“The wise fear the Lord and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure” - Proverbs 14:16 (NIV).
Have you ever encountered a situation where soon after doing someone a favor, you too, had a need, only to be repulsed like vermin! This is what happened to King David who at one point offered protection to a one Nabal. David’s men night and day had a wall around protecting Nabals sheep (1 Samuel 25:6). But when David later sent his men to Nabal for a favour, he scoffed back, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where” (vv 10-11).
Of course it hurt! David swore to go out and teach this man some lesson. “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!” (vv 21-22).
What saved the day was that Nabal by a strange coincidence had married an “intelligent and beautiful woman” (vv 3). Abigail, on learning of the imminent attack, without wasting and even warning Nabal, hurried to prepare a gift which she went ahead to deliver to David in person.
“Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal” Abigail pleaded (vv 25). “He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you” (vv 25- 26).
This entreaty and gift cooled down David who rescinded and turned back. On Nabal hearing later what had happened, “his heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died” (vv 37- 38.)
The Bible has many passages where it warns us not being as foolish as Nabal. Here was a man who had once been helped only to hurl back insults when a simple request was made. His foolishness risked the death of an entire group of people under him. This is why Proverbs 3:35 says, “The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.”
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven, today I pray for the wisdom you liberally give and bless your servants with, to guide and lead me on, this I pray in Jesus’s name!
Related upcoming events
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06/05/2024 - 07/05/2024 All day“Do not confirm to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2)
Almost all cultivators are aware that if soils are used perpetually without rains but constantly under work they are deprived of all nutrients. So, though once productive, they lose all power to yield fresh crops as before. But so is our Christian life when we do not regularly feed our spirit life with the Word!
In our leading verse, the Apostle Paul is urging believers to “renew” their minds rather than make them stale, lest they end up losing all power to yield fruit. But how is this done? We renew our minds by constantly reading the Word of God, for there are always insights with God speaking to us afresh. Psalm 119:104-5 says, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” The Apostle Peter reminds us, “Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow and be saved.” It is a beautiful illustration for any who have seen a hungry baby sucking the teats of a mother.
Renewing our minds is also by reading about the lives of people of faith who have walked before us and their created works. The Christian faith started in the first century after Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Now over two millenniums it has produced giants of faith who have shared their walk with God through inspired teachings that are a treasure to dig into. By scouring the writings of the great saints before us, listening to their recorded sermons, songs and preaching, which these days can be found on virtual medial channels like Yu tube, reading their biographies, our faith is renewed.
And then we also renew our faith through fellowship. When the Apostle Paul urges us, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” ( Hebrews 10:25), he is reminding us that our faith cannot grow in isolation. During the Covid pandemic lockdown one bitter issue was denying Believers opportunity to meet fellow followers of Christ to share testimonies showing the work of God in their lives.
So today, if your faith is on a low keel, or you want it to flower, one thing you can’t help doing without is “renewing” your mind. The blessings to unfold are endless.
Prayer for today:Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a treasure we have of your rich Word to dig into always; books around us of faith to inspire us; and believers to share our faith- may we make use of these, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
