B. David confronts Saul again with the evidence of his mercy
1. (1 Sam 26:13-16) David chides Abner, Saul's body guard
Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them. David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, "Will you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?" So David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord. This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, all of you must surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the LORD'S anointed. And now, see where the king's spear is and the jug of water that was at his head."
David crossed over the other side: After taking the royal spear and jug of water from beside the sleeping king, David and Abishai left the camp of Saul. They then crossed the deep ravine and re-ascended the opposite mountain. There was a deep gorge between him and Saul's camp.
With a large distance between them: At Engedi Saul was alone, and he had place himself in David's power. Here Saul had his army around him, and David entered the camp by stealth. It is not, therefore, until he had placed an ample distance between himself and Saul's army the he calls to Abner.
And who is like you in Israel: Among Saul's subjects there was no one so powerful and highly placed as the commander-in-chief, Abner. He ought to have shown himself worthy of his pre-eminence. Justly for neglecting his duty and exposing the king to danger, he and his people were worthy to die. David's whole dialog seems to be bitter and sarcastic towards Abner. There seems to be implied a feud which existed between Abner and David. If this is the case, the royal generosity and nobility of David's character was well shown in his subsequent friendship with Abner, and David showed deep sorrow for the great captain's untimely death in 2 Samuel 3.
See where the king's spear is and the jug of water that was at his head: This dramatic evidence, like the evidence of the corner of Saul's robe in 1 Samuel 24:11, was undeniable proof that David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he did not do it.
2. (1 Sam 26:17-20) David calls out to Saul
Then Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And David said, "It is my voice, my lord the king." He also said, "Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the LORD had stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before the LORD, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.' Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the LORD, for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."
Then Saul recognized David's voice: Since David and Abishai came into the came during the night, when David calls to King Saul, it would have been very hard to discern who it was who was calling on the mountain. Only by voice recognition does Saul realize it is David who is calling him.
What have I done: The entire address of David to Saul is intensely reverent and even loving. The trophies of this late night raid were in David's hands, and yet, David had again chosen to spare Saul's life.
If the LORD had stirred you up against me...but if it is men: David makes it easy for Saul to repent. David knew very well that the LORD or other men had not stirred up Saul. Rather, it came from Saul's own bitterness, carnality and jealousy. But, David offers these suggestions to Saul to give him an easier way to repent. Saul can admit that his actions against David were wrong, without admitting that they originated from himself.
They have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the LORD, saying, "Go, serve other gods.": Here, David reveals his own heart's struggle under the pressure from Saul's relentless persecution. What hurts David the most is that he cannot go to the house of God and openly be with the people of God and live his life after the LORD as he longs to. The pressure of all this tempts David to consider leaving Israel all together and going among those who worship other gods.
Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the LORD: David concludes his appeal to Saul with a simple request. "Please, Saul, do not kill me."
As one hunts a partridge in the mountains: Partridge in the Middle East are different from the ones we find in other parts of the world. These birds prefer to walk. When hunting them, they flee to trees for safety. When the hunter tries to capture the bird, it flies away. After running up into trees several times, the bird grows quite tired. Soon, even if its life is endangered, it cannot fly. The hunters are then able to kill the partridge by beating it down out of the tree with sticks and clubs. It was in a similar matter Saul hunted David. Saul would come hastily upon David and frequently chase David, hoping David would soon grow weary and would be destroyed when his strength left him.
3. (1 Sam 26:21) Saul apologizes to David
Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return my son, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error."
I have sinned: The last time Saul was in this situation, he was overcome with emotion. His feelings seemed right, but his life did not change (1 Samuel 24:16-21). This time, there is something cold and mechanical about Saul's words. It feels as though the words are right, but there are no feelings behind his words. Although Saul said, "I have sinned", he was far more concerned about his image before the people than the condition of his heart and life before God.
Sometimes we know the right words to say, we know what sounds spiritual, but our hearts are not in the words uttered from our lips. When we sense this in others, we are to love them and forgive them. If we sense this in ourselves, we should be honest and pray mightily that our heart would come into the same place as our words.
I have played the fool: There seems to be something more in these words of Saul's than sorrow. He seems to blame himself for putting himself again in David's power through overconfidence in his own strength. In these words, there seems to be a complete life-story of Saul. There had been given Saul the Spirit of God, the friendship of Samuel, and the devotion of men whose hearts God had touched. He had acted disobediently and the Spirit of God left him. Samuel was not able to help, and the the hearts of the people had been turned away.
4. (1 Sam 26:22-25) David explains to Saul why he did not kill him
David replied, "Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it. The LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed. Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the LORD, and may He deliver me from all distress." Then Saul said to David, "Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
The LORD will repay each man for his righteousness: David trusts in the God who blesses the righteous and the faithful. David knew the truth of Hebrews 6:10: "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name."
So may my life be highly valued in the sight of the LORD: David wanted to fulfill his calling to be the next king of Israel. He wanted both the throne and the blessing of God. He refused to take the throne through murder or rebellion. He would wait until it came to him God's way. In this, David trusted that God would protect him when he did eventually reign over Israel. David knew if he wanted God's support when he became king, he must support Saul now.
David held on to this principle, and when he became king, he recognized that his righteousness was rewarded. "The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statues from me. I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with the blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, but will bring down the haughty looks" (Psalm 18:20-27).
David went on his way: Saul invited David to "return" (1 Samuel 26:21), but David did not take the invitation. He would wait and see if the repentant words Saul spoke showed a genuine repentance in his life. David and Saul depart, never to see each other again.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Sunday, April 22, 2018
1 Samuel Chapter 26 Part One (Verses 1-12)
DAVID SPARES SAUL'S LIFE AGAIN
A. David's second opportunity to kill Saul
1. (1 Sam 26:1-4) The Ziphites betray David again
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?" So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, beside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was definitely coming.
The Ziphites came to Saul: There are many points of similarity between this narrative and that contained in 1 Samuel 23:19-24 through 1 Samuel 24:1-22. It has been argued that since several authors penned 1 Samuel, that the account of Saul, David and the Ziphites has been duplicated. I, however, believe that the texts differ vastly and are simply two separate events with several similarities.
Main points of similarity between 1 Samuel 26 and 1 Samuel 23:19-24 through 1 Samuel 24:1-22:
1. The treachery of the Ziphites (1 Samuel 26:1; 1 Samuel 23:19)
2. David's position on the hill Hachilah (1 Samuel 26:1; 1 Samuel 23:19)
3. Saul's march with 3000 men (1 Samuel 26:3; 1 Samuel 24:2)
4. The speech of David's men (1 Samuel 26:8; 1 Samuel 24:4)
5. David's refusal to lay hands on God's anointed (1 Samuel 26:17; 1 Samuel 24:6)
6. Saul's recognition of David's voice (1 Samuel 26:17; 1 Samuel 24:16)
7. David's comparison of himself to a flea (1 Samuel 26:20; 1 Samuel 24:14)
Is not David hiding on the hill: The Ziphites again tell Saul of David's whereabouts. The first time the Ziphites betray David is in 1 Samuel 23:19-23. The knowledge of the Ziphites previous treachery to David and his men makes it seem strange that David would return to his former haunt. However, Abigail is from this region. David might have returned to the area to be near her family. Moreover, after the events at Engedi, perhaps David thought Saul was done chasing him. Unfortunately for David, Saul has relapsed back into his old self.
Gibeah: It seems after Saul's last attempt to capture David, he returns back to his place of birth and royal residence.
Three thousand chosen men of Israel: Saul must have felt threatened by David and his men. David only has six hundred men in his company. Three thousand men seems to be the number of Saul's standing army. ("Now Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent" 1 Samuel 13:2.)
2. (1 Sam 26:5-8) David's second opportunity to kill Saul
Then David arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him. Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" And Abishai said, "I will will go down with you." So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Anber and the people were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time."
Then David arose: When scouts inform David that Saul was in pursuit of him, he went in person to explore the area. From the opposite hill, David was able to see Saul and his army. David could have sent any of his 600 men to do the job. It made sense from a military point of view to send someone else. Why should David take on such a dangerous mission? The fact that David did this shows his boldness and courage.
Saul was lying in the circle of the camp: Saul's army with its wagons would form a circular barricade. At night, Saul's place would be in the center with Abner near him while the rest of the army would sleep around them.
Ahimelech the Hittite: The Hittites were one of the old Canaanite people. We hear of them around the time of Abraham (Genesis 15:20). The conquering Israelites subdued but did not exterminate them. Gradually, the Hittites (along with many other Canaanite people) enjoyed the Promised Land with the children of Israel in a joint occupation. We find the Hittites ranking among David's trusted, faithful men. Later in David's life, we hear of another Hittite, Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, filling an important post in the royal army. This is the only time Ahimelech the Hittite is mentioned in Scripture.
Abishai the son of Zeruiah: Zeruiah was David's sister. Abishai, later one of David's famous generals, was brother to Joab. Abishai is speculated to have been about the same age as David. There was a younger brother, Asahel, who also had high favor with David. Between these three sons of Zeruiah and Abner, there seems to have existed a blood feud. Abner was a near relative and the captain of Saul's army. He also seems to have been closely associated with Saul's fortunes. It has been supposed, with some probability, that he was among the foes of David. Seeing Saul's downfall, Abner knew if he did not oppose David and his rise to the throne, Abner would lose his post as captain of Saul's army.
And Abishai said, "I will go down with you": Ahimelech seems to have backed down from this perilous night enterprise. But Abishai, with his intense devotion to David, at once volunteers to go on the mission.
Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand: Here, David receives that same advice as he had on the previous occasion in which Saul was in David's clutches (1 Samuel 24:4). Each time, David's comrades pointed out that this circumstance was not an accident. God had designed this meeting, and God had designed for David to take righteous vengeance on Saul.
Please let me strike him with the spear: Abishai even makes it easy for David. He offers to kill Saul. David would not have to lift his hand against Saul. David could say to himself and everyone else, "I did not kill Saul." Abishai also weaves into the story an element of poetic justice. The spear used to kill Saul would be the king's own spear, stuck in the ground by his head. This spear was probably the same spear Saul branished toward David in 1 Samuel 18:10-11 and 19:9-10.) Now this instrument would be used as the LORD'S righteous judgment. It all might have seemed to be perfectly given from the hand of God.
