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Nabal, the Fool – Part 1

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Every Wednesday night in July and August we are doing a study aided by Nancy Leigh DeMoss entitled, How To Deal With the Fools in Your Life. Each Thursday post in these next two months will be the study from the night before.

How To Deal With the Fools in Your Life
Part 1
I Samuel 25
It’s surely an easy thing for a woman who has a wise husband to live a godly life, right? But what about a woman who is married to a mean, ungodly man? Or how can a woman be a righteous individual with a boss that’s demanding and arrogant? We all deal with fools in our lives – they might be within the walls of your home, in your neighborhood or even at your church! How should we respond to foolish people? We will see two very different responses to fools in this story.
As we begin the chapter we see that the nation is mourning because Samuel has died. He was so loved by the people. He’d spent his entire life serving the Lord. He was a godly man that was a prophet who anointed Saul to be king. He was the last of the judges. He also anointed David to replace Saul on the throne. Of all the people that would miss Samuel, David had to miss him as much as anyone. He had been a buffer between David and the egomaniac Saul as Saul hunted David down time after time. (I Samuel 19:18) Samuel had probably given David much encouragement to continue to trust in God’s promises. But now Samuel was gone and David must have felt very alone, vulnerable, and depressed.
Hebrews 9;27 reminds us that we will all die some day. What kind of legacy are you leaving behind? Will there be a sense of loss when the Lord takes you because, like Samuel, you have been a blessing and encouragement to others? Or will it be as it was when David heard that Nabal was dead? It says in verse 39 of I Samuel 25 that David “blessed the Lord” when he heard the news! He was thankful he wouldn’t have to deal with this foolish man anymore! Will people just be thankful they don’t have us to deal with, or will they have right to mourn? Who needs your encouragement today? William Ward said this – “Flatter me and I may not believe you. Criticize me and I may not like you. Ignore me and I may not forgive you. Encourage me and I will not forget you.”
After Samuel’s death David headed south to Paran to get further away from Saul. It’s at this time that David meets a couple. One spouse was a mean, ungodly person, the other was an individual who loved the Lord and was godly. There are many married couples who are like this. One is righteous, the other is not. One hates anything to do with the Lord, while the other lives to serve Him.
As we look at this story we want to ask ourselves:
  • Is there an example to follow?
  • Is there an example to avoid?
  • What can I learn in the passage about the ways and character of my God?

Let’s look at the three main characters for an overview:

Nabal –

His name means fool and that’s what he was (verse 25). As you read through I Samuel 25 make a list of the characteristics of a fool. As you do this you will probably think of someone in your life – perhaps if you’re honest, you may see yourself. We want to learn how to avoid having the characteristics of Nabal in our lives.

David

David’s initial response to Nabal was one of great anger. He was provoked and lost control. The danger is when you get around a fool you may respond like a fool. Proverbs 13:20 – “A companion of fools will be destroyed.” We look at David’s ungodly response and say, “Is this David, the man after God’s own heart behaving like this?” Even the most godly people will act in foolish, ungodly ways. Your husband may be godly, but he will sometimes behave in foolish ways. Do you ever see yourself acting foolishly? We do! Hence, we have a great need for wise, godly people in our lives to give us counsel. People who will love us enough to get in our face, if necessary, and tell us we are behaving foolishly, as Abigail did to David. Proverbs 8:33 – Hear instruction and refuse it not. Proverbs 24:6 – In a multitude of counselors there is safety. David was willing to listen to Abigail’s wise counsel, admit he was wrong and change his behavior.

Abigail

This lady models an incredible response when dealing with foolish people. Her wisdom, godliness, discretion and peace-making abilities make her the heroine of this story and she completely changes the outcome.

We would be amiss not recognize that God is in this story – on His throne, ruling, being sovereign, and fulfilling His purposes. He is also at work in your story. He is involved in your life and cares about the fools you live with or work with. Though you do not see Him He is there.

It’s so important that we see God in our circumstances, and that we see Him correctly. If we doubt His concern for our lives and situations, if we question His love, if we think He’s letting evil doers get away with their foolish actions, we are viewing God through googly-eyed glasses. Everything is distorted because we are believing the lies of the Devil. See God in this story and learn Who He is, and that He is just as involved in your circumstances.

Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” We read that as a missionary that gave his life in surrender to serve God, but this also applies to dealing with the fools in our lives. We give to God our right to get even. We give Him our anger towards that person, or our right to avenge ourselves. What do we gain that we cannot lose? We gain peace. We gain a proper view of God. We gain a clean heart and innocence.

Who is it that you’ve been thinking of as you’ve read this study of the fool? Remember that God will avenge in the long run. He will judge evil doers. Don’t try to do God’s work. He is in control. What peace that brings.

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