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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: And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said,
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  Speaker 1: Blessed be the Lord that hath pleaded the curse of
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  Speaker 1: my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept
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  Speaker 1: his servant from evil. For the Lord hath returned the
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  Speaker 1: wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent
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  Speaker 1: and communed with Abigail to take her to him to wife.
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  Speaker 1: 1 Samuel 25.39 Today, Heavenly Father, Through the power of
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  Speaker 1: this passage, I pray you open the eyes of my
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  Speaker 1: heart so that I may know and recognize when you
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  Speaker 1: are asking me to show kindness to strangers. I choose
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  Speaker 1: to live with an attitude of gratitude because you gifted
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  Speaker 1: me with so much. Through Abigail's wisdom, I now know
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  Speaker 1: that my first response is to always show kindness to
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  Speaker 1: those in need. I decree and declare, that I am
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  Speaker 1: beyond blessed, and I will use my abundance to show
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  Speaker 1: your loving kindness to all that I come in contact with.
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  Speaker 1: I denounce any mindset that carries a lacking mentality. I
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  Speaker 1: denounce any selfishness that could arise within me like Nabal.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Lord, that my salvation and active abundance comes
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  Speaker 1: from your loving heart, and it is in this same
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  Speaker 1: vein that I will do unto others as you have
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  Speaker 1: done unto me. I'm blessed to be a blessing. In Jesus' name, amen.
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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 out
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  Speaker 2: after him. Abigail rode after her servant to find David,
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  Speaker 2: who had already been on his way to them. When
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  Speaker 2: Abigail saw him, she hurried down from the donkey and
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  Speaker 2: fell at David's feet.' Please, Lord, do not regard my
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  Speaker 2: worthless husband.' He is bitter and foolish. Do not muddy
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  Speaker 2: your conscience with taking his life. He is not worth killing,
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  Speaker 2: and I have prepared a feast for you and your men.
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  Speaker 2: David looked at Abigail. She was breathtaking to him. Not
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  Speaker 2: only her beauty, but the strength of her character to
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  Speaker 2: ride up to meet up. David was enraptured by her,
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  Speaker 2: and barely able to speak. David smiled and put his
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  Speaker 2: hands behind his head. With a laugh, he said, blessed
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  Speaker 2: be God for you. You have kept me from mindlessly
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  Speaker 2: seeking revenge. My heart would have been corrupted for killing
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  Speaker 2: your husband. God has restrained me with you, and I
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  Speaker 2: am grateful. David took her hand and helped her onto
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  Speaker 2: her feet. Go out in peace. Abigail returned to see
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  Speaker 2: her husband throwing his own feast with the food she
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  Speaker 2: had prepared. Him and his rotten friends were gorging themselves
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  Speaker 2: on food and wine. Nabal was belligerently drunk. His burping
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  Speaker 2: and vomiting filled the air, and Abigail was sick at
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  Speaker 2: the sight of him. She told him nothing of her
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  Speaker 2: meeting with David, for he was too intoxicated to stand
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  Speaker 2: up straight. In the morning, Abigail told her husband that
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  Speaker 2: she had stopped David from killing him. Out of sheer
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  Speaker 2: surprise and a weakened heart from years of gluttony, Nabal
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  Speaker 2: died from a heart attack. God had allowed Nabal's own
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  Speaker 2: sin to creep up within him and take his life.
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  Speaker 2: So Abigail was left a widow. When David caught wind
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  Speaker 2: of Nabal's death, he praised God, saying, God has avenged
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  Speaker 2: Nabal's insult for me. So he rode to go and
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  Speaker 2: comfort Abigail. The two spoke into the night. They shared stories, emotions,
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  Speaker 2: and laughter. The two were married and loved one another deeply.
