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Abigail and David - The Book of 1 Samuel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when David heard that Nabal was dead,
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  Speaker 1: he said, Blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded the
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  Speaker 1: curse of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and
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  Speaker 1: hath kept his servant from evil. For the Lord hath
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  Speaker 1: returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And
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  Speaker 1: David sent and communed with Abigail to take her to
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  Speaker 1: him to wife. 1 Samuel 25.39 Today, Heavenly Father, through
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  Speaker 1: the power of this passage, I pray you open the
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  Speaker 1: eyes of my heart so that I may know and
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  Speaker 1: recognize when you are asking me to show kindness to strangers.
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  Speaker 1: I choose to live with an attitude of gratitude because
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  Speaker 1: you gifted me with so much. Through Abigail's wisdom, I
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  Speaker 1: now know that my first response is to always show
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  Speaker 1: kindness to those in need. I decree and declare, that
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  Speaker 1: I am beyond blessed, and I will use my abundance
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  Speaker 1: to show your loving kindness to all that I come
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  Speaker 1: in contact with. I denounce any mindset that carries a
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  Speaker 1: lacking mentality. I denounce any selfishness that could arise within
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  Speaker 1: me like Nabal. Thank you, Lord, that my salvation and
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  Speaker 1: active abundance comes from your loving heart, and it is
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  Speaker 1: in this same vein that I will do unto others
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  Speaker 1: as you have done unto me. I'm blessed to be
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  Speaker 1: a blessing. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening to these daily
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  Speaker 1: prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the
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  Speaker 1: Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year, brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, we witnessed the redemption of Saul.
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  Speaker 2: David had the perfect opportunity to take Saul's life and
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  Speaker 2: end his suffering as an exile, but chose to show
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  Speaker 2: Saul mercy. The two embraced as father and son, and
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  Speaker 2: David was restored to good standing among Israel. In this story,
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  Speaker 2: we learn that Samuel passes away, and we meet a
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  Speaker 2: man named Nabal, who insults David. But the Lord struck
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  Speaker 2: Nabal dead, and David marries his wife Abigail, as inspired
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  Speaker 2: by the book of 1 Samuel.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we
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  Speaker 3: saw how David, despite being given an easy opportunity to
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  Speaker 3: kill Saul and free himself from the king's persecution, took
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  Speaker 3: mercy on Saul and spared his life. When Saul discovered
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  Speaker 3: what David had done, it broke him and he repented
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  Speaker 3: for all the harm he had tried to do to David.
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  Speaker 3: The fellowship between the two was restored and David was
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  Speaker 3: once again in good standing with Israel's king. Today we'll
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  Speaker 3: hear of the passing of the great prophet Samuel, the
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  Speaker 3: man who anointed both Saul and David and had been
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  Speaker 3: the voice of God to his people for many years.
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  Speaker 3: We'll also learn about a man by the name of Nabal,
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  Speaker 3: whose disrespect and lack of generous hospitality towards God's chosen
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  Speaker 3: man would cost him his life. Nabal's widow, Abigail, however,
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  Speaker 3: will capture David's heart and the two will be wed.
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  Speaker 3: So let's listen now to today's scripture.
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  Speaker 2: Israel's great prophet Samuel departed to be with his Lord.
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  Speaker 2: All of Israel assembled at Ramah to mourn and bury him.
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  Speaker 2: Samuel marked the true end of the era of judges.
