God uses a beautiful and intelligent woman to preserve His servant's integrity [David and the Psalms Lesson 22]
- Robert Neilly
- Apr 7
- 1 min read
We are studying chapter 25 of First Samuel which has all the ingredients of a powerful story. There is a reversal of 'fortune' with the victim winning out in the end and the villain getting the punishment he deserves. There is also a love story with a beautiful woman and the hero David. There is a marked contrast between the apparent generosity of David and the small-mindedness of Nabal and there is an even greater contrast between Nabal (surly, churlish, selfish, vicious, nasty) and his wife Abigail (beautiful, intelligent, gracious, wise and diplomatic).
But there is a much deeper message which we hope to uncover in this study. Above all, it speaks of God's intervention in the life of His servant to protect him from a vicious, vindictive and wealthy landowner but also to prevent David from destroying His reputation by stooping to take matters into his own hands in spiteful revenge. Discover all this for yourself as you read and reflect on thsi chapter once more.
If you want to catch something of the background - the landscape, the history and the geography of the time, then maybe watch the 'House of David' series on Prime Video. I do not claim that it is totally accurate but it helps to transport our thinking from the technology and culture of the 21st century to the world of 1,000 BC when David and Saul and the other characters were living.
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