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  Speaker 2: Abigail followed David and his 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 and make the word of God known. This
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  Speaker 3: was the turning of a page in Israel's history. And
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  Speaker 3: the next chapter is about to begin as David began
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  Speaker 3: his rise to sit on the throne as God's chosen
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  Speaker 3: king to lead Israel. After Samuel's death, David went to
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  Speaker 3: Paran where he and his men met sheep sharers who
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  Speaker 3: worked for a very wealthy man by the name of Nabal.
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  Speaker 3: David was now a warrior, a powerful warrior of renown.
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  Speaker 3: But he knows his roots were that of a shepherd,
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  Speaker 3: and he treated these shepherds kindly. They were in the
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  Speaker 3: region during a time of feasting, and David wished to
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  Speaker 3: throw a feast for his men. So he sent messengers
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  Speaker 3: requesting a space and provisions for his men to eat.
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  Speaker 3: But Nabal was a terrible man. We are told that
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  Speaker 3: he was a wicked man, a harsh and cruel man.
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  Speaker 3: So it really is not a surprise that David's request
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  Speaker 3: was not met with hospitality or generosity. but rather with
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  Speaker 3: disrespect and refusal. Not only did Nabal say no to
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  Speaker 3: the request, but he insulted David. He spoke to David
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  Speaker 3: as though he were just a hired hand, asking to
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  Speaker 3: enjoy some of what he had not earned. But David
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  Speaker 3: was not anyone's servant. He was a conquering hero, the
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  Speaker 3: anointed king. His name, David, was a household name in Israel.
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  Speaker 3: Nabal was a selfish and sinful man, filled with greed.
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  Speaker 3: When David heard his answer, his first reaction was one
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  Speaker 3: of anger. So David told his men to strap on
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  Speaker 3: their swords and get ready to make Nabal pay for
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  Speaker 3: the insult. This was not a good or godly response.
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  Speaker 3: And it's a good reminder that for all of his
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  Speaker 3: positive qualities, all of his godly heart, David was still
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  Speaker 3: a human man and dealt with temptations all of his life.
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  Speaker 3: Fortunately for David, Nabal's wife Abigail was the opposite of
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  Speaker 3: her husband. When she was told what Nabal did, she
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  Speaker 3: prepared a feast for David and his men. Then she
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  Speaker 3: went out to meet David and fell at his feet
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  Speaker 3: to ask for mercy. Her kindness spoke to David and
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  Speaker 3: his anger subsided. Listen to what David says in 1
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  Speaker 3: Samuel 25, 32-33. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
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  Speaker 3: who sent you this day to meet me. Blessed be
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  Speaker 3: your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me
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  Speaker 3: this day from blood guilt and from working salvation with
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  Speaker 3: my own hand. Think about two things. First, God in
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  Speaker 3: His mercy sent Abigail to keep David from a careless sin. Abigail,
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  Speaker 3: for her part, recognized God's work in the world and
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  Speaker 3: made herself and her resources available to advance the purposes
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  Speaker 3: of the Lord. We also see that David acted so
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  Speaker 3: differently than Saul, who more than once took matters into
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  Speaker 3: his own hand, even when confronted. As a result, God
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  Speaker 3: blessed David and Abigail, but Nabal paid dearly for his
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  Speaker 3: harshness and cruelty. God struck him down, struck him dead
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  Speaker 3: that day. David comforted Abigail for her loss, and the
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  Speaker 3: two grew closer. A love was formed, and soon the
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  Speaker 3: two were married. It was a union blessed by God
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  Speaker 3: and would provide comfort to both in the years ahead.
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  Speaker 3: So let's pray. God, we ask that you would protect
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  Speaker 3: us from willful sins and deliver us from evil. That
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  Speaker 3: you will always, as you promised, provide a way out
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  Speaker 3: of temptation. Help us, Lord, to be generous and wise
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  Speaker 3: like Abigail and always show hospitality to strangers as the
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  Speaker 3: Bible commands. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening
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  Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham
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  Speaker 3: from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and make prayer
• 12:20
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• 12:26
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• 12:29
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• 12:32
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  Speaker 3: be sure to visit JackGraham.org. God bless you.
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  Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative health care
• 12:49
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