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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.
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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 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
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  Speaker 3: the name of Nabal. David was now a warrior, a
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  Speaker 3: powerful warrior of renown. But he knows his roots were
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  Speaker 3: that of a shepherd, and he treated these shepherds kindly.
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  Speaker 3: They were in the region during a time of feasting,
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  Speaker 3: and David wished to throw a feast for his men.
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  Speaker 3: So he sent messengers requesting a space and provisions for
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  Speaker 3: his men to eat. But Nabal was a terrible man.
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  Speaker 3: We are told that he was a wicked man, a
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  Speaker 3: harsh and cruel man. So it really is not a
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  Speaker 3: surprise that David's request was not met with hospitality or
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  Speaker 3: generosity or but rather with disrespect and refusal. Not only
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  Speaker 3: did Nabal say no to the request, but he insulted David.
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  Speaker 3: He spoke to David as though he were just a
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  Speaker 3: hired hand, asking to enjoy some of what he had
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  Speaker 3: not earned. But David was not anyone's servant. He was
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  Speaker 3: a conquering hero, the anointed king. His name, David, was
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  Speaker 3: a household name in Israel. Nabal was a selfish and
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  Speaker 3: sinful man, filled with greed. When David heard his answer,
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  Speaker 3: his first reaction was one of anger. So David told
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  Speaker 3: his men to strap on their swords and get ready
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  Speaker 3: to make Nabal pay for the insult. This was not
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  Speaker 3: a good or godly response. And it's a good reminder
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  Speaker 3: that for all of his positive qualities, all of his
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  Speaker 3: godly heart, David was still a human man and dealt
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  Speaker 3: with temptations all of his life. Fortunately for David, Nabal's
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  Speaker 3: wife Abigail was the opposite of her husband. When she
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  Speaker 3: was told what Nabal did, she prepared a feast for
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  Speaker 3: David and his men. Then she went out to meet
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  Speaker 3: David and fell at his feet to ask for mercy.
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  Speaker 3: Her kindness spoke to David and his anger subsided. Listen
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  Speaker 3: to what David says in 1 Samuel 25, 32-33. Blessed
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  Speaker 3: be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you
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  Speaker 3: this day to meet me. Blessed be your discretion, and
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  Speaker 3: blessed be you who have kept me this day from
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  Speaker 3: blood guilt and from working salvation with my own hand.
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  Speaker 3: Think about two things. First, God in his mercy sent
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  Speaker 3: Abigail to keep David from a careless sin. Abigail, for
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  Speaker 3: her part, recognized God's work in the world and made
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  Speaker 3: herself and her resources available to advance the purposes of
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  Speaker 3: the Lord. We also see that David acted so differently
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  Speaker 3: than Saul, who more than once took matters into his
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  Speaker 3: own hand, even when confronted. As a result, God blessed
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  Speaker 3: David and Abigail, but Nabal paid dearly for his harshness
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  Speaker 3: and cruelty. God struck him down, struck him dead that day.
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  Speaker 3: David comforted Abigail for her loss, and the two grew closer.
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  Speaker 3: A love was formed, and soon the two were married.
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  Speaker 3: It was a union blessed by God and would provide
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  Speaker 3: comfort to both in the years ahead. So let's pray. God,
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  Speaker 3: we ask that you would protect us from willful sins
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  Speaker 3: and deliver us from evil. That you will always, as
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  Speaker 3: you promised, provide a way out of temptation. Help us, Lord,
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  Speaker 3: to be generous and wise like Abigail and always show
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  Speaker 3: hospitality to strangers as the Bible commands. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
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• 12:30
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  Speaker 3: power for Christian living, be sure to visit jackgraham.org. God
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  Speaker 3: bless you.