“Wisdom is Better Than Weapons of War…” (Part Two)

Tuesday morning, we told the story in 1st Samuel 25 about David and his men in times of battle. King Saul had been chasing them, probably for several years. David and his men were renegades, hiding in caves in the hills and trying to stay out of the path of King Saul, who wanted to kill David. King Saul’s jealousy over David was driving him insane… So David and his men are on the run. David now finds out that a rich man, Nabal, whom David and his men had befriended and protected, now, refused to give David’s men water and food provisions… They were hungry, and Nabal owed David. But now, Nabal is mocking David’s men, who are loyal, and hungry and need food. David has just found out how Nabal treated his men, and he is “on the warpath!” Have you ever been so angry, you were on the warpath? You just wanted to get even?

As David and his men are riding faster than a speeding bullet, Nabal’s “drop-dead” beautiful wife hears the story. Here is where wisdom comes in. She sends mules packed with food, dressed sheep, corn, raisins, wine, bread, figs, etc., the finest of everything she had. She sent her servants with all this stuff before her and then she came last. David and his men saw all these donkeys coming with food, and wine, lots of it! She dresses in her best and comes softly on her donkey and bows on the ground before him. She says, “let this iniquity be upon me,” David. She tells David that she knew nothing about this and that she knew that David’s men had helped their herdsmen when they were attacked! She apologizes for her stupid husband, and she says, when the Lord “shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offense of heart unto my lord… that thou has shed blood causeless.” Here she is, using her wisdom, to calm David, who has his sword drawn, ready to kill her husband!

It worked! David and his men got their food. Abagail went home to her foolish husband. And wisdom saved the day…

Fast forward: Just a day or two passed and Abagail doesn’t tell her husband until he has a party and gets drunk! When she tells him what she did, he got so angry that he had a heart attack and died… and guess what? David went back and found that beautiful woman and married her! Well, I can truly say, “Wisdom is Better Than Weapons of War!”

So, the next time you get angry and want to go on the warpath, remember Abagail… Nabal was dead, and she would now be the wife of David, soon to be King! God bless you and use wisdom… it is “Better Than Weapons of War!”

Sherry