I will not strike him the second time: To better paraphrase this statement, "I will pin him to the ground so thoroughly with one blow that I will not need another to kill him."
3. (1 Sam 26:9-12) David's response to the opportunity to kill Saul
But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be without guilt?" David also said, "As the LORD lives, surely the LORD will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and let us go." So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, not did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
Against the LORD'S anointed: David looked upon the person of Saul as made sacred by the royal anointing. Through the anointing, Saul had become the possession of God. Only God could then take away Saul's sacred life. It was not that David thought Saul was right. David knew more than anyone that Saul was deeply in sin. But David knew that even a sinning Saul was still the anointed king over Israel. David knew that he would be guilty before God if he stretched out his hand against King Saul.
We might think at this time that David had more righteous reason than ever to kill Saul. Saul had gone back on a previous promise to leave David alone. Many of us, if we were in David's position, would have said, "I showed love and let him off once before. I am full of love, but I am not dumb. Saul had his chance, and he did not live up to his promise. This time, it is an opportunity from God."
However, David was man after God's own heart. Taking Jesus' words to heart, we are to forgive over and over again. "Then Peter came and said to Him, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven'" (Matthew 18:21-22). In addition, Saul's sin against David did not make him less the anointed king of Israel. Though this was a trial that required supernatural endurance, it still would have been sin for David to kill Saul.
Surely the LORD will strike him: David knew that it was not hard for God to kill Saul. The LORD was more than able to kill Saul at any time He chose. Every breath Saul took was a gift from God. God could have allowed any man at any time to kill Saul. When it came down to striking down an anointed king of Israel, God did not need the services of David to do it.
David suggests three possible causes in which the Divine arm might strike down the anointed of the LORD. The first, the LORD might smite Saul with some disease. No doubt, the recent death of Nabal probably was still on David's mind. The second way was natural death. The third way was to receive a blow in battle.
We might say that since Saul deserved to die, it was the right thing to kill Saul. However, even if Saul deserved to die, this was the wrong way to do it. Often when we have a right thing in front of us, we will be tempted to pursue it in a wrong way. "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17-21).
The spear: The spear was Saul's scepter of royalty. The taking away of the spear from Saul's head as he slept was an omen of the transfer of his royalty to David.
Jug of water: A very ancient usage explains why the jug of water is here brought into such a special prominence. According to this custom, some high dignitary always had in keeping a costly jug for the king's bathing needs. It was the special duty for this high ranking official to take it with him, and present it to the king during campaigns or other journeys. Its disappearance would be almost as great of a disgrace as the loss of his scepter.
A deep sleep from the LORD: The word used here is that of a supernatural sleep caused by the LORD. " So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place" (Genesis 2:21). "Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him" (Genesis 15:12). The fact that two men could penetrate into the very center of a considerable army and remove the king's scepter and water jug from his side could only be accounted for by the interference of Providence on their behalf.
A. David's second opportunity to kill Saul
1. (1 Sam 26:1-4) The Ziphites betray David again
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?" So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, beside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was definitely coming.
The Ziphites came to Saul: There are many points of similarity between this narrative and that contained in 1 Samuel 23:19-24 through 1 Samuel 24:1-22. It has been argued that since several authors penned 1 Samuel, that the account of Saul, David and the Ziphites has been duplicated. I, however, believe that the texts differ vastly and are simply two separate events with several similarities.
Main points of similarity between 1 Samuel 26 and 1 Samuel 23:19-24 through 1 Samuel 24:1-22:
1. The treachery of the Ziphites (1 Samuel 26:1; 1 Samuel 23:19)
2. David's position on the hill Hachilah (1 Samuel 26:1; 1 Samuel 23:19)
3. Saul's march with 3000 men (1 Samuel 26:3; 1 Samuel 24:2)
4. The speech of David's men (1 Samuel 26:8; 1 Samuel 24:4)
5. David's refusal to lay hands on God's anointed (1 Samuel 26:17; 1 Samuel 24:6)
6. Saul's recognition of David's voice (1 Samuel 26:17; 1 Samuel 24:16)
7. David's comparison of himself to a flea (1 Samuel 26:20; 1 Samuel 24:14)
Is not David hiding on the hill: The Ziphites again tell Saul of David's whereabouts. The first time the Ziphites betray David is in 1 Samuel 23:19-23. The knowledge of the Ziphites previous treachery to David and his men makes it seem strange that David would return to his former haunt. However, Abigail is from this region. David might have returned to the area to be near her family. Moreover, after the events at Engedi, perhaps David thought Saul was done chasing him. Unfortunately for David, Saul has relapsed back into his old self.
Gibeah: It seems after Saul's last attempt to capture David, he returns back to his place of birth and royal residence.
Three thousand chosen men of Israel: Saul must have felt threatened by David and his men. David only has six hundred men in his company. Three thousand men seems to be the number of Saul's standing army. ("Now Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent" 1 Samuel 13:2.)
2. (1 Sam 26:5-8) David's second opportunity to kill Saul
Then David arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him. Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" And Abishai said, "I will will go down with you." So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Anber and the people were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time."
Then David arose: When scouts inform David that Saul was in pursuit of him, he went in person to explore the area. From the opposite hill, David was able to see Saul and his army. David could have sent any of his 600 men to do the job. It made sense from a military point of view to send someone else. Why should David take on such a dangerous mission? The fact that David did this shows his boldness and courage.
Saul was lying in the circle of the camp: Saul's army with its wagons would form a circular barricade. At night, Saul's place would be in the center with Abner near him while the rest of the army would sleep around them.
Ahimelech the Hittite: The Hittites were one of the old Canaanite people. We hear of them around the time of Abraham (Genesis 15:20). The conquering Israelites subdued but did not exterminate them. Gradually, the Hittites (along with many other Canaanite people) enjoyed the Promised Land with the children of Israel in a joint occupation. We find the Hittites ranking among David's trusted, faithful men. Later in David's life, we hear of another Hittite, Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, filling an important post in the royal army. This is the only time Ahimelech the Hittite is mentioned in Scripture.
Abishai the son of Zeruiah: Zeruiah was David's sister. Abishai, later one of David's famous generals, was brother to Joab. Abishai is speculated to have been about the same age as David. There was a younger brother, Asahel, who also had high favor with David. Between these three sons of Zeruiah and Abner, there seems to have existed a blood feud. Abner was a near relative and the captain of Saul's army. He also seems to have been closely associated with Saul's fortunes. It has been supposed, with some probability, that he was among the foes of David. Seeing Saul's downfall, Abner knew if he did not oppose David and his rise to the throne, Abner would lose his post as captain of Saul's army.
And Abishai said, "I will go down with you": Ahimelech seems to have backed down from this perilous night enterprise. But Abishai, with his intense devotion to David, at once volunteers to go on the mission.
Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand: Here, David receives that same advice as he had on the previous occasion in which Saul was in David's clutches (1 Samuel 24:4). Each time, David's comrades pointed out that this circumstance was not an accident. God had designed this meeting, and God had designed for David to take righteous vengeance on Saul.
Please let me strike him with the spear: Abishai even makes it easy for David. He offers to kill Saul. David would not have to lift his hand against Saul. David could say to himself and everyone else, "I did not kill Saul." Abishai also weaves into the story an element of poetic justice. The spear used to kill Saul would be the king's own spear, stuck in the ground by his head. This spear was probably the same spear Saul branished toward David in 1 Samuel 18:10-11 and 19:9-10.) Now this instrument would be used as the LORD'S righteous judgment. It all might have seemed to be perfectly given from the hand of God.
I will not strike him the second time: To better paraphrase this statement, "I will pin him to the ground so thoroughly with one blow that I will not need another to kill him."
3. (1 Sam 26:9-12) David's response to the opportunity to kill Saul
But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be without guilt?" David also said, "As the LORD lives, surely the LORD will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and let us go." So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, not did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
Against the LORD'S anointed: David looked upon the person of Saul as made sacred by the royal anointing. Through the anointing, Saul had become the possession of God. Only God could then take away Saul's sacred life. It was not that David thought Saul was right. David knew more than anyone that Saul was deeply in sin. But David knew that even a sinning Saul was still the anointed king over Israel. David knew that he would be guilty before God if he stretched out his hand against King Saul.
We might think at this time that David had more righteous reason than ever to kill Saul. Saul had gone back on a previous promise to leave David alone. Many of us, if we were in David's position, would have said, "I showed love and let him off once before. I am full of love, but I am not dumb. Saul had his chance, and he did not live up to his promise. This time, it is an opportunity from God."
However, David was man after God's own heart. Taking Jesus' words to heart, we are to forgive over and over again. "Then Peter came and said to Him, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven'" (Matthew 18:21-22). In addition, Saul's sin against David did not make him less the anointed king of Israel. Though this was a trial that required supernatural endurance, it still would have been sin for David to kill Saul.
Surely the LORD will strike him: David knew that it was not hard for God to kill Saul. The LORD was more than able to kill Saul at any time He chose. Every breath Saul took was a gift from God. God could have allowed any man at any time to kill Saul. When it came down to striking down an anointed king of Israel, God did not need the services of David to do it.
David suggests three possible causes in which the Divine arm might strike down the anointed of the LORD. The first, the LORD might smite Saul with some disease. No doubt, the recent death of Nabal probably was still on David's mind. The second way was natural death. The third way was to receive a blow in battle.
We might say that since Saul deserved to die, it was the right thing to kill Saul. However, even if Saul deserved to die, this was the wrong way to do it. Often when we have a right thing in front of us, we will be tempted to pursue it in a wrong way. "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17-21).
The spear: The spear was Saul's scepter of royalty. The taking away of the spear from Saul's head as he slept was an omen of the transfer of his royalty to David.
Jug of water: A very ancient usage explains why the jug of water is here brought into such a special prominence. According to this custom, some high dignitary always had in keeping a costly jug for the king's bathing needs. It was the special duty for this high ranking official to take it with him, and present it to the king during campaigns or other journeys. Its disappearance would be almost as great of a disgrace as the loss of his scepter.
