nabal” means “fool” or “foolish”.
Here was a man whose name definitely reflected his character.
2- We know He was very rich. By the standards of his day, he was a man of
such means that he could exercise great control over people and circumstances because
his wealth made others subservient to him. His sheep and goats alone were worth by
todays prices at least $800,000. In that day, as today that was an amount that made
him one of the richest men in the area. In addition, he owned houses and lands and
cattle in such magnitude that it was said, “He was very wealthy”.
3- We know what he was like. He was surly and mean in his dealings. The word
“surly” means he was insolent, angry, inconsiderate, and self-centered. That describes
his character. The phrase “mean in his dealings” indicates that his character was
reflected in his behavior. There are men who are surly and mean, but whose meanness
only surfaces around those who know them best. This man, so impressed with himself
and his wealth, made no efforts to control his temper or restrain his behavior. Everyone
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 2
who met him, and everyone who did business with him, and everyone who worked for
him, and everyone in his family knew him as a mean, inconsiderate fool.
There is, however, an interesting addition to verse three and the only thing good
really said about Nabal. It is those six simple words. “And his wife’s name was Abigail.”
Here was a woman cut from a different bolt of cloth. Here was a woman whose
heart was pure; whose life was radiant; whose demeanor demonstrated dignity. She was
everything he wasn’t. She was “intelligent and beautiful” says the NIV. Other translators
write of her as one “of beautiful countenance”. Her beauty radiated from within. She was
a woman of excellence. But she was trapped in a marriage to one of the meanest men of
her day. Rich? Yes. But disgusting in his behavior. That is the backdrop for what is to
follow. A godly woman married to a wealthy, self-centered fool.
This man had a rich heritage. He was of the lineage of Caleb, but possessed none of
Caleb’s godliness, to be sure.
III. A Hungry man and a Fool… Now the story unfolds:
“While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was
shearing sheep. So he sent ten young men and said to them,
“Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. Say to
him: “Long life to you! Good health to you and your
household! And good health to all that is yours!
Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your
shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the
whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was
missing. Ask your own servants and they will tell you.
Therefore be favorable toward my young men, since we come
at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son
David whatever you can find for them.” (I Samuel 25:4-8
NIV)
David had been through some pretty hard times recently. His men had been on the
run from Saul, supplies were low, and without food and water, there was little way for
them to go on.
I am just surmising here but… to stoop to beg from a wicked man like Nabal must
have been difficult indeed. And yet David was a humble man. His intent was not to
invade Maon and secure supplies, though he had the manpower to do that. As he had
done before with Ahimelech, the high priest, he was willing to bow down and plead for
help, knowing that God honors humility and resists the proud.
At least at the outset, David had God’s perspective. A little farther into the story, he
loses it, and it takes a divine intervention from the heroine of the day to turn it around.
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 3
On the surface, David’s timing seemed perfect. It was sheep-shearing time; a time
when festivity and generosity was normally the mood of the hour. Usually there would
be much drinking, feasts, and celebrations, and large numbers of hired hands would be
fed the finest amidst dancing and rejoicing. At a time like this, even a self-centered fool
might be prone to generosity. Don’t bet on it.
David commissions ten of his finest young men to go in and ask for help. He sends
them with 3 things… 1.) a greeting of respect, 2.) a reminder of indebtedness, 3.) and a
request of need.
A Greeting of respect… His men are told to greet Nabal as a gentleman, and
treat him as a king. He sends benedictions of grace.
Long life to you. Good health to you and your household. And good
health to all that is yours.
It was known (as we shall see) to Nabal and his family that David had been
anointed to be king. Only time and Saul stood between this man and greatness. Yet he
was humbly beseeching his God to bless the family and servants of this foolish man,
knowing that God would honor the man who honored the man of God.
A Reminder of Indebtedness… David, recognizing it is sheep-shearing time,
and that Nabal’s riches, which depended in part on the successful care of those sheep,
calls to Nabal’s attention that his men labored side by side in the wilderness with
Nabal’s shepherds, and that not one incident had ever occurred to bring harm to his
men, nor had any of his sheep been missing. David had seen to it that his men,
struggling though they were, and possibly tempted as they were to take the healthy
sheep from this wealthy man’s flock, did not so much as touch one sheep.
David, a forerunner of the “good shepherd” who would lay down his life for the
sheep and who would not see even one slip from the His Father’s hands, had seen to
that. We see later in the story that, according to Nabal’s own shepherds, David’s
presence was more than acceptable. It was “a wall of protection” around Nabal’s men
and flock. David’s humble reminder was to make it clear that his men were not there
with evil intent, but with a humble request.
