ESOCS Devotional 3 June 2025 – The Wise, The Rash and The Fool
MEMORY VERSE: “And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.” 1 Samuel 25: 23
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 25:23-44
Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. 24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. 25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. 26 Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. 29 Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”
32 Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.”
36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. 37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. 38 Then it happened, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.”
And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, “David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.”
41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, “Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives.
44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim..
Read Other ESOCS Devotional Here
The Fool – Nabal (1-11). So first, let’s look at Nabal. Nabal is the type of character, once you meet him, you never forget him. Nabal is presented as a foolish person in the story. In fact, his very name means “fool.” Imagine parents naming their child Fool! 1 Samuel 25:1-3 says, He is wealthy. He has an intelligent and beautiful wife. He is surly. And he is mean. Surly means (stubborn, difficult, harsh, even cruel) and mean (abusive or given to mistreating other people). Prov. 18:6: “A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.” That’s Nabal. He is mean and a fool, and his lips are about to invite a beating. He is also arrogant and selfish.1 Samuel 25:4-11. Read what the Bible expects rich people to always do in 1 Timothy 6:17-18.
The Rash – David (12-22). David is admirable in so many ways, but he is certainly not perfect, and he makes his fair share of mistakes. His response to Nabal here is one of them (1 Samuel 25:12-13). When David hears how Nabal responded to him, he is furious. He takes four hundred men and their swords, and they set out for Nabal’s place. Nabal’s words may invite a beating, but that doesn’t mean David has to respond to the invitation. David is acting more like the leader of a group of bandits in the wild west than as the future king here. See Proverbs 14:16; James 1:19-20. David is acting rashly but vengeful; ready to return evil for evil (20-22) – Romans 12:17, 19, 21.
The Wise – Abigail (23-31). Abigail’s name means “My father is delighted.” And any father would be absolutely delighted with such a wise, intelligent, beautiful daughter as Abigail. Abigail meets David, and unlike her foolish husband Nabal, she is humble and gracious (1 Samuel 25:23-25). Proverbs 11:2, 15:1 – Abigail is generous and gives David the provisions he had requested earlier. She is following the way of wisdom here (Prov11:25). And then finally, Abigail reminds David of God’s promises (29-31).
The message: Our actions affect our outcomes (Gal.6:9). Your actions and attitudes have a huge effect on your life and the lives of those around you. So, are you a Nabal, a David or an Abigail?
CHALLENGES
- It is more blessed if we develop the attitudes of Christ; it will enable us speak and act like him to our benefit and others.
PRAYER POINT
- Father, help my decision making, in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: 1 Samuel 26:1-End; John 3:22-36; 4:1-21
ESOCS Devotional 3 June 2025