A deep sleep from the LORD: The word used here is that of a supernatural sleep caused by the LORD. " So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place" (Genesis 2:21). "Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him" (Genesis 15:12). The fact that two men could penetrate into the very center of a considerable army and remove the king's scepter and water jug from his side could only be accounted for by the interference of Providence on their behalf.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Happy 70th Birthday!!!
Through many trials and almost continual attacks, the tiny state of Israel has done it! They have not only stood strong against their enemies which surround them on every side, they have flourished for 70 years! A land which was once barren and desolate has now become a lush green oasis teeming with animals and an abundance of produce. With the exception of pineapple, Israel grows and exports every type of fruit and vegetable. God has truly blessed the land of Israel and its people.
Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day)
Israel's Independence Day is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of Israel. This year, Israel's Birthday begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 18 and ends at sundown on Thursday, April 19. The original date of Israel's independence on the Gregorian calendar was May 14, 1948.
History
On May 14, 1948, the soon-to-be Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, publicly read a declaration of independence. It was recognized by the USA, Soviet Union and other countries. However, Israel's independence was not recognized by the surrounding Arab nations.
Celebrating
Other than official ceremonies which take place across Israel, many folks celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut in a variety of ways. In cities, there are nighttime festivals found in the downtown areas. Folks will gather to watch free public shows offered by their local municipalities. Many spend the night dancing Israeli folk dances or singing Israeli songs. During daylight, many families spend time together going on picnics and hikes. Yom Ha'atzmaut is concluded with the ceremony granting the Israel Prize, which recognizes individual Israelis for their contribution to their country's culture, science, arts and humanitarian efforts.
There is not yet an established tradition of how to celebrate Israel's Independence Day. Certain customs, foods, songs and prayers have yet to be established with this holiday. However, Jews both in Israel and around the world join together for this holiday celebration which has become a key link in cementing the Jewish people to the land of Israel.
Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Memorial Day)
Israel's birthday celebrations are always preceded by Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers. This year, Yom Hazikaron will commence at sundown on Tuesday, April 17 and end at sundown on Wednesday, April 18. The message linking these two remembrance days is clear--Israelis owe their independence, and thus their very existence as a state, to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for it.
The official switch from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha'atzmaut takes place a few hours after sundown. A ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem takes place in which the Israeli flag is raised from half staff (in remembrance of Memorial Day) to the top of the flagpole. The ceremony continues with a speech by the president of Israel, a speech by the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), artistic performances, and a parade. The evening parade is followed by a torch lighting ceremony (hadlakat masuot), which marks Israel's achievements. Twelve individuals, who made significant social contributions, are selected to light the torches.
Although Memorial Day in the United States is a widely celebrated holiday, Memorial Day in Israel has a much deeper meaning for the state. With the recent establishment of Israel's independence and its near constant conflicts with its neighbors, most Israelis have at least one family member who has perished fighting for the land's freedom. Conscription in Israel's military is required for almost all citizens age 18 and older. Considered a rite of passage in Israel, when one turns 18, s/he is drafted into the military. Men serve three years while women serve about 1.5 years.
Ways to celebrate
To celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut:
1. Host a party of a special meal to celebrate the occasion. Like Independence Day in the USA, break out the grill and throw some food on the BBQ. Also, find an Israeli recipe that appeals to you and give it a try. (For those with a sweet tooth, I suggest Israeli chocolate cake!)
2. Change your Facebook profile photo to that of the Israeli flag. Wish Israel a Happy Birthday on social media.
3. Pray for Israel and for its freedom. Use this day as a time for study and reflection on how Israel can have meaning in our lives.
4. Explore ways to connect with Israel. Find a charity in Israel and consider donating to it.
5. Day to Praise: Join Israel and Jews and Christians from around the world as they celebrate Israel's Independence Day. Psalms 113-118 are recited in celebration of Israel's redemption from the land of Egypt to the end times. These Psalms are called the Hallel and are a direct praise to God. For more information about this event, please visit: www.daytopraise.com
Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day)
Israel's Independence Day is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of Israel. This year, Israel's Birthday begins at sundown on Wednesday, April 18 and ends at sundown on Thursday, April 19. The original date of Israel's independence on the Gregorian calendar was May 14, 1948.
History
On May 14, 1948, the soon-to-be Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, publicly read a declaration of independence. It was recognized by the USA, Soviet Union and other countries. However, Israel's independence was not recognized by the surrounding Arab nations.
Celebrating
Other than official ceremonies which take place across Israel, many folks celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut in a variety of ways. In cities, there are nighttime festivals found in the downtown areas. Folks will gather to watch free public shows offered by their local municipalities. Many spend the night dancing Israeli folk dances or singing Israeli songs. During daylight, many families spend time together going on picnics and hikes. Yom Ha'atzmaut is concluded with the ceremony granting the Israel Prize, which recognizes individual Israelis for their contribution to their country's culture, science, arts and humanitarian efforts.
There is not yet an established tradition of how to celebrate Israel's Independence Day. Certain customs, foods, songs and prayers have yet to be established with this holiday. However, Jews both in Israel and around the world join together for this holiday celebration which has become a key link in cementing the Jewish people to the land of Israel.
Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Memorial Day)
Israel's birthday celebrations are always preceded by Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers. This year, Yom Hazikaron will commence at sundown on Tuesday, April 17 and end at sundown on Wednesday, April 18. The message linking these two remembrance days is clear--Israelis owe their independence, and thus their very existence as a state, to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for it.
The official switch from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha'atzmaut takes place a few hours after sundown. A ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem takes place in which the Israeli flag is raised from half staff (in remembrance of Memorial Day) to the top of the flagpole. The ceremony continues with a speech by the president of Israel, a speech by the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), artistic performances, and a parade. The evening parade is followed by a torch lighting ceremony (hadlakat masuot), which marks Israel's achievements. Twelve individuals, who made significant social contributions, are selected to light the torches.
Although Memorial Day in the United States is a widely celebrated holiday, Memorial Day in Israel has a much deeper meaning for the state. With the recent establishment of Israel's independence and its near constant conflicts with its neighbors, most Israelis have at least one family member who has perished fighting for the land's freedom. Conscription in Israel's military is required for almost all citizens age 18 and older. Considered a rite of passage in Israel, when one turns 18, s/he is drafted into the military. Men serve three years while women serve about 1.5 years.
Ways to celebrate
To celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut:
1. Host a party of a special meal to celebrate the occasion. Like Independence Day in the USA, break out the grill and throw some food on the BBQ. Also, find an Israeli recipe that appeals to you and give it a try. (For those with a sweet tooth, I suggest Israeli chocolate cake!)
2. Change your Facebook profile photo to that of the Israeli flag. Wish Israel a Happy Birthday on social media.
3. Pray for Israel and for its freedom. Use this day as a time for study and reflection on how Israel can have meaning in our lives.
4. Explore ways to connect with Israel. Find a charity in Israel and consider donating to it.
5. Day to Praise: Join Israel and Jews and Christians from around the world as they celebrate Israel's Independence Day. Psalms 113-118 are recited in celebration of Israel's redemption from the land of Egypt to the end times. These Psalms are called the Hallel and are a direct praise to God. For more information about this event, please visit: www.daytopraise.com
Sunday, April 15, 2018
1 Samuel Chapter 25 Part Two (Verses 23-44)
4. (1 Sam 25:23-31) Abigail's appeal to David
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, "On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, 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. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. Now let this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord by given to the young men who accompany my lord. Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days. Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant."
Fell on her face before David: This act of obeisance, and in fact the whole tone of the wise wife of Nabal in her address to David, seems to suggest Abigail knew she was addressing God's anointed and the future king of Israel. This is in sharp contrast to her husband's defamatory comments given in 1 Samuel 25:10.
David and his men were charging forth to kill a man who had terribly insulted and stolen from David. David had just sworn an oath (1 Samuel 25:22). But now, in his angry agitated state, something unexpected makes David and his whole company come to an immediate halt. Abigail, a beautiful woman, is bowing before David and has a great procession of gifts. This had to make a startling impression on David. In that day, it would have been astonishing to find the lady of the land prostrated on her face in obeisance to David.
David had also focused his wrath against every male of Nabal's household. But, here is a woman of Nabal's household. David being in deep recesses of anger and agitation probably would not have accepted any act done by Nabal's household, no matter how humble and wise the man was. No, this act had to only be done by a woman, a very wise and charismatic woman.
On me alone, my lord, be the blame: Abigail suggests David impute Nabal's iniquity on her. If David wants to punish someone, Abigail pleads that it should be herself who receives the punishment. Abigail's entire speech shows great wisdom. By absolute submitting to mercy, without any pretense of justification of what was done, she endeavors to work on David's generosity.
Please do not pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal: Abigail represents her husband as a man that offended out of folly rather than malice, which in some degree might excuse her husband's rudeness. Abigail points out that Nabal's folly and stupidity should be more an object of pity than anger.
Since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood: So confident and pious is Abigail that she is doing the LORD'S work, and that He is standing by her, that she speaks as though the danger of her husband's household was a thing of the past. David had real cause to be thankful in that he had been prevented from doing a cruel and wicked act.
Let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal: Abigail dismisses Nabal as too insignificant to be considered a threat to David. Abigail regards Nabal as utterly powerless to harm anyone such as David. Abigail's prayer is that David's other enemies may be just like Nabal--completely harmless.
Let this gift which your maidservant has brought be given to the young men: Abigail brought David a present, but she was wise enough to say that it was for the young men who followed David, and not for David himself. To say that it was for David would suggest that David was in this just for the compensation. This would have insulted David's dignity by suggesting he could be bought off with gifts.
Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant: Abigail again takes upon herself the wrong her husband committed. The gracious act of forgiveness, she reminds David, will be shown to her and not to her husband.
For the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house: Abigail grounds her request on the grounds that David will succeed to the kingdom. She points out in 1 Samuel 25:30-31 that such an act of violence that David was minded to commit would be a burden on his conscience. Her conviction rests on the fact that David has proven himself the champion of Israel and on his blameless life.
