Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / February 6 - 1 Samuel 25

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February 6 - 1 Samuel 25 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is Tuesday, it's the 6th
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  of February and welcome, welcome to our opportunity to press
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  pause on the busy world as it whirls around its axis and we
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  can read the Bible together. The other great way to pause the
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  world is drinking cups of tea, but that might not be your cup
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  of tea. But irrespective, here we are
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  with another great way to force the world, which is asking God,
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  Spirit, Holy Spirit, still our hearts, still our minds, that we
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  can come before you hear your words and learn more about you,
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  your character and your kingship in our life.
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  And this friends, this is proof that this author is not
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  particularly sentimental. Because Pearl Samuel is the
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  titular character of this whole book and he dies in today's
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  reading, and his death is given just two sentences.
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  It's quick. And then on it goes with the
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  story of David, who the narrative is now focusing
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  around. So having said all that, let us
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  read together, friends, First Samuel, Chapter 25.
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  Now Samuel died and all Israel gathered for his funeral.
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  They buried him at his house in Ramah.
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  Then David moved down to the wilderness of Mayon.
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  There was a wealthy man from Mayon who owned property near
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  the town of Carmel. He had 3000 sheep and 1000
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  goats, and it was a sheep shearing time.
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  This man's name was Nabal, and his wife Abigail was a sensible
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  and beautiful woman. But Nabil, a descendant of
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  Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.
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  When David heard that Nabel was shearing his sheep, he sent ten
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  of his young men to Carmel. With this message for Nabel,
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  peace and prosperity to you, your family and everything you
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  own. I'm told that it is sheep
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  shearing time while you're shepherd stayed among us near
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  Kabul. We never harmed them and nothing
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  was ever stolen from them. Ask your own men and they will
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  tell you this is true. So would you be kind to us?
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  Since we have come at a time of celebration, please share any
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  provisions you might have on hand with us and your friend
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  David. David's young men gave this
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  message to Nabil in David's name and they waited for a reply.
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  Who is this fellow David? Nabal sneered to the young men.
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  Who does this son of Jesse think he is?
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  There are lots of servants these days who run away from their
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  masters. Should I take my bread and my
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  water and my meat that I've slaughtered for my shearers and
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  give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?
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  So David's young men returned and told him what Nabil had
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  said. Get your swords, was David's
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  reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with
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  David and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.
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  Meanwhile, one of Nabil's servants went to Abigail and
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  told her David sent messages from the wilderness to greet our
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  master, but he screamed insults at them.
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  These men have been very good to us and we never suffered any
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  harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the
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  whole time they were with us. In fact, day and night they were
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  like a wall of protection to us and the sheep.
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  You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is
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  going to be trouble for our master and his whole family.
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  He's so ill tempered that no one can even talk to him.
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  Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves
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  of bread, 2 wineskins full of wine, 5 sheep that had been
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  slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of
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  raisins and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys and
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  said to her servants, Go on ahead, I will follow you
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  shortly. But she didn't tell her husband,
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  Nabel what she was doing. As she was riding her donkey
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  into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward
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  her. David had just been saying a lot
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  of good it did to help this fellow.
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  We protected his flocks in the wilderness and nothing he owned
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  was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for
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  good. May God strike me and kill me if
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  even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning.
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  When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and
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  bowed low before him. She fell at his feet and said, I
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  accept all blame in this matter, my Lord, please listen to what I
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  have to say. I know Nabil is a wicked and ill
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  tempered man. Please don't pay any attention
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  to him. Here's a fool, just as his name
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  suggests, but I never even saw the young men you sent.
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  Now, my Lord, as surely as the Lord lives, and you yourself
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  live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking
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  vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those
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  who try to harm you be cursed as Nabil is.
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  And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought you
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  and your young men. Please forgive me if I have
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  offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you
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  with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord's battles,
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  and you have not done wrong throughout your entire life,
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  even when you were chased by those who seek to kill you.
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  Your life is safe in the care of the Lord, your God secure in his
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  treasure pouch, but the lives of your enemies will disappear like
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  stones shot from a sling when the Lord has done all He
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  promised and has made you the leader of Israel.
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  Don't let this be a blemish on your record.
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  Then your conscience won't have you bear the staggering burden
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  of needless bloodshed and vengeance.
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  And when the Lord has done these great things for you, Please
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  remember me, your servant David replied to Abigail.
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  Praise the Lord, the God of Israel who has sent you to meet
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  me today. Thank God for your good sense.
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  Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out
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  vengeance with my own hands. For I swear by the Lord, the God
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  of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not
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  hurried out to meet me, not one of enables men would still be
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  alive tomorrow morning. Then David accepted her present
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  and told her return home in peace.
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  I've heard what you said. We will not kill your husband.
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  When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabil was throwing a
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  big party and was celebrating like a king.
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  He was very drunk, so she didn't tell him anything about her
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  meeting with David until dawn the next day.
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  In the morning, when Nabil was sober, his wife told him what
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  had happened. As a result, he had a stroke and
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  he lay paralysed on his bed like a stone.
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  About 10 days later, the Lord struck him and he died.
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  When David heard that Nabil was dead, he said, Praise the Lord,
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  who has avenged the insult I received from Nabel and has kept
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  me from doing it myself. Nabil has received the
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  punishment for his sin. Then David sent messengers to
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  Abigail to ask her to become his wife.
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  When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, David
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  has sent us to take you back to marry him.
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  She bowed low to the ground and responded, I, your servant would
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  be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to
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  become a slave, washing the feet of his servants.
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  Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls
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  at attendance, mounted her donkey, and went with David's
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  messengers. So she became his wife.
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  David also married a high Noam from Jezreel, making both of
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  them his wives. Soul, meanwhile, had given his
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  daughter Michael, David's wife, to a man from Gallium named
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  Palti, son of Leish. Lord, you have things covered,
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  don't you? In the full arc of time you
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  bring all things back to the way they should be.
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  And here we are, with our limited perspective, always
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  pushing to make things the way we think there should be in the
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  moment. We think they should be that
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  way, but not so with you, Lord. You see further than we can
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  possibly you know, more than we could possibly know.
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  And you shape all things in the fullness of time, though, to
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  help us rest in Your Majesty, your Kingship, and your
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  authority. That we would not feel that we
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  need to take things into our own hands moment by moment, but that
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  we can rest, trusting and knowing that you you are God and
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  ultimately it's your will that will be done.
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  So we rest. Rest in the enormity of you and
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  your shadow about where you can live as your servants, your
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  beloved children, bringing your Kingdom to fruition.
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  And we love you. And we can pray all of this only
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  in the precious saving name of Jesus, oh man.