Nabal the Fool – Part 2b

“Dear Lord,
I have been re-reading the record of the Rich Young Ruler and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set me thinking. No matter how much wealth he had, he could not– ride in a car, have any surgery, turn on a light, buy penicillin, hear a pipe organ, watch TV, wash dishes in running water, type a letter, mow a lawn, fly in an airplane, sleep on an innerspring mattress, or talk on the phone.

If he was rich, than what am I?”

What are we all? RICH, incredibly rich.

We are also considered rich spiritually – most of us know much about the Bible, have commentaries and Bibles to use, and have a church to go and hear the Word in our own language…that is wealth!

As we read the story of Nabal, the fool we see that he was also considered rich. Our lesson reminds us that there are some pitfalls of wealth. These things arn’t necessarily true of all wealthy people, but they can be. Consider:

• Wealthy people can become independent spirited. Other people need them, but they don’t need anyone.
  In your spiritual richness do you have an air that sets you apart from others? Does appear that you don’t need fellowship, encouragement from others, or Bible studies because you already know it all?
• Sometimes for those that are wealthy it’s hard for others to be honest with them. In verse 17 of I Samuel 25 one of Nabal’s servant’s says “a man cannot speak to him.” If someone tried to tell Nabal he was acting foolish he could have lost his position – or his head! Proverbs 23:9 – Speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
  In our spiritual wealth can someone approach us and tell us about an issue they see in our lives? How will we respond – like a wise man or a fool?
• It’s easy for wealthy people to assume the worst about others. Later in the chapter we will see that that’s exactly what Nabal did about David. David would be the next king, but Nabal talks to him like he was a low-life that didn’t deserve his time or attention. Wealthy people sometimes feel they can talk any way they want to talk – they own the world! Proverbs 18:23 – The poor use pleas, the rich answer roughly.
  In our spiritual richness do we assume negatively of other Christians? If they don’t have the same convictions as we have or read from the same translation of the Bible do we automatically assume the worst, or think negatively about them?

As we continue to walk through this chapter of I Samuel we read that Nabal was not only rich, but he was “churlish.” In Hebrew this word means, hard, unyielding, unbending, uncontrollable, severe, stubborn, violent, deliberately stiffened. Does this sound like the kind of guy you would want to deal with? He was abusive with his words, abusive to his wife and others. He was just a mean man. There are men and women like that, and sometimes you have to live with a fool.

The Scriptures go on to say that he was of the house of Caleb – he was a Calebite. This can mean that he was a descendent of the godly man Caleb from the tribe of Judah, but some commentators say this is an adjective describing Nabal’s behavior. The word “calebite” means, dog. It can be rendered, “He was snappish as a dog.” I’m not knowledgeable about dog breeds, but I’ve seen some snappish dogs – teeth snarling, barking, mean in their natures. This is what Nabal was like! He is best described by the meaning of his name – fool.

Remember that a fool isn’t someone who is mentally deficient, but morally deficient. It’s someone who says there is no God (Psalm 14:1) He lives life as if there is no God. He has no regard for spiritual things, no fear of God or of man. He has no regard for what is moral, and as a result he acts foolishly. Isaiah 32:6 – And his heart inclines towards wickedness: to practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord, to keep the hungry person unsatisfied and to withhold drink from the thirsty. We’ll see later that this is exactly what Nabal did to David and his men.

Why did Nabal act this way? Why do we act foolishly? It’s because of what is in our heart. We will act out of what is there. We speak out of what is there. If we have a foolish heart we will act foolishly.

As we close this second lesson, let’s turn our focus to ourselves rather than Nabal. Let’s be honest and ask ourselves some tough questions. Could any of this be true of me?

1. Am I sometimes impossible to deal with?
2. Can people be honest with me? Or will I blow up?
3. Am I arrogant, proud, harsh?
4. Am I difficult to speak to?
5. Do I assume the worst in others?
6. Do I answer roughly rather than graciously?

The Scriptures say we’re all born fools. We’re all born going our own way. Every single day our heart would lead us astray without the wonderful grace of our God. We need Him initially to give us a heart transplant – take out the foolish heart and replace it with a wise one. Then each day we need to run to Him for grace and wisdom so that we will act graciously, with discernment, and godliness in a world that so much needs to see what a difference Christ can make in our lives. We are rich indeed people!