My lord is fighting the battles of the LORD: Abigail, along with the rest of the Israelites of her time, looked on the wars waged by the armies of Israel against the idolatrous tribes and nations around them as the LORD'S wars. We frequently in these early records see the expressions, "fighting the battle of the LORD", "the ranks of the living God", "the battle is the LORD'S", etc. For many years now since he defeated the famous giant Goliath, David had been a great champion of idolatry.
The life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God: This is one of the ealiest and most definite expressions of a sure belief in an eternal life in the presence of God. The image is taken from common everyday life. A person packs up in a bundle items of great use or of indespensible value so that the owner may carry them about. A lover is said to be bound up in a bundle of love. The above verse is a favorite and common inscription on Jewish gravestones.
The lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling: David was taking his 400 men to do what God could do as easily as throwing a stone out of a sling. This had to remind David of a time when he really did trust God for victory--when he cast a stone out of a sling and killed Goliath. Through her words, Abigail refocuses David's attention from Nabal back to the LORD.
Abigail's appeal to David was so glorious because it lifted him up instead of beating him down. David was clearly wrong, and Abigail wanted to guide him on to the path of righteousness. But, she did not do it by being negative. Instead, Abigail emphasizes David's glorious calling and destiny, and the general integrity of his life. She simply asks him to consider if his present course of action was consistent with that destiny and integrity.
When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant: With exquisite grace, Abigail ends her plea to David with a reference to the period when happy days should arrive for David. She knows with certainty that David will be the future king of Israel. When David becomes king, he must have no deeds of violence, or furious passion and of blood shed to look back upon. When that golden time should come, David must remember Abigail, who had saved him from the commission of a wild and sinful act. And in great memory for the good service she rendered to David, he must then look kindly on her from his throne.
Abigail is a marvelous model of speaking sweet submission. Many wives have the idea of silent submission. They say, "I know my husband is wrong, but I will not tell him. Submission means I should remain silent." That is wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Other wives have the idea of speaking sharp submission. They say, "I know my husband is wrong, and God has appointed me to tell him." That is also wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Abigail gives us the right example--submission that speaks, but that speaks sweetly instead of sharply.
Husbands have a huge responsibility in all this. First, they are responsible to encourage their wives to speak, instead of reinforcing the idea of silent submission. Next, they are to carefully and prayerfully receive what their wives say. Finally, they need to understand that even if the advice is not given as wonderfully as Abigail's was towards David, the basic message may still be from the LORD, even if the delivery is not graceful.
Abigail's submission to Nabal was not outstanding, but her submission to David was. And David's submission to the LORD was equally outstanding. By giving up the fight, David had to trust God to take care of Nabal. And God did just that.
5. (1 Sam 25:32-35) David thanks God for Abigail's appeal and receives her advice
Then David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male." So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request."
Blessed be the LORD: David recognizes that the intervention of Providence has saved him from a foolish and wicked revenge. David's prayer in Psalm 19:12-13: "Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them no rule over me; then I will be blameless and I shall be acquitted of great transgression."
David's anger was justified, and his rights were violated. But David responded wrongly. Vengeance and retribution belong only to God. Here, David is taught that this principle did not only apply between him and Saul, but it also applied between him and everyone. David is being taught a good lesson--our hurt feelings never justify disobedience. When others sin against us, we may feel justified in sinning against them, but we are never justified by our hurt feelings.
Blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand: David can also thank Abigail because she successfully reminded him of his destiny: to reign over Israel in righteousness and integrity. If David had slaughter Nabal and his household, it would forever be a black mark against David among the Israelites. They would forever wonder if they could really trust him. And it might have sealed his doom before Saul. For the first time, David would have given Saul a legitimate reason to hunt him down as a criminal. This was a major lesson in David's training for kingship, one that he was going to need to keep before him at future crises. The implication is that violence breeds violence. Whereas, restraint makes way for a peaceful resolution. David knows this in his head, but he may fail to remember it when his anger is roused.
So David received from her hand what she had brought him: It is important to remember that Abigail did not come to David empty-handed. One reason her appeal was effective was for the fact that she paid David what was owed to him. When David received it from Abigail, he acknowledged that Nabal had paid the bill, and there was nothing more owed to him. David knew the blessing here of being kept from sin. It is a blessing to be forgiven our sin, but it is an even greater blessing to be kept from sinning. We would need to seek forgiveness from our sins less often if we would seek the LORD more diligently to be kept from sinning to begin with.
C. Nabal dies, and David marries Abigail
1. (1 Sam 25:36-38) God strikes Nabal dead
Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, 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; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light. But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.
He was holding a feast in his house: This completes the picture of the wealthy sheep-master. The contrast between him and his wife is striking. Abigail was very high-minded and wise. Nabal was malevolent, obstinate, haughty, selfish and unyielding. Nabal may be taken as an extreme example of the leading Israelites in the days before Samuel's leadership. Abigail can be seen as a representative of the nobler spirit among the people after the spirit of Samuel had influenced the inhabitants of Israel.
Nabal lives up to his name; he is a fool. His life is in imminent danger. His wife knows it, his servants know it, but Nabal remains clueless. He eats and gets drunk as if all is fine and well. He seems not to have a care in the world. In this regard, Nabal is a picture of the sinner who goes on rejecting God, without regard to God's coming judgment. Just as certain as it was that David would have killed Nabal, so it is certain that God will judge the sinner who continues to reject him.
Like the feast of a king: All Nabal had to do was invite David to this tremendous feast, and Nabal's life would have been spared. Nabal's own greed and foolishness was his undoing.
His heart died within him: These words are generally understood as signifying that an attack of internal bleeding had seized Nabal. Commentators are divided as to what brought about the immediate stroke. 1). It was brought on by fear after hearing what a terrible danger Nabal had been in his reckless speech and outlandish conduct. In Nabal's feverish state and excited still with strong drink, terror and horror seized him and the stroke followed. 2). A furious burst of anger at his wife's actions swept over him--that Abigail should have humiliated herself before one whom he evidently greatly disliked. The wild burst of anger resulted in the stroke of apoplexy. Although both scenes may be plausible, scenario number one seems more probable.
Abigail's wise actions saved Nabal from David, and she saved David from himself. But it could not save Nabal from God's judgment. Nabal was never out of God's reach, and when it was the right time, God took care of Nabal.
2. (1 Sam 25:39-44) David marries Abigail
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 back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head." Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you to take you as his wife." She arose and bowed her face to the ground and said, "Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servant." Then Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife. David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives. Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head: David knew exactly what the death of Nabal meant. It was God's judgment against Nabal, which the LORD showed when David decided to let the LORD avenge him instead of taking action himself.
Then David sent a proposal to Abigail: In 1 Samuel 25:31, Abigail asks David, "then remember your maidservant." Here, David certainly remembers her and takes her as his wife.
When the servants of David came to Abigail: The time elapsed between the death of Nabal and David's proposal is not specified. The legal time for mourning was seven days, but there may have been a considerable period of time from Nabal's death to David's proposal.
Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servant: Abigail shows her devotion to David by her words and deeds. Bowing low shows her respect for David. Washing the feet like loosing the shoe latchet (Mark 1:7) was the service of the lowliest servant. Despite Abigail being formerly married to a very wealthy man, she humbles herself before David.
David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel: The Jezreel mentioned here is not the same city which is located in Issachar. This Jezreel is a town in southern Israel stated in the hill country of Judah near Maon. The fatal results of this Oriental custom of polygamy shows themselves in David's household--a plentiful crop of intrigues, crimes and murders in the palace were the sad fruits of David yielding to this miserable practice.
Saul had given Michal...to Palti: The marriage of the Princess Michal to Palti probably had taken place some time before these current events with David. This high-handed act shows on the part of Saul a fixed determination to utterly break with David forever. Palti was presumably a chieftain whom Saul was desirous of attracting his fortunes. But the story of Michal does not end here. After King Saul's death, Abner, Saul's cousin and captain of the military, made overtures to David. However, David only consented to the friendship with Abner if his former wife Michal was taken away from Palti and restored to him. Michal is given back to David. (See 2 Samuel 3:13, 16)
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, "On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, 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. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. Now let this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord by given to the young men who accompany my lord. Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days. Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant."
Fell on her face before David: This act of obeisance, and in fact the whole tone of the wise wife of Nabal in her address to David, seems to suggest Abigail knew she was addressing God's anointed and the future king of Israel. This is in sharp contrast to her husband's defamatory comments given in 1 Samuel 25:10.
David and his men were charging forth to kill a man who had terribly insulted and stolen from David. David had just sworn an oath (1 Samuel 25:22). But now, in his angry agitated state, something unexpected makes David and his whole company come to an immediate halt. Abigail, a beautiful woman, is bowing before David and has a great procession of gifts. This had to make a startling impression on David. In that day, it would have been astonishing to find the lady of the land prostrated on her face in obeisance to David.
David had also focused his wrath against every male of Nabal's household. But, here is a woman of Nabal's household. David being in deep recesses of anger and agitation probably would not have accepted any act done by Nabal's household, no matter how humble and wise the man was. No, this act had to only be done by a woman, a very wise and charismatic woman.
On me alone, my lord, be the blame: Abigail suggests David impute Nabal's iniquity on her. If David wants to punish someone, Abigail pleads that it should be herself who receives the punishment. Abigail's entire speech shows great wisdom. By absolute submitting to mercy, without any pretense of justification of what was done, she endeavors to work on David's generosity.
Please do not pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal: Abigail represents her husband as a man that offended out of folly rather than malice, which in some degree might excuse her husband's rudeness. Abigail points out that Nabal's folly and stupidity should be more an object of pity than anger.
Since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood: So confident and pious is Abigail that she is doing the LORD'S work, and that He is standing by her, that she speaks as though the danger of her husband's household was a thing of the past. David had real cause to be thankful in that he had been prevented from doing a cruel and wicked act.
Let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal: Abigail dismisses Nabal as too insignificant to be considered a threat to David. Abigail regards Nabal as utterly powerless to harm anyone such as David. Abigail's prayer is that David's other enemies may be just like Nabal--completely harmless.