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  Speaker 2: Samuel's diligence and faithfulness to God was unmatched, and Israel
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  Speaker 2: would greatly miss his wisdom. The era of David was approaching,
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  Speaker 2: and God was preparing him for great things. David rose
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  Speaker 2: up and went down into the wilderness of Paran. There
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  Speaker 2: David met some sheep shearers who belonged to the house
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  Speaker 2: of a man named Nabal. David hosted the men and
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  Speaker 2: showed them great kindness and hospitality. David was elated to
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  Speaker 2: meet sheep shearers, for he was once a shepherd and
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  Speaker 2: loved speaking to familiar people. David was in need of
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  Speaker 2: a home to host a feast for him and his men,
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  Speaker 2: so he sent some of his servants to go and
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  Speaker 2: greet Nabal in his name. The servants left and entered
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  Speaker 2: into Nabal's house. Nabal was a hairy and grumpy man,
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  Speaker 2: and unpleasant to be around. However, his wife Abigail was
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  Speaker 2: incredibly beautiful and kind. The men asked Nabal if he
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  Speaker 2: wouldn't mind hosting them for a feast. Nabal laughed and
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  Speaker 2: spat on the floor, saying, Who is David? He another
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  Speaker 2: dog running away from his master? Why should I give
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  Speaker 2: my resources to a man I haven't met? So Nabal
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  Speaker 2: shooed the servants away. When David was told this, His
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  Speaker 2: anger was kindled. Every man strap his sword, David commanded,
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  Speaker 2: and he took some of his men to go and
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  Speaker 2: speak with Nabal himself. One of the young shearers that
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  Speaker 2: met David came to Abigail and said, David sent messengers
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  Speaker 2: to ask if they could feast with us, but your
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  Speaker 2: husband railed at them ferociously. David was kind to us.
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  Speaker 2: They protected us when we were out in the wilderness.
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  Speaker 2: Would you consider hosting David since your husband is such
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  Speaker 2: a worthless man? Abigail wasted no time at all and
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  Speaker 2: began to prepare food for all of David's men. She
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  Speaker 2: gathered meat, figs, bread, and wine. She ordered the young
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  Speaker 2: man to go out and tell David there would be
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  Speaker 2: a feast waiting for him, and she would ride.
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  Speaker 1: Out after him.
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  Speaker 2: Abigail rode after her servant to find David, who had
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  Speaker 2: already been on his way to them. When Abigail saw him,
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  Speaker 2: she hurried down from the donkey and fell at David's feet.' Please, Lord,'
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  Speaker 2: Do not regard my worthless husband. He is bitter and foolish.
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  Speaker 2: Do not muddy your conscience with taking his life. He
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  Speaker 2: is not worth killing, and I have prepared a feast
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  Speaker 2: for you and your men. David looked at Abigail. She
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  Speaker 2: was breathtaking to him. Not only her beauty, but the
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  Speaker 2: strength of her character to ride up to meet up.
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  Speaker 2: David was enraptured by her and barely able to speak.
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  Speaker 2: David smiled and put his hands behind his head. With
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  Speaker 2: a laugh, he said, Blessed be God for you. You
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  Speaker 2: have kept me from mindlessly seeking revenge. My heart would
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  Speaker 2: have been corrupted for killing your husband. God has restrained
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  Speaker 2: me with you, and I am grateful. David took her
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  Speaker 2: hand and helped her onto her feet. Go out in peace.
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  Speaker 2: Abigail returned to see her husband throwing his own feast
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  Speaker 2: with the food she had prepared. Him and his rotten
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  Speaker 2: friends were gorging themselves on food and wine. Nabal was
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  Speaker 2: belligerently drunk. His burping and vomiting filled the air, and
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  Speaker 2: Abigail was sick at the sight of him. She told
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  Speaker 2: him nothing of her meeting with David, for he was
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  Speaker 2: too intoxicated to stand up straight. In the morning, Abigail
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  Speaker 2: told her husband that she had stopped David from killing him.
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  Speaker 2: Out of sheer surprise and a weakened heart from years
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  Speaker 2: of gluttony, Nabal died from a heart attack. God had
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  Speaker 2: allowed Nabal's own sin to creep up within him and
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  Speaker 2: take his life. So Abigail was left a widow. When
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  Speaker 2: David caught wind of Nabal's death, he praised God, saying,
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  Speaker 2: God has avenged Nabal's insult for me. So he rode
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  Speaker 2: to go and comfort Abigail. The two spoke into the night.