A Request of Need… Finally, David’s men get to the point. They ask of Nabal for
some of the overflow of his festivities to keep David and his men from starving to death.
It was a humble, simple request, and it was based partly on need, partly on the
indebtedness this man ought to have felt for David’s kindnesses to his men in the
wilderness. Here was Nabal’s response:
When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in
David’s name. Then they waited. Nabal answered David’s
servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many
servants are breaking away from their masters these days.
Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have
slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from
who knows where?”
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 4
David’s men turned around and went back. When they
arrived, they reported every word.
David said to his men, “Put on your swords!” So they put on
their swords, and David put on his. About four hundred men
went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the
supplies (I Samuel 25:9–13 NIV)
IV.A Hungry Man’s Folly
Crises in the mid-east are not new. And one was in the brewing right now. The local
newspapers would have had banner headlines about the buildup in the desert, about
David’s men’s outstanding war record, and about the dangers that lurked on the horizon
for Nabal’s loved ones. Fortunately, God has a better communications system than that.
Nabal’s response was typical of a fool. He replied,
“who is this David? who is this son of David?”
Now Nabal knew who David was. He knew he was the son of Jesse, and he knew he
was anointed to be king. He knew, but he was such a vain, arrogant, evil man, that his
words simply spewed out a venom of indignation. He loved seeing a man supposedly
destined for greatness groveling for food. And he loved making a derogatory remarks
about him to his own men. He implied that perhaps this “son of Jesse” was simply a
runaway slave who had stolen his master’s sheep and was now in trouble. Then his real
character emerges.
He says, “why should I take my bread and my water and the meat I have
slaughtered… and give it to men from who knows where?”
God was about to take care of Nabal. Here was a man who had been blessed with
great wealth and who attributed both the source of his success and the keeping of it to
himself. He thought it was his bread and his meat and his water. It wasn’t and it isn’t.
It’s all God’s.
The “Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.” And
if God has blessed your life with wealth or health or family or friends, do not take those
blessings for granted. Nabal did. And as he did, he simply was writing the epitaph for
his tombstone.
David’s men (from the way it is written) must not have stayed to listen to much of
Nabal’s ranting. He had insulted their King. They turned on their heels and left Nabal in
the midst of his tirade, and headed back to David, post haste. The text says “they
reported every word.” In other words, they left nothing out. Not Nabal’s rejection of
their pleas, nor his put-downs of their leader.
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 5
Now here is one of the few times in Scripture we see David, the General, react
instead of respond. He was the master-warrior. From the beginning he had seen God
take nothing and use it to slay thousands. And he had over and again, by exercising
patience and humility, seen that “vengeance was God’s, He will repay.”
On this occasion, however, David reacted. He took 400 of the 600 men he had with
him and proceeded with an “all systems go” invasion plan. No negotiations. No calling
on God for directions. Just go vindicate the name of David and secure what David needs.
It was not like him, but all of us have been there. And this great warrior, who had
exercised such restraint in the previous chapter when he could have easily massacred his
enemy Saul, now releases his anger in its fullest. He was prepared to bring back Nabal’s
head on a platter. But our God lovingly intervened.
V. A Beautiful Lady’s Choice
One of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail: “David sent
messengers from the desert to give our master his greetings,
but he hurled insults at them. Yet these men were very good to
us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out
in the fields near them nothing was missing. Night and day
they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our
sheep near them.
Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is
hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such
a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”
Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread,
two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted
grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of
pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. Then she told her
servants, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell
her husband Nabal. (I Samuel 25:14-19 NIV)
The scene now may well be the front porch of Nabal’s household. Abigail is sitting
there, trying to ignore the drunken festivities going on inside. One of Nabal’s
dependable servants rushes up to Abigail, out of breath. Fear is in his eyes. Finally, she
quiets him down enough to hear his story.
He had been in the dining area an hour ago, when these ten visitors from David’s
entourage had arrived and begged for help from the master. He had been crude, rude,
and downright insulting, causing them to turn and head back to David with fire in their
eyes.
Eyes downcast, he tells Abigail how helpful David’s men had been to them while
they were tending sheep in the wilderness. “they were like a wall to us” he recounts.
And he tells of the times they banded together when wild animals came to attack the
sheep, and how David’s troops served as a protection from foreigners who would have
attacked and stolen their sheep.
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No doubt he then added, “David could destroy us in a second if he chose to…” The
servant adds, “no one can talk to the master… you know how evil and hardheaded he
is…” Abigail was faced with a very serious choice. She could try to reason with an angry,
drunk husband, do nothing and see her household destroyed, or she could intercede and
beg for mercy. Fortunately, she chose to do the latter.