Let this gift which your maidservant has brought be given to the young men: Abigail brought David a present, but she was wise enough to say that it was for the young men who followed David, and not for David himself. To say that it was for David would suggest that David was in this just for the compensation. This would have insulted David's dignity by suggesting he could be bought off with gifts.
Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant: Abigail again takes upon herself the wrong her husband committed. The gracious act of forgiveness, she reminds David, will be shown to her and not to her husband.
For the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house: Abigail grounds her request on the grounds that David will succeed to the kingdom. She points out in 1 Samuel 25:30-31 that such an act of violence that David was minded to commit would be a burden on his conscience. Her conviction rests on the fact that David has proven himself the champion of Israel and on his blameless life.
My lord is fighting the battles of the LORD: Abigail, along with the rest of the Israelites of her time, looked on the wars waged by the armies of Israel against the idolatrous tribes and nations around them as the LORD'S wars. We frequently in these early records see the expressions, "fighting the battle of the LORD", "the ranks of the living God", "the battle is the LORD'S", etc. For many years now since he defeated the famous giant Goliath, David had been a great champion of idolatry.
The life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God: This is one of the ealiest and most definite expressions of a sure belief in an eternal life in the presence of God. The image is taken from common everyday life. A person packs up in a bundle items of great use or of indespensible value so that the owner may carry them about. A lover is said to be bound up in a bundle of love. The above verse is a favorite and common inscription on Jewish gravestones.
The lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling: David was taking his 400 men to do what God could do as easily as throwing a stone out of a sling. This had to remind David of a time when he really did trust God for victory--when he cast a stone out of a sling and killed Goliath. Through her words, Abigail refocuses David's attention from Nabal back to the LORD.
Abigail's appeal to David was so glorious because it lifted him up instead of beating him down. David was clearly wrong, and Abigail wanted to guide him on to the path of righteousness. But, she did not do it by being negative. Instead, Abigail emphasizes David's glorious calling and destiny, and the general integrity of his life. She simply asks him to consider if his present course of action was consistent with that destiny and integrity.
When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant: With exquisite grace, Abigail ends her plea to David with a reference to the period when happy days should arrive for David. She knows with certainty that David will be the future king of Israel. When David becomes king, he must have no deeds of violence, or furious passion and of blood shed to look back upon. When that golden time should come, David must remember Abigail, who had saved him from the commission of a wild and sinful act. And in great memory for the good service she rendered to David, he must then look kindly on her from his throne.
Abigail is a marvelous model of speaking sweet submission. Many wives have the idea of silent submission. They say, "I know my husband is wrong, but I will not tell him. Submission means I should remain silent." That is wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Other wives have the idea of speaking sharp submission. They say, "I know my husband is wrong, and God has appointed me to tell him." That is also wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Abigail gives us the right example--submission that speaks, but that speaks sweetly instead of sharply.
Husbands have a huge responsibility in all this. First, they are responsible to encourage their wives to speak, instead of reinforcing the idea of silent submission. Next, they are to carefully and prayerfully receive what their wives say. Finally, they need to understand that even if the advice is not given as wonderfully as Abigail's was towards David, the basic message may still be from the LORD, even if the delivery is not graceful.
Abigail's submission to Nabal was not outstanding, but her submission to David was. And David's submission to the LORD was equally outstanding. By giving up the fight, David had to trust God to take care of Nabal. And God did just that.
5. (1 Sam 25:32-35) David thanks God for Abigail's appeal and receives her advice
Then David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male." So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request."
Blessed be the LORD: David recognizes that the intervention of Providence has saved him from a foolish and wicked revenge. David's prayer in Psalm 19:12-13: "Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them no rule over me; then I will be blameless and I shall be acquitted of great transgression."
David's anger was justified, and his rights were violated. But David responded wrongly. Vengeance and retribution belong only to God. Here, David is taught that this principle did not only apply between him and Saul, but it also applied between him and everyone. David is being taught a good lesson--our hurt feelings never justify disobedience. When others sin against us, we may feel justified in sinning against them, but we are never justified by our hurt feelings.
Blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand: David can also thank Abigail because she successfully reminded him of his destiny: to reign over Israel in righteousness and integrity. If David had slaughter Nabal and his household, it would forever be a black mark against David among the Israelites. They would forever wonder if they could really trust him. And it might have sealed his doom before Saul. For the first time, David would have given Saul a legitimate reason to hunt him down as a criminal. This was a major lesson in David's training for kingship, one that he was going to need to keep before him at future crises. The implication is that violence breeds violence. Whereas, restraint makes way for a peaceful resolution. David knows this in his head, but he may fail to remember it when his anger is roused.
So David received from her hand what she had brought him: It is important to remember that Abigail did not come to David empty-handed. One reason her appeal was effective was for the fact that she paid David what was owed to him. When David received it from Abigail, he acknowledged that Nabal had paid the bill, and there was nothing more owed to him. David knew the blessing here of being kept from sin. It is a blessing to be forgiven our sin, but it is an even greater blessing to be kept from sinning. We would need to seek forgiveness from our sins less often if we would seek the LORD more diligently to be kept from sinning to begin with.
C. Nabal dies, and David marries Abigail
1. (1 Sam 25:36-38) God strikes Nabal dead
Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, 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; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light. But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.
He was holding a feast in his house: This completes the picture of the wealthy sheep-master. The contrast between him and his wife is striking. Abigail was very high-minded and wise. Nabal was malevolent, obstinate, haughty, selfish and unyielding. Nabal may be taken as an extreme example of the leading Israelites in the days before Samuel's leadership. Abigail can be seen as a representative of the nobler spirit among the people after the spirit of Samuel had influenced the inhabitants of Israel.
Nabal lives up to his name; he is a fool. His life is in imminent danger. His wife knows it, his servants know it, but Nabal remains clueless. He eats and gets drunk as if all is fine and well. He seems not to have a care in the world. In this regard, Nabal is a picture of the sinner who goes on rejecting God, without regard to God's coming judgment. Just as certain as it was that David would have killed Nabal, so it is certain that God will judge the sinner who continues to reject him.
Like the feast of a king: All Nabal had to do was invite David to this tremendous feast, and Nabal's life would have been spared. Nabal's own greed and foolishness was his undoing.
His heart died within him: These words are generally understood as signifying that an attack of internal bleeding had seized Nabal. Commentators are divided as to what brought about the immediate stroke. 1). It was brought on by fear after hearing what a terrible danger Nabal had been in his reckless speech and outlandish conduct. In Nabal's feverish state and excited still with strong drink, terror and horror seized him and the stroke followed. 2). A furious burst of anger at his wife's actions swept over him--that Abigail should have humiliated herself before one whom he evidently greatly disliked. The wild burst of anger resulted in the stroke of apoplexy. Although both scenes may be plausible, scenario number one seems more probable.
Abigail's wise actions saved Nabal from David, and she saved David from himself. But it could not save Nabal from God's judgment. Nabal was never out of God's reach, and when it was the right time, God took care of Nabal.
2. (1 Sam 25:39-44) David marries Abigail
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 back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head." Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you to take you as his wife." She arose and bowed her face to the ground and said, "Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servant." Then Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife. David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives. Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head: David knew exactly what the death of Nabal meant. It was God's judgment against Nabal, which the LORD showed when David decided to let the LORD avenge him instead of taking action himself.
Then David sent a proposal to Abigail: In 1 Samuel 25:31, Abigail asks David, "then remember your maidservant." Here, David certainly remembers her and takes her as his wife.
When the servants of David came to Abigail: The time elapsed between the death of Nabal and David's proposal is not specified. The legal time for mourning was seven days, but there may have been a considerable period of time from Nabal's death to David's proposal.
Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servant: Abigail shows her devotion to David by her words and deeds. Bowing low shows her respect for David. Washing the feet like loosing the shoe latchet (Mark 1:7) was the service of the lowliest servant. Despite Abigail being formerly married to a very wealthy man, she humbles herself before David.
David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel: The Jezreel mentioned here is not the same city which is located in Issachar. This Jezreel is a town in southern Israel stated in the hill country of Judah near Maon. The fatal results of this Oriental custom of polygamy shows themselves in David's household--a plentiful crop of intrigues, crimes and murders in the palace were the sad fruits of David yielding to this miserable practice.
Saul had given Michal...to Palti: The marriage of the Princess Michal to Palti probably had taken place some time before these current events with David. This high-handed act shows on the part of Saul a fixed determination to utterly break with David forever. Palti was presumably a chieftain whom Saul was desirous of attracting his fortunes. But the story of Michal does not end here. After King Saul's death, Abner, Saul's cousin and captain of the military, made overtures to David. However, David only consented to the friendship with Abner if his former wife Michal was taken away from Palti and restored to him. Michal is given back to David. (See 2 Samuel 3:13, 16)
Sunday, April 8, 2018
1 Samuel Chapter 25 Part One (Verses 1-22)
DAVID, NABAL AND ABIGAIL
A. David's anger at Nabal
1. (1 Sam 25:1) Samuel, the great prophet and judge over Israel, dies
Then Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
And Samuel died: At this time period, namely about the time when Saul and David meet at Engedi, Samuel dies. For a long time, Samuel had lived apart from the royal court and was alienated from the king he had anointed. Since Moses, none so great as Samuel had arisen.
Briefly, the review his work: his influence had in great measure restored the Law of Moses to the people. Before this time, the words and traditions which Moses had given at Sinai, had been almost forgotten. For a long period of time, no great leader had sprung up. Great confusion and following the ways of the surrounding tribes, Israel became separated from God's ways and became enveloped in the ways of the surrounding heathen. But Samuel, brought to life again the dying traditions of God and taught them to the lost Israelites. He restored the forgotten laws of Moses, and by the creation of an earthly monarchy, he united the twelve tribes of Israel into one nation. From Dan to Beersheba there was but one ruler over them. His greatest work was the foundation of the Prophetic Schools, in which men were trained and educated to become teachers and guides of the people.
Samuel's heritage lived on in a remarkable way. In 1 Chronicles 9:22, it suggests that Samuel laid the foundation for the organization of the Levites for the service of the sanctuary which was completed by David and Solomon. In 1 Chronicles 26:27-28, it says Samuel began to collect the treasures for the building of the temple in Solomon's day. In 2 Chronicles 35:18, it says that Samuel remembered the Passover. In Hebrews 11:33, Samuel is mentioned in God's "Hall of Faith".
