PROVOKED TO
SIN, PROTECTED BY PROVIDENCE
Sometimes people do things that make
you wonder if the Lord actually expects you to come out with a victory over
sin! In those situations, you really
want to hear Him say, “Well, I don’t blame you…they had it coming!”
I know, that is
foolish thinking but still you have to wonder how we can keep from falling into
sinful attitudes, if not actions, in response to the bizarre behavior of
others. The truth is that sometimes you
finally realize that they are testing you, pushing you to see how far they can
go before you lose it!
David must have
felt that way when he ran into Nabal.
Even the Bible calls this guy “surly and mean.” With every positive expectation of a
favorable response to his request for a hospitable welcome from Nabal, David
was completely floored by the rude and belligerent treatment of the ten young
men he sent to ask him for assistance.
After all, he had been good to Nabal and had made sure that he and his
men kept their good reputation by making sure that nothing that belonged to
Nabal was in any way touched by his men.
Frankly, if
David had heard Nabal’s words personally instead of second-hand from his
advance team, he probably would have struck him down right on the spot…and no
one would have blamed him—except the Lord!
So the Lord provided a way for David to avoid the sin that he so ready
to commit.
THESIS: Once in a
while when sin appears to be inevitable, the Lord provides a way of escape that
protects us from reverting back to our old sinful nature.
There are four major lessons to be
learned in this encounter between David and the household of Nabal, each with
implications for us today.
I. RESPONSE
TO INJUSTICE
--The Scriptures speak
often against injustice and how we as the people of God should respond to it
when we find it.
--Acting
with noble intentions and doing what is right do not always result in
appropriate recognition and gratitude.
1 Samuel
25:7 …When your
shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were
at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing.
Ask your own servants and they will tell you…
--David had
no idea that he was dealing with a man who had no sense of fairness and saw no
injustice in taking from others without feeling any sense of obligation in
return.
--Besides the blatant
ingratitude of Nabal, his attitude demonstrated that he was indeed a
cold-hearted, selfish man who had no concern for anyone but himself.
--He was
too blind to see that his own well-being was served by at least acknowledging
that what he had he owed in part to David and his men.
--Whether he had been
around Saul and seen everyone catering to his every whim, or whether he had
grown to believe that he was ‘somebody’ having been in the service of the king
and now anointed to be the new king—David assumed that he deserved whatever he
asked of Nabal in return for his kindness to him.
You will
notice that David does not seem to work under the impression that kindness for
its own sake makes it worthwhile!
--Nabal showed David how
most people feel most of the time—expected to do right but never rewarded or
thanked for it!
·
Taken for granted …unappreciated …disrespected …insulted…the victim of
injustice
--Sound familiar? Some of you have just said the same things,
or words to that effect this very week either at home, at work, or even here at
church.
--But
isn’t it right to speak out against injustice?
Only when it is happening to someone else, not to you.
--God reserves the right
to address the injustices that you experience, and your role is to do the right
things for the right reasons without expecting anything in return.
1
Corinthians 6:7-8 The
very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely
defeated already. Why not rather be
wronged? Why not rather be
cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat
and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.
--David was ready to
press his case with Nabal, with the point of his sword! Nabal would probably rather have been sued
than killed!
--Each of
us has been treated this way by someone at sometime, and we like David have
wanted to seek revenge for the injustice, a pound of flesh for the way we were
treated.
Lesson 1: Let God take care of the results when you do
what is right and do not keep score of wrongs done to you when you think you
deserve better.
II.
CHALLENGES TO CONSISTENCY
--Just because we have
recently been successful in resisting a temptation to sin in a major area of
temptation does not mean that we have turned the corner and are no longer
susceptible to sin.
A.
VICTORIOUS AGAINST A BIG TEMPTATION
--David had
just won a crucial victory when he resisted the temptation to take Saul’s life
and seize the throne by force.
--He must
have felt good about himself and grateful that the Lord had enabled him to
stand firm in the face of such a test of his willingness to trust the Lord
instead of his own hand.
B. OVERCOME
BY A BASE INSTINCT
--The sweet
taste of victory in the big moment was now washed away by the bitter taste of
revenge as David gave in to his base instincts, his selfish interest in
vindicating the honor of his own name.
--How blind
he was to the inconsistency of winning big one moment only to give it all away
the next!
u 1 Samuel 25:10-13a
On my recent trip to Poland and Romania, I had a strange feeling in my
stomach one night at supper and decided to select something non-threatening for
my evening meal. Wisely I chose a
vegetable soup and bread and did feel better right away. Just as I was congratulating myself on my
rare good sense, the waiter offered dessert.
Now that I was feeling better, I
agreed at once! I won the battle with
my appetite one minute only to lose to my taste buds the next. Fortunately, I suffered no repercussions but
could have really done myself in by giving in after having just made a good
decision.
1
Corinthians 10:12 So, if you
think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
--When we least expect
the next round of temptation to succeed in taking us in, we get hit from a
different direction and find ourselves falling just when we thought we were
able to withstand anything that comes our way.
Lesson 2: Just because you succeeded in overcoming
temptation in one area does not mean that you are immune to temptation and
failure in another.
III.
