Pastor Marshall Ochs | July 9, 2023
In this message, Pastor Marshall teaches from 1 Samuel 25-26. These chapters include the altercation between David and Nabal, and the final interaction between David and Saul. These chapters reveal a powerful lesson about letting go of vengeance and letting God fight your battles. The story is cast against a backdrop of wise characters and foolish characters and begs the reader to consider what path they walk.
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Read 1 Samuel 25:1-11. Saul hunted David for over 10 years. David lived in the wilderness during those years. Many lessons are learned while going through a wilderness experience. Can you remember a wilderness experience in your life? Are you currently enduring a wilderness experience? These times teach us how much we need the Lord and can depend on Him to deliver us. What did you learn or are you learning as a result of your time in the wilderness?
Marshall pointed out that we can easily depend on ourselves and become arrogant just like Nabal. Nabal was foolish to reject David’s message of peace and generosity. We can often become too self-sufficient and not embrace what God is offering us because we have our own agenda. We are not willing to take the crown off of our own heads and bend the knee to the Lord. In what ways have you been relying on your own strength and desire to do things your own way?
Read 1 Samuel 25:12-22. David is angered by Nabal’s answer and wants revenge. When someone hurts you or offends you, it’s easy to desire retaliation. However, we are reminded in Deuteronomy 32:35 that vengeance is the Lord’s. Marshall reminded us that revenge has no place in the heart of God’s people, and heated reactions in the moment are not the solution. Are you dealing with an injustice that has been done to you? Pray and ask the Lord to fight this battle for you and help you to react in the situation as He would have you to.
Read 1 Samuel 25:23-38. We see Abigail plead with David not to retaliate against her husband. She reminds David that his character is well known and to not ruin it by killing Nabal. Praise the Lord for Abigail having wisdom and reminding David to trust the Lord. Proverbs 1:20 & 8:1 speak to the importance and value of wisdom. David listens and obeys, and the Lord delivers him and destroys Nabal. We must exercise humility and not let our anger destroy our character. As believers, we are witnesses to the Lord’s presence in our lives. When we lash out in anger, we ruin our witness and others will not trust us. Is there someone in your life that you need to ask for forgiveness in how you treated them? Be humble and work towards reconciliation.
Read 1 Samuel 25:39-44. We see David having more than one wife. God allowed this, but it came with suffering and pain. We are not meant to go beyond God’s boundaries and when we do, we suffer from our foolishness. Is there an area of your life that where you are doing things outside of God’s will and you are suffering the consequences? Lay down your selfish desires, listen to God’s instruction and obey.
Read 1 Samuel 26:1-11. David learned his lesson and went on to teach that lesson to his nephew. When God brings us through and wilderness experience, we need to use those lessons to teach others in order to help keep them from the same wilderness experience. This is especially true when parents teach their children important lessons we’ve learned from our experiences.
Read 1 Samuel 26:12-25. David confronts Saul and Saul repents, but David doesn’t trust him. David is learning important leadership lessons. Your word means everything. People need to be able to trust what you say. Godly leaders should have wisdom and integrity. Can people trust what you say? Can they depend on you? If you have struggled to be a man or woman of your word, ask the Lord to help you become so. Spend time daily in God’s word and in prayer. Do this so that you may know Him better, allowing Him to mold your character to reflect Him more to others.