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  Speaker 2: They shared stories, emotions, and laughter. The two were married
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  Speaker 2: and loved one another deeply. Abigail followed David and his
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  Speaker 2: men wherever they went.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's story with the passing of a great
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  Speaker 3: and godly man, the prophet Samuel. His death is only
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  Speaker 3: given a single verse in 1 Samuel, but his legacy
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  Speaker 3: lives on. The entire nation mourns this man's death, as
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  Speaker 3: indeed he had served them for generations. From the day
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  Speaker 3: his mother Hannah dedicated him to the Lord and kept
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  Speaker 3: her promise to God that he would serve the Lord
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  Speaker 3: all the days of his life, Samuel's life was marked
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  Speaker 3: by a commitment to seek God and make the Word
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  Speaker 3: of God known. This was the turning of a page
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  Speaker 3: in Israel's history. And the next chapter is about to
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  Speaker 3: begin as David began his rise to sit on the
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  Speaker 3: throne as God's chosen king to lead Israel. After Samuel's death,
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  Speaker 3: David went to Paran, where he and his men met
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  Speaker 3: sheep-sharers who worked for a very wealthy man by the
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  Speaker 3: name of Nabal. David was now a warrior, a powerful
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  Speaker 3: warrior of renown. But he knows his roots were that
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  Speaker 3: of a shepherd, and he treated these shepherds kindly. They
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  Speaker 3: were in the region during a time of feasting, and
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  Speaker 3: David wished to throw a feast for his men. So
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  Speaker 3: he sent messengers requesting a space and provisions for his
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  Speaker 3: men to eat. But Nabal was a terrible man. We
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  Speaker 3: are told that he was a wicked man, a harsh
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  Speaker 3: and cruel man. So it really is not a surprise
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  Speaker 3: that David's request was not met with hospitality or generosity,
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  Speaker 3: but rather with disrespect and refusal. Not only did Nabal
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  Speaker 3: say no to the request, but he insulted David. He
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  Speaker 3: spoke to David as though he were just a hired hand,
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  Speaker 3: asking to enjoy some of what he had not earned.
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  Speaker 3: But David was not anyone's servant. He was a conquering hero,
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  Speaker 3: the anointed king, His name, David, was a household name
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  Speaker 3: in Israel. Nabal was a selfish and sinful man, filled
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  Speaker 3: with greed. When David heard his answer, his first reaction
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  Speaker 3: was one of anger. So David told his men to
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  Speaker 3: strap on their swords and get ready to make Nabal
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  Speaker 3: pay for the insult. This was not a good or
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  Speaker 3: godly response. And it's a good reminder that for all
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  Speaker 3: of his positive qualities, all of his godly heart, David
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  Speaker 3: was still a human man and dealt with temptations all
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  Speaker 3: of his life. Fortunately for David, Nabal's wife Abigail was
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  Speaker 3: the opposite of her husband. When she was told what
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  Speaker 3: Nabal did, she prepared a feast for David and his men.
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  Speaker 3: Then she went out to meet David and fell at
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  Speaker 3: his feet to ask for mercy. Her kindness spoke to
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  Speaker 3: David and his anger subsided. Listen to what David says
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  Speaker 3: in 1 Samuel 25, 32-33. Blessed be the Lord, the
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  Speaker 3: God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.
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  Speaker 3: Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have
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  Speaker 3: kept me this day from blood guilt and from working
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  Speaker 3: salvation with my own hand. Think about two things. First,
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  Speaker 3: God in his mercy sent Abigail to keep David from
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  Speaker 3: a careless sin. Abigail, for her part, recognized God's work
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  Speaker 3: in the world and made herself and her resources available
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  Speaker 3: to advance the purposes of the Lord. We also see
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  Speaker 3: that David acted so differently than Saul, who more than
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  Speaker 3: once took matters into his own hand, even when confronted.
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  Speaker 3: As a result, God blessed David and Abigail, but Nabal
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  Speaker 3: paid dearly for his harshness and cruelty. God struck him down,
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  Speaker 3: struck him dead that day. David comforted Abigail for her loss,
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  Speaker 3: and the two grew closer. A love was formed, and
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  Speaker 3: soon the two were married. It was a union blessed
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  Speaker 3: by God and would provide comfort to both in the
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  Speaker 3: years ahead. So let's pray. God, we ask that you
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  Speaker 3: would protect us from willful sins and deliver us from evil.
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  Speaker 3: That you will always, as you promised, provide a way
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  Speaker 3: out of temptation. Help us, Lord, to be generous and
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  Speaker 3: wise like Abigail and always show hospitality to strangers as
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  Speaker 3: the Bible commands. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack
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  Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and make
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• 12:28
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• 12:31
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  Speaker 3: for Christian living, be sure to visit jackgraham.org. God bless you.