All Israel gathered together: A public mourning was held such as the one held for Moses. ("So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end" Deuteronomy 34:8.) The whole nation met to honor Samuel, who for approximately 80 years had been a prophet, judge and counselor of the king.
And David arose: It is interesting to note that when Samuel dies, then the text says, "David arose." God is always raising up people to serve Him. When one servant dies, there is always another to step in and continue serving God.
The wilderness of Paran: This is a general name for a tract of land which is located south of Israel. It lies between the wilderness of Shur on the west, Edom of the east and the wilderness of Sinai on the south. It was the abode of Ishmael. ("He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt" Genesis 21:12.) Paran was also the scene of the wanderings of the Israelites and was the place from which the spies were sent out to search out the land of Canaan. ("'Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a leader among them.' So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the LORD, all of them who were heads of the sons of Israel" Numbers 13:2-3.)
2. (1 Sam 25:2-4) A man named Nabal, his wife and his character
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel (now the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was a Calebite), that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
Maon: Maon was located in the hill country of Judah. The Carmel mentioned here is not the famous Mount Carmel in the north, but located about a mile from Maon.
The man was very rich: The wealthy lord was a descendant of Caleb, the friend and comrade of Joshua. At the time of the conquest of Canaan, Caleb obtained vast possessions in the valley of Hebron and in the south of Judah. The exact number of livestock included in the text is probably to enhance the malice of his reply to David when he asked him for some return for the protection his armed bands afforded to his livestock in their pasture on the edge of the desert.
Shearing his sheep in Carmel: This was the "harvest time" for a sheep rancher. Because it was like a harvest, by ancient traditions, sheep shearing was a time of lavish hospitality toward others. The sheep shearing was usually accompanied with large feasts which had enough food and drink to liberally share with others.
Nabal: The word Nabal means fool. It is associated with the word naval, which means to fade away. In the ancient culture of Israel, names were often associated with a person's character. We do not know if Nabal was his given name or if it was a nickname he acquired. The word nabal is used in Psalm 14:1: "For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The fool (nabal) has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good."
Abigail: Abigail means the one who is the cause of joy or the joy of her father. Abigail, with her attentiveness and beautiful countenance, is in sharp contrast with the coarse, ill-willed man who was her husband. We can wonder how Abigail ever became matched with a man such as Nabal. Perhaps it was an arranged marriage or perhaps she chose the marriage, hoping Nabal would change over time.
3. (1 Sam 25:5-9) David asks for compensation for his valuable service to Nabal
So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, visit Nabal and greet him in my name; and thus you shall say, 'Have a long life, peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. Now I have heard that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel. Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.'" When David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David's name; then they waited.
David sent ten young men: The large number of men sent to Nabal shows honor and respect to Nabal.
Plesae give whatever you find at hand to your servants and your son David: David makes his request because he had performed a valuable service for Nabal. David and his men protected Nabal's livestock at a time when Philistine raids were common. To our ears, it may sound as though David was trying to scam Nabal, but this was not the case at all. David and his men performed a worthy service to Nabal, and they expect to be compensated for it.
David did right in this because he waited until he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. David protected Nabal's shepherds and flocks for a long time, but he did not expect to be compensated until Nabal made money at the time of sheep shearing. Moreover, David was very polite to Nabal. David sent messengers with a greeting full of warmth and kindness (Peace be to you) so that Nabal would not give out of fear and intimidation. David was very careful and patient with Nabal, giving Nabal an itemized receipt for services rendered (Your shepherds have been with us...nor have they missed anything...ask your young men and they will tell you.). David also reminds Nabal of the traditions of generosity which surround the sheep shearing time of year (We have come on a festive day). David did not demand any specific payment from Nabal. He simply left it up to Nabal's generosity (Please give whatever you find at hand).
To your son David: "Your son" is an expressive title used out of reverence. David recognizes his youth to Nabal's seniority and acknowledges Nabal's superiority over David's life as an outlaw.
4. (1 Sam 25:10-12) Nabal's reply to David's request
But Nabal answered David's servants and said, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?"
Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse?: Nabal's two questions relate to the same person, David. If Nabal would not have known who David was (although that would have been very unlikely considering David's widespread fame throughout Israel), he would have stopped at the first question, since David's servants referred to David by name. However, Nabal's second question betrays that Nabal plainly knew who David was.
There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master: This insult indicates that Nabal was a supporter of Saul, and thus, Nabal was not a supporter of David. It was the report of these words, no doubt, which so enraged David. Nabal most likely would not have spoken such rude words to David had David been present at Maon. But since David was with his men some distance from Maon, Nabal was freely able to vent his feelings without restraint. David was a mere slave who had run away from his master.
Shall I then take my bread...my water...my meat...my shearers, and give it: Nabal shows what an ungenerous man he is. He looks at everything as his, instead of the LORD'S. True generosity does not think, "This is mine, and I will share it with you." It thinks, "All that I have belongs to the LORD, and you may have some also."
5. (1 Sam 25:13) David reacts to Nabal's insulting response
David said to his men, "Each of you gird on his sword." So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred men stayed with the baggage.
David said to his men, "Each of you gird on his sword.": David receives Nabal response exactly the way Nabal intended it to be received--with great insult. But Nabal is not dealing with a weak man. No, Nabal is dealing with a great soldier and warrior. David was ready to fight. We do not wonder why David was ready to fight because Nabal had provoked him so greatly. But this is not a high moment for David. He is not responding the way the LORD would have him respond to an insult or an attack.
When we are insulted, the LORD would have us bear it with love and kindness, returning evil with good. This is high ground which is often very hard to walk on. Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right check, turn the other to him also." (Matthew 5:38-39)
We see that David does not show Nabal the same kindness and patience that he showed to Saul. In just the previous chapter, we saw how David spared Saul's life when not only Saul insulted David, but when he actually attacked him and tried to kill him. David was able to be kind and patient to Saul, but it seems to have been harder for him to do it towards someone he had not yet met.
About four hundred men went up behind David: David is not coming to Nabal just to make a statement but to wipe him out. David arms himself and his men to inflict great punishment on Nabal. Two hundred men are left behind to watch the baggage, but they are also left behind to serve as reinforcements. If the battle heated up, two hundred men in reserve were available to David at his calling. Most of us would have responded to Nabal just as David did. Our sympathies might be with David, but our hearts and obedience must be with God.
B. Abigail intercedes between David and Nabal
1. (1 Sam 25:14-17) Abigail hears of how Nabal responded to David
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he scorned them. Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not insulted, nor did we miss anything as long as we went about with them, while we were in the fields. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him."
But one of the young men told Abigail: The servant of Nabal, no doubt was accustomed to his master's wild displays of temper, heard the insulting words which Nabal spoke to David's messengers. Nabal servant was probably well aware of the fierce warriors David and his followers were. The servant, rightly so, feared the death of Nabal and his entire household. It seems since this servant came to Abigail, Abigail probably had acted as a peacemaker in previous altercations between Nabal and his neighbors.
The men were very good to us: Nabal's servant evidently was a servant who went out with the livestock into the pastures. The servant shows great respect to David and his men. The servant's words bear weighty testimony to the admirable discipline and the kind actions of David and his men. In a time when lawlessness and pillage would have been excusable, David and his men show the utmost hospitality to Nabal's shepherds and livestock.
He is such a worthless man: The literal Hebrew is "such a son of Belial." Belial was not a proper name, although it subsequently became known as one. It simply signifies a bad, wicked, worthless person. So willful and obstinate was Nabal that his servants dared not to try to reason with him, but instead, they appealed to Abigail.
2. (1 Sam 25:18-20) Abigail prepares a present for David and his men
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. She said to her young men, "Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. It came about as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.
Abigail hurried: Since Abigail was a woman of good understanding, she knew that time was of the essence. She knew that something had to be done quickly, or she and her household would see the wrath of David and his men.
Five measures of roasted grain: Roasted grain was a delicacy. Compared to the other food items given, the roasted grain accounts for relatively a small quantity.
Two hundred loaves of bread...two jugs of wine..five sheep already prepared...one hundred clusters of raisins: David had simply and politely asked Nabal for fair payment for services rendered, but Nabal refused. Now, Abigail is doing what Nabal should have done in the first place but did not do. The fact that Abigail was able to gather so much food so quickly shows how wealthy Nabal was. If this much food was on hand, it makes Nabal's ungenerous reply to David all the worse.
Two jugs of wine: Each jug could hold many gallons of liquid. Depending on the type of animal skin used, the vessels varied in size. (One jug of wine was a generous gift from Ziba and was sufficient for David's household (2 Samuel 16:1).)
Coming down by the hidden part of the mountain: This probably signifies a hollow between two peaks of the mountains. Thus, each of the advancing parties would have come down the mountain. Abigail would have approached on one side, and David and his men would be on the other side. They would ultimately meet in the hollow between the two mountains.
3. (1 Sam 25:21-22) David vows to massacre Nabal and his entire household
Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned evil for good. May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I leave as much as one male of any who belong to him."
Now David had said: This verse and the following (verse 22) must be understood as a kind of parenthesis in the narrative. They express what David felt, and, as it were, his justification in his own mind for the violent and vengeful act he was about to carry out. The argument was Nabal had returned evil for good. For a long time, David and his men had guarded faithfully Nabal's animals and had preserved them. Now, when David was asking for a small favor in return, the heartless Nabal repaid him by insulting David.
May God do so to the enemies of David: In the usual oath formula, the swearer invokes divine vengeance on himself or upon the person charged. It is believed the original text reads, "May God do so to David" which is supported by the Septuagint. "The enemies of David" may possibly be an euphemism introduced by a corrector of the text who was unwilling to let David invoke vengeance on himself for an oath which he later breaks.
If by morning I leave as much as one male of any who belong to him: This makes David's intentions clear: he plans to massacre Nabal and all the males of his household. This was the expected reaction; Nabal's own servants expected it according to 1 Samuel 25:17. But God was calling David to go farther than what the world might expect. David had so wonderfully resisted the temptation to take vengeance against Saul in 1 Samuel 24. But here, it seems, that he will fail when a similar temptation comes again. This reminds us that we need to be constantly on guard.