And the choice she made places her on the pedestal with God’s greats, though many
believers have never so much as heard her name. One of the key phrases in this passage
is in verse 18. It says, Abigail lost no time.
She was a woman of courage, and she was a woman of action. Neither did she call
in one of her servants and assign them the task of intercession. She did what she had to
do herself.
She took 200 loaves of bread, sheep, grain, raisins, cakes, and wine, loaded them
on donkeys and headed as fast as she could for the wilderness where David and his men
would be camped. It was not the safest move she could make; but it was the best move
she could make. She sent her servants ahead of her, and without telling her husband,
she moved quickly towards her appointment with destiny.
VI.Courage, Quickness, Humiliation
The story takes up there:
As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there
were David and his men descending toward her, and she met
them. David had just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching
over this fellow’s property in the desert so that nothing of his
was missing. He has paid me back evil for good.
May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning
I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!”
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and
bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell
at his feet and said: “My lord, let the blame be on me alone.
Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant
has to say. May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man
Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is Fool, and folly
goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the
men my master sent.
“Now since the Lord has kept you, my master, from bloodshed
and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely
as the Lord lives and as you live, may your enemies and all
who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. And let this gift,
which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the
men who follow you.
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 7
Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the Lord will
certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he
fights the Lord’s battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as
long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take
your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the
bundle of the living by the Lord your God. But the lives of your
enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling.
When the Lord has done for my master every good thing he
promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over
Israel, My master will not have on his conscience the
staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged
himself. And when the Lord has brought my master success,
remember your servant.
David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for
your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this
day and from avenging myself with my own hands.
Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who
has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to
meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been
left alive by daybreak.
Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought
him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words
and granted your request.” (I Samuel 25:20-35 NIV)
Hollywood would have a field day with this scene. David and his 400
valiant soldiers rushing down the ravine, as David mumbles to his second in command
“so that’s the thanks I get for looking out for that guy’s sheep…” They come thundering
around the bend, and lo and behold here comes an entourage of servants, laden with
food and goodies, followed by the wife of the man they were on their way to kill, riding
on a donkey.
Abigail dismounts from the donkey, and bows down to the ground before David.
Her first request is that David place the blame for what happened, not on her worthless
husband, but rather on her. She acknowledges that her husband lives up to his name
which simply means “fool”. And she pleads with this famous warrior not to blemish his
record of judgment by taking innocent lives unnecessarily, in an act of revenge for the
words of a fool.
Then Abigail presents David with supplies enough to feed his entire army of 600
men, and she predicts that Jehovah God would create through David a lasting dynasty
as David let God do the fighting for him. Again and again she refers to him as “my
master”, a title of respect and submission, and begs him not to have on his conscience
the needless slaughter of innocent people. She closes by asking David to
remember her when he becomes king.
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 8
David, man of God that he was, humbled himself before this godly woman and
admitted he had overreacted, and would have regretted it the rest of his life. He credited
Abigail with being a vessel God used to keep him from shedding innocent blood. He
accepted her gifts and sent her home with his blessing. But of course, the story doesn’t
end there. There’s more.
VII.The Demise of a Fool
When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a
banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very
drunk. So she told him nothing until daybreak. Then in the
morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these
things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.
About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.
VIII. A Hungry Man’s Proposal & A Beautiful Lady’s
Marriage
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to
the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating
me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong
and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.”
Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his
wife.
His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has
sent us to you to take you to become his wife.” She bowed
down with her face to the ground and said, “Here is your
maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my
master’s servants.”
Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five
maids, went with David’s messengers and became his wife.
(25:36-42)
So Abigail returns from her successful mission to save her family. As usual, Nabal
was drunk. Wisely, she said nothing. The next morning, our cranky Shepherd lord
awakens with a terrible Excedrin headache, so she adds to his misery by explaining how
close he came to destroying his entire kingdom by making fun of David rather than
helping him.
The wicked farmer apparently has a stroke and goes into a coma. For ten days, he
just lies there, and then on the tenth day, he dies.
David, upon hearing of Nabal’s death, realizes that God has done in His perfect will
what David was about to do out of His will. Truly, Nabal’s vengeance was God’s. And He
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 9
did repay. David sends a messenger to Nabal’s house and invites Abigail to become his
wife. Her response was,
Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the
feet of my master’s servants. (I Samuel 25:41)
Hers was a spirit of deep humility. She had every right to lord it over David. She was
the heir of a great estate; an army of men were at her command. David owed her a great
debt of gratitude. She had intervened and possibly saved his life. That wasn’t the issue
with Abigail. God had his hand on David, and she counted it a privilege not only to serve
him, but his servants as well.