PROTECTION FROM SIN
--Even though David was
not held back from sin by his own discipline and convictions, the Lord still
provided a way for him to avoid a response that would stain his hands and his heart
with the guilt of Nabal’s blood.
--He was
all set to go after Nabal, but not settle for an eye for an eye…David wanted to
destroy everything Nabal had.
1 Samuel
25:21-22 David had
just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in
the desert so that nothing of his was missing.
He has paid me back evil for good.
May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave
alive one male of all who belong to him.”
--David is
so consumed with thoughts of revenge that he leaps ahead foolishly with every
intention to commit an act which displays a total disregard for the God by whom
he swears.
--But in a wonderful
demonstration of grace, God intervened in a direct way and prevented the sinful
action toward which David was moving.
--God
always makes it possible for us to keep from sin, but once in a while He does
something extraordinary to protect us from what we are about to do.
1. He always
provides a way to escape so that we are always without excuse for our sin.
1
Corinthians 10:13 No
temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you
to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide
the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
2. He
sometimes intervenes directly to show us a better way to handle the immediate
temptation enticing us to sin.
1 Samuel
25:32-33 David said
to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you
today to meet me. May you be blessed
for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and avenging
myself with my own hands…
3. He
occasionally just removes the opportunity entirely so that we cannot proceed
with our choice to sin even if we wanted!
You Christian business men know what I mean when you
are on the road, exhausted, and go to you hotel room and the lure of the cable
movie channels is more than you are willing to resist…but you discover that for
some reason, your TV is not working properly and nothing offensive
is available!
Or someone makes you angry and you
call them to set them straight while you still know exactly what you want to
tell them…but they are not available and for some reason you have to wait until
you have regained some self-control and yielded your anger to the Spirit.
Your promotion did not go through
for reasons you cannot understand…but instead of now being transferred to a
living situation that would have brought more temptation and less spiritual
focus into your life, you are able to remain and not suffer the pain of the
poor choices you could have faced elsewhere.
Lesson 3: We do not have any way of knowing how many
times God has used one or all three of these methods to protect us from our own
sinful nature and choices, but we do know that He has always been faithful to
keep us from sin.
IV. INSPIRED
TO GODLINESS
--God used Abigail, the
wife of Nabal, not only to protect David from sin, but to inspire David to lift
his eyes to a higher level of godliness than he had ever known.
--The way
she handled herself and demonstrated godly character set her apart as a woman
of unusual quality and a heart for God that was worthy of imitation.
--On the verge of
violating the sacred responsibility David had to serve the Lord with every
moment of his life, the Lord placed before him such a sharp contrast in the
character and actions of Abigail that he was called up short.
--What a
startling realization that here he was getting ready to sin boldly and
recklessly and God presents him with someone just as bold in trying to please
the Lord and protect all that is right and good.
--Abigail, by her example
not only
prevented
sin but
promoted
godliness at the same time!
--Instead
of being further offended by the gentle rebuke of Abigail, David recognizes the
hand of the Lord and gives Him praise for her model of godly character in the
face of a major crisis.
--In this woman of God,
David sees several things that he at the moment knew were not evident in his
own life:
Wisdom and
‘savvy’ – 25:18
Selflessness – 25:24
Observant
Mind (‘in touch’) – 25:26
noted David’s triumphs
in the events at Adullam in the way he avoided sin there
25:28-29 spoke of fighting the Lord’s battles and
then made an allusion to the way he won over Goliath (hurled from pocket of
sling)
Good
judgment – 25:33
God-centered
perspective – 25:29
bound securely in the bundle of the living Lord
25:30 When the Lord has done for my master…
25:31 Long brought success
25:31 Guilty conscience before the Lord
--Here in
the midst of a situation that could have turned out very badly for David and
definitely for Nabal and his household, the Lord lifted up a standard of
godliness to counter-act the harsh reality of the sin about to take place.
Lesson 4: Models of godliness and wisdom raise our
sights higher and lift our aspirations to new heights as we see what can be
possible with a heart wholly yielded to and directed by God.
What
happened to Nabal? He did indeed get
what he deserved as the mean man that he was.
1 Samuel
25:27 Then in the
morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things and his heart
failed him and he became like a stone.
About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.
David
avoided the sin that could have stained his hands and his conscience by
avenging himself with his own hands. He
was able to be faithful to the Lord another day and enjoy the blessed mercy,
which had protected him from the harm he was ready to bring upon himself by his
sin.
David learned to raise his sights higher…lift his aspirations
to new heights…and give praise for the protective power of God!
Abigail was blessed by the Lord in that
she was taken from an awful man, a mean man, and given in marriage to David, a
man after God’s own heart. Later years
must have been extremely hard on a woman of her character as David failed to
maintain his godliness, but for now she enjoys the sweet favor of the Lord.
Justice prevailed and the name of the
Lord was praised. God does the same
thing in our lives every day…but we need to start paying more attention so that
He receives the glory and praise He deserves.
For all the times the Lord has protected
us from sin—even when we were so provoked and enticed that our fall was inevitable
by human standards—may we bow down before Him today and praise Him because He
is indeed our faithful Father who allows us to find our protection under the
shadow of the Almighty and abide in His presence forever!
Providence
Baptist Church
© David
Horner 2004
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