A. David's anger at Nabal
1. (1 Sam 25:1) Samuel, the great prophet and judge over Israel, dies
Then Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
And Samuel died: At this time period, namely about the time when Saul and David meet at Engedi, Samuel dies. For a long time, Samuel had lived apart from the royal court and was alienated from the king he had anointed. Since Moses, none so great as Samuel had arisen.
Briefly, the review his work: his influence had in great measure restored the Law of Moses to the people. Before this time, the words and traditions which Moses had given at Sinai, had been almost forgotten. For a long period of time, no great leader had sprung up. Great confusion and following the ways of the surrounding tribes, Israel became separated from God's ways and became enveloped in the ways of the surrounding heathen. But Samuel, brought to life again the dying traditions of God and taught them to the lost Israelites. He restored the forgotten laws of Moses, and by the creation of an earthly monarchy, he united the twelve tribes of Israel into one nation. From Dan to Beersheba there was but one ruler over them. His greatest work was the foundation of the Prophetic Schools, in which men were trained and educated to become teachers and guides of the people.
Samuel's heritage lived on in a remarkable way. In 1 Chronicles 9:22, it suggests that Samuel laid the foundation for the organization of the Levites for the service of the sanctuary which was completed by David and Solomon. In 1 Chronicles 26:27-28, it says Samuel began to collect the treasures for the building of the temple in Solomon's day. In 2 Chronicles 35:18, it says that Samuel remembered the Passover. In Hebrews 11:33, Samuel is mentioned in God's "Hall of Faith".
All Israel gathered together: A public mourning was held such as the one held for Moses. ("So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end" Deuteronomy 34:8.) The whole nation met to honor Samuel, who for approximately 80 years had been a prophet, judge and counselor of the king.
And David arose: It is interesting to note that when Samuel dies, then the text says, "David arose." God is always raising up people to serve Him. When one servant dies, there is always another to step in and continue serving God.
The wilderness of Paran: This is a general name for a tract of land which is located south of Israel. It lies between the wilderness of Shur on the west, Edom of the east and the wilderness of Sinai on the south. It was the abode of Ishmael. ("He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt" Genesis 21:12.) Paran was also the scene of the wanderings of the Israelites and was the place from which the spies were sent out to search out the land of Canaan. ("'Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a leader among them.' So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the LORD, all of them who were heads of the sons of Israel" Numbers 13:2-3.)
2. (1 Sam 25:2-4) A man named Nabal, his wife and his character
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel (now the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was a Calebite), that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
Maon: Maon was located in the hill country of Judah. The Carmel mentioned here is not the famous Mount Carmel in the north, but located about a mile from Maon.
The man was very rich: The wealthy lord was a descendant of Caleb, the friend and comrade of Joshua. At the time of the conquest of Canaan, Caleb obtained vast possessions in the valley of Hebron and in the south of Judah. The exact number of livestock included in the text is probably to enhance the malice of his reply to David when he asked him for some return for the protection his armed bands afforded to his livestock in their pasture on the edge of the desert.
Shearing his sheep in Carmel: This was the "harvest time" for a sheep rancher. Because it was like a harvest, by ancient traditions, sheep shearing was a time of lavish hospitality toward others. The sheep shearing was usually accompanied with large feasts which had enough food and drink to liberally share with others.
Nabal: The word Nabal means fool. It is associated with the word naval, which means to fade away. In the ancient culture of Israel, names were often associated with a person's character. We do not know if Nabal was his given name or if it was a nickname he acquired. The word nabal is used in Psalm 14:1: "For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The fool (nabal) has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good."
Abigail: Abigail means the one who is the cause of joy or the joy of her father. Abigail, with her attentiveness and beautiful countenance, is in sharp contrast with the coarse, ill-willed man who was her husband. We can wonder how Abigail ever became matched with a man such as Nabal. Perhaps it was an arranged marriage or perhaps she chose the marriage, hoping Nabal would change over time.
3. (1 Sam 25:5-9) David asks for compensation for his valuable service to Nabal
So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, visit Nabal and greet him in my name; and thus you shall say, 'Have a long life, peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. Now I have heard that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel. Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.'" When David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David's name; then they waited.
David sent ten young men: The large number of men sent to Nabal shows honor and respect to Nabal.
Plesae give whatever you find at hand to your servants and your son David: David makes his request because he had performed a valuable service for Nabal. David and his men protected Nabal's livestock at a time when Philistine raids were common. To our ears, it may sound as though David was trying to scam Nabal, but this was not the case at all. David and his men performed a worthy service to Nabal, and they expect to be compensated for it.
David did right in this because he waited until he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. David protected Nabal's shepherds and flocks for a long time, but he did not expect to be compensated until Nabal made money at the time of sheep shearing. Moreover, David was very polite to Nabal. David sent messengers with a greeting full of warmth and kindness (Peace be to you) so that Nabal would not give out of fear and intimidation. David was very careful and patient with Nabal, giving Nabal an itemized receipt for services rendered (Your shepherds have been with us...nor have they missed anything...ask your young men and they will tell you.). David also reminds Nabal of the traditions of generosity which surround the sheep shearing time of year (We have come on a festive day). David did not demand any specific payment from Nabal. He simply left it up to Nabal's generosity (Please give whatever you find at hand).
To your son David: "Your son" is an expressive title used out of reverence. David recognizes his youth to Nabal's seniority and acknowledges Nabal's superiority over David's life as an outlaw.
4. (1 Sam 25:10-12) Nabal's reply to David's request
But Nabal answered David's servants and said, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?"
Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse?: Nabal's two questions relate to the same person, David. If Nabal would not have known who David was (although that would have been very unlikely considering David's widespread fame throughout Israel), he would have stopped at the first question, since David's servants referred to David by name. However, Nabal's second question betrays that Nabal plainly knew who David was.
There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master: This insult indicates that Nabal was a supporter of Saul, and thus, Nabal was not a supporter of David. It was the report of these words, no doubt, which so enraged David. Nabal most likely would not have spoken such rude words to David had David been present at Maon. But since David was with his men some distance from Maon, Nabal was freely able to vent his feelings without restraint. David was a mere slave who had run away from his master.
Shall I then take my bread...my water...my meat...my shearers, and give it: Nabal shows what an ungenerous man he is. He looks at everything as his, instead of the LORD'S. True generosity does not think, "This is mine, and I will share it with you." It thinks, "All that I have belongs to the LORD, and you may have some also."
5. (1 Sam 25:13) David reacts to Nabal's insulting response
David said to his men, "Each of you gird on his sword." So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred men stayed with the baggage.
David said to his men, "Each of you gird on his sword.": David receives Nabal response exactly the way Nabal intended it to be received--with great insult. But Nabal is not dealing with a weak man. No, Nabal is dealing with a great soldier and warrior. David was ready to fight. We do not wonder why David was ready to fight because Nabal had provoked him so greatly. But this is not a high moment for David. He is not responding the way the LORD would have him respond to an insult or an attack.
When we are insulted, the LORD would have us bear it with love and kindness, returning evil with good. This is high ground which is often very hard to walk on. Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right check, turn the other to him also." (Matthew 5:38-39)
We see that David does not show Nabal the same kindness and patience that he showed to Saul. In just the previous chapter, we saw how David spared Saul's life when not only Saul insulted David, but when he actually attacked him and tried to kill him. David was able to be kind and patient to Saul, but it seems to have been harder for him to do it towards someone he had not yet met.
About four hundred men went up behind David: David is not coming to Nabal just to make a statement but to wipe him out. David arms himself and his men to inflict great punishment on Nabal. Two hundred men are left behind to watch the baggage, but they are also left behind to serve as reinforcements. If the battle heated up, two hundred men in reserve were available to David at his calling. Most of us would have responded to Nabal just as David did. Our sympathies might be with David, but our hearts and obedience must be with God.
B. Abigail intercedes between David and Nabal
1. (1 Sam 25:14-17) Abigail hears of how Nabal responded to David
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he scorned them. Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not insulted, nor did we miss anything as long as we went about with them, while we were in the fields. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him."
But one of the young men told Abigail: The servant of Nabal, no doubt was accustomed to his master's wild displays of temper, heard the insulting words which Nabal spoke to David's messengers. Nabal servant was probably well aware of the fierce warriors David and his followers were. The servant, rightly so, feared the death of Nabal and his entire household. It seems since this servant came to Abigail, Abigail probably had acted as a peacemaker in previous altercations between Nabal and his neighbors.
The men were very good to us: Nabal's servant evidently was a servant who went out with the livestock into the pastures. The servant shows great respect to David and his men. The servant's words bear weighty testimony to the admirable discipline and the kind actions of David and his men. In a time when lawlessness and pillage would have been excusable, David and his men show the utmost hospitality to Nabal's shepherds and livestock.
He is such a worthless man: The literal Hebrew is "such a son of Belial." Belial was not a proper name, although it subsequently became known as one. It simply signifies a bad, wicked, worthless person. So willful and obstinate was Nabal that his servants dared not to try to reason with him, but instead, they appealed to Abigail.
2. (1 Sam 25:18-20) Abigail prepares a present for David and his men
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. She said to her young men, "Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. It came about as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.
Abigail hurried: Since Abigail was a woman of good understanding, she knew that time was of the essence. She knew that something had to be done quickly, or she and her household would see the wrath of David and his men.
Five measures of roasted grain: Roasted grain was a delicacy. Compared to the other food items given, the roasted grain accounts for relatively a small quantity.
Two hundred loaves of bread...two jugs of wine..five sheep already prepared...one hundred clusters of raisins: David had simply and politely asked Nabal for fair payment for services rendered, but Nabal refused. Now, Abigail is doing what Nabal should have done in the first place but did not do. The fact that Abigail was able to gather so much food so quickly shows how wealthy Nabal was. If this much food was on hand, it makes Nabal's ungenerous reply to David all the worse.
Two jugs of wine: Each jug could hold many gallons of liquid. Depending on the type of animal skin used, the vessels varied in size. (One jug of wine was a generous gift from Ziba and was sufficient for David's household (2 Samuel 16:1).)