And so the living legends of Scripture which so focus on the names of those greats
who have made it to God’s Hall of Fame need to add another to its list. Her name is
Abigail. Her courage prevented God’s man from making a mistake that could have
cost him his future. Her quickness allowed God to stop the bloodshed before it started.
And her humility allowed her to accept the responsibility for her husband’s folly, thus
allowing her to ask for mercy on his behalf. Few men or women in Scripture made a
greater impact. Her moment in history was brief but powerful. The life that came to that
moment was years in the making.
IX. Portrait of an Intercessor
Perhaps the greatest tribute we can pay to this woman of God was that
she was our portrait of an intercessor. She demonstrated how we are to pray for
those who are in dire rebellion, and she demonstrated how Jesus, our intercessor,
intercedes for us.
1- She took the initiative. She saw it as her responsibility, not just to wait and
see what happened, but to rush to David and plead for mercy.
2- She was willing to stand in his place. Her life was free from blemish.
Nabal’s was dreadful. She offered herself in his place, just as Jesus did for us.
3- She humbled herself. This was no “honor me because of righteousness”
prayer. She realized she stood before God’s man, and she bowed herself to the ground.
4- She acknowledged her husband’s sins. She made no excuses for him. She
admitted that he was as foolish as his name.
5- She honored David for who he was… king to be.
6- She begged for mercy on his behalf. She asked David to shorten wrath and
withhold his judgment.
No, Nabal did not repent. God took his life, and Abigail was granted a new
beginning. That choice was his. But the choice to intercede was Abigail’s, and she
did that perfectly.
So often we want desperately for God to deal with those we love who so make a
mockery of Holiness. We sometimes weep, we sometimes pray, we sometimes pound
our fists in disbelief. Seldom do we rush to the feet of Jesus, our David, and humble
ourselves, acknowledging the rebellion of those we are praying for, but pleading, that if
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 10
it were possible, we could stand in the gap for them, and allow God to pour out mercy in
place of wrath.
At some point in time, if they do not repent, God must do what He wills. But will He
not grant more time, on occasions, when those who know how to intercede rush to His
side, fall on their face, and plead for His love?
It’s easier to rail at those we love who are out of the fold than it is to intercede.
Interceding is dangerous, tiring, and hard. It makes us vulnerable, humbles
us, and causes us to be reminded that apart from God’s amazing grace, we
too would be Nabals; and we too would suffer Nabal’s destiny.
Perhaps your name ought to be “Nabal”. Maybe you’re the fool who has taken
lightly the claims of God upon you life.
You may have a godly wife, or a godly mother, or a godly friend who has been
interceding for you for years. They have been standing in the gap between you and God,
taking your unbelief as their burden, casting it constantly before the Lord, begging Him
to give you yet one more chance to repent. Maybe as David went to Nabal, God has sent
one last warning to you… an unexplained sickness, a bout with financial ruin,
unexplained messengers from God, offering you a chance to respond to Jesus, your
David.
Your loved one may be praying for you right now. He or she may well know that the
days in which God will strive with you are coming to an end. I beg of you, give your heart
to Jesus. Do not be a Nabal.
Others of you may be that intercessor. You may have spent the better part of
your life on your knees, begging God to give that husband or that wife or that child or
that parent, yet one more chance. Like Abigail, you may have seen the warfare coming,
and rushing to meet your Master, have asked again and again for the judgement to be
stayed. What a godly ministry…
The role of an intercessor. How few accept it. And yet to it, we all have
been called. Perhaps that’s the difference between us and Abigail. She was little
known, that’s true. But when the pages of eternity unfold before us in Glory, will she not
be a living legend? I think so. Nabal? He was a fool. But he had one redeeming thing that
could be said of his life: …His wife’s name was Abigail. (I Samuel 25:3)
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 11
A Challenge to Further Study
1- Read the story of Nabal and Abigail again. Ask God to give insights into what
Abigail’s life might have been like in our present day.
2- Which character in this story did you most closely relate to?
3- What was the hard stuff for David?
4- What was the hard stuff for Abigail?
5- What could it have cost Abigail for her decision to do the hard stuff?
6- What “hard stuff” are you facing? What could it cost you?
7- What is the reward for doing the “hard stuff?”
…the Hard Stuff Part 1! 12

This Study was taught to me by Russell Kelfer. I have added my own commentary and insights. The deep insights should always be contributed to Russell. The shallow and feeble ones I take full responsibility for.

Lie Spotting