Coming down by the hidden part of the mountain: This probably signifies a hollow between two peaks of the mountains. Thus, each of the advancing parties would have come down the mountain. Abigail would have approached on one side, and David and his men would be on the other side. They would ultimately meet in the hollow between the two mountains.
3. (1 Sam 25:21-22) David vows to massacre Nabal and his entire household
Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned evil for good. May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I leave as much as one male of any who belong to him."
Now David had said: This verse and the following (verse 22) must be understood as a kind of parenthesis in the narrative. They express what David felt, and, as it were, his justification in his own mind for the violent and vengeful act he was about to carry out. The argument was Nabal had returned evil for good. For a long time, David and his men had guarded faithfully Nabal's animals and had preserved them. Now, when David was asking for a small favor in return, the heartless Nabal repaid him by insulting David.
May God do so to the enemies of David: In the usual oath formula, the swearer invokes divine vengeance on himself or upon the person charged. It is believed the original text reads, "May God do so to David" which is supported by the Septuagint. "The enemies of David" may possibly be an euphemism introduced by a corrector of the text who was unwilling to let David invoke vengeance on himself for an oath which he later breaks.
If by morning I leave as much as one male of any who belong to him: This makes David's intentions clear: he plans to massacre Nabal and all the males of his household. This was the expected reaction; Nabal's own servants expected it according to 1 Samuel 25:17. But God was calling David to go farther than what the world might expect. David had so wonderfully resisted the temptation to take vengeance against Saul in 1 Samuel 24. But here, it seems, that he will fail when a similar temptation comes again. This reminds us that we need to be constantly on guard.
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Feast of First Fruits
These last few days have been a whirlwind of events. Friday began the first of the spring holidays, Passover (Pesach). Saturday commenced the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which will continue through Friday, April 6. Today (Sunday) is the Feast of First Fruits.
Feast of First Fruits
The church continues to celebrate First Fruits in its New Testament essence, as Resurrection Sunday or Easter, but most fail to realize its full impact or its glorious promise for the future, unless it is understood from its original command given by God.
The church appreciates Passover in that the Lord Jesus cited this feast Himself as a holy convocation. The church uses the Passover wine and bread as symbols used in its communion remembrance of Jesus' last Passover meal on earth. Jesus says, "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). Similar to Israel's deliverance from Egypt in the Book of Exodus, Christians are encouraged to remember their deliverance from bondage by the blood of the Lamb.
However, with the Feast of First Fruits, Christians have confused an ancient pagan fertility rite with the original directions given by God. Today, we have a mixture of a Babylonian festival with a Biblical holy day.
Resurrection Sunday
We should look carefully at the original instructions for the Feast of First Fruits to fully understand their implications:
"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I give you, and shall reap the harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it'" (Leviticus 23:10-11).
To paraphrase, God is saying to Moses, "I am taking My people into a fruitful land. I would like them to acknowledge the land's rich abundance. Each spring, when the first harvest of the year is available, the people should bring some of their first pickings of their crops to the Temple so that the high priest can acknowledge My generosity. This must be done on the Sunday ("the morrow after the sabbath") during the week of Unleavened Bread.
God honors Resurrection Sunday, the Sunday after Passover, as representing the things which come out of the ground spontaneously and miraculously after a long, dead winter. We see this miracle every spring, and we usually take it for granted. What do we have to do to our crops, and trees to make them come forth with their first fruits? The answer is nothing. God miraculously causes the growth and rejuvenation of these plants. We simply watch and wait. They are free gifts from God, as is our coming resurrection.
Easter and its pagan roots
Where Easter is concerned, we have confused a pagan ritual with the Feast of First Fruits. Each spring, the Babylonians saw the first fruits and assumed it would the perfect time to ask their goddess, Ishtar (Easter), for new babies. They worshiped the things in nature which represented fertility such as the egg and rabbits. The people, in celebration of the new buds on the trees and shrubbery, wore new costumes. Today, most Christians continue the Babylonian rite by celebrating first fruits with the Easter Bunny, painting eggs bright colors (commemorating the new flowers and spring growth of the plants), and wearing new outfits to church and other gatherings during Easter. Of course, no Easter celebration would be complete without an egg hunt, which represents the ancient pagan ritual of attempting to conceive a baby.
First Fruits: Its true meaning and future implications
The original Feast of First Fruits, however, contains a great truth. If there are first fruits, then there must be a second, a third and so on. That is the true meaning of this Sunday. We do not merely celebrate the resurrection of the Lord on First Fruits, but the resurrection of the entire church. The Lord rising from the dead is cause for great wonder and blessing, but are we really surprised? He could feed thousands, walk on water and could raise the dead. The greater miracle is that we ordinary, mortal sinners will all rise!
As Paul states in his first letter to the Corinthians: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming" (1 Corinthians 15:22-23).
Those "in Adam" die, since all descendants of our sinning original father have inherited his terrible trait. But in Christ, we are made alive again.
Jesus celebrated First Fruits in the appropriate manner by rising from the dead on that day. He also gave the Father His First Fruit offering. Graves were opened and the dead rose and were seen after Jesus' resurrection (Matthew 27:53). Our Lord, not unlike any farmer of the soil, gratefully brought before the Father a few early "crops" of what would be a magnificent harvest later on. We sometimes fail to note that Jesus was not the only deceased person to rise on that miraculous day of First Fruits. Those He brought forth from their graves represent a type of church. Christians shall be brought forth from their graves for the big fall harvest--the Rapture--at the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah). It was not only the Lord's resurrection that demonstrates the promise to Christians, but also the resurrection of those chosen saints of the time, which assures Christians of their own resurrection.
The Future
First Fruits, in essence, means that Jesus as Lord and Savior will return for His people. Buddha and Mohammed have not promised their followers that they will return for them. With these worldly religious, what you see is what you get. But the King is coming! First Fruits represents the whole point of Christianity--what you see is not all that you get. This life is only the beginning. Even if a Christian dies, he shall rise...just as those dead branches of winter bear fruit every spring.
Feast of First Fruits
The church continues to celebrate First Fruits in its New Testament essence, as Resurrection Sunday or Easter, but most fail to realize its full impact or its glorious promise for the future, unless it is understood from its original command given by God.
The church appreciates Passover in that the Lord Jesus cited this feast Himself as a holy convocation. The church uses the Passover wine and bread as symbols used in its communion remembrance of Jesus' last Passover meal on earth. Jesus says, "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). Similar to Israel's deliverance from Egypt in the Book of Exodus, Christians are encouraged to remember their deliverance from bondage by the blood of the Lamb.
However, with the Feast of First Fruits, Christians have confused an ancient pagan fertility rite with the original directions given by God. Today, we have a mixture of a Babylonian festival with a Biblical holy day.
Resurrection Sunday
We should look carefully at the original instructions for the Feast of First Fruits to fully understand their implications:
"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I give you, and shall reap the harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it'" (Leviticus 23:10-11).
To paraphrase, God is saying to Moses, "I am taking My people into a fruitful land. I would like them to acknowledge the land's rich abundance. Each spring, when the first harvest of the year is available, the people should bring some of their first pickings of their crops to the Temple so that the high priest can acknowledge My generosity. This must be done on the Sunday ("the morrow after the sabbath") during the week of Unleavened Bread.
God honors Resurrection Sunday, the Sunday after Passover, as representing the things which come out of the ground spontaneously and miraculously after a long, dead winter. We see this miracle every spring, and we usually take it for granted. What do we have to do to our crops, and trees to make them come forth with their first fruits? The answer is nothing. God miraculously causes the growth and rejuvenation of these plants. We simply watch and wait. They are free gifts from God, as is our coming resurrection.
Easter and its pagan roots
Where Easter is concerned, we have confused a pagan ritual with the Feast of First Fruits. Each spring, the Babylonians saw the first fruits and assumed it would the perfect time to ask their goddess, Ishtar (Easter), for new babies. They worshiped the things in nature which represented fertility such as the egg and rabbits. The people, in celebration of the new buds on the trees and shrubbery, wore new costumes. Today, most Christians continue the Babylonian rite by celebrating first fruits with the Easter Bunny, painting eggs bright colors (commemorating the new flowers and spring growth of the plants), and wearing new outfits to church and other gatherings during Easter. Of course, no Easter celebration would be complete without an egg hunt, which represents the ancient pagan ritual of attempting to conceive a baby.
First Fruits: Its true meaning and future implications
The original Feast of First Fruits, however, contains a great truth. If there are first fruits, then there must be a second, a third and so on. That is the true meaning of this Sunday. We do not merely celebrate the resurrection of the Lord on First Fruits, but the resurrection of the entire church. The Lord rising from the dead is cause for great wonder and blessing, but are we really surprised? He could feed thousands, walk on water and could raise the dead. The greater miracle is that we ordinary, mortal sinners will all rise!
As Paul states in his first letter to the Corinthians: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming" (1 Corinthians 15:22-23).
Those "in Adam" die, since all descendants of our sinning original father have inherited his terrible trait. But in Christ, we are made alive again.
Jesus celebrated First Fruits in the appropriate manner by rising from the dead on that day. He also gave the Father His First Fruit offering. Graves were opened and the dead rose and were seen after Jesus' resurrection (Matthew 27:53). Our Lord, not unlike any farmer of the soil, gratefully brought before the Father a few early "crops" of what would be a magnificent harvest later on. We sometimes fail to note that Jesus was not the only deceased person to rise on that miraculous day of First Fruits. Those He brought forth from their graves represent a type of church. Christians shall be brought forth from their graves for the big fall harvest--the Rapture--at the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah). It was not only the Lord's resurrection that demonstrates the promise to Christians, but also the resurrection of those chosen saints of the time, which assures Christians of their own resurrection.
The Future
First Fruits, in essence, means that Jesus as Lord and Savior will return for His people. Buddha and Mohammed have not promised their followers that they will return for them. With these worldly religious, what you see is what you get. But the King is coming! First Fruits represents the whole point of Christianity--what you see is not all that you get. This life is only the beginning. Even if a Christian dies, he shall rise...just as those dead branches of winter bear fruit every spring.
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