Lady Wisdom

Holy and awesome is the name of the Lord. The wise will humbly serve and honor Him by how they live. Fools will not. 

“A certain man in Maon, was very wealthy. His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail…her husband was surly and mean…Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’ ” Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat…One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. Yet these men were very good to us. Night and day they were a wall around us…Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs…When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. Please pay no attention, my Lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him…David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment…When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. When David heard that Nabal was dead, David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my Lord’s servants.” 1 Samuel 25:2-41

What lessons can we learn from this story?  There are three names in this story and each name reflects a unique heart. We can learn from the ways of each person. Ask yourself what name are you making with the time you have on Earth. What legacy are you leaving? 

Nabal was wealthy but unwise.  People called him surly, mean, and wicked.  He was selfish and would not share even though he had great wealth. The text says that he was throwing himself a great banquet rather than being grateful to a man who had guarded his sheep. Why? You see in his very words that he saw all that he had as his own. He said why would I share my bread, water, or meat? Nabal did not see what he had as given from the Lord.  Do you? What does your checkbook say about your heart? 

David was a Shepherd and a King. He served, guarded, and helped others even when he did not see any material gain.  The text says that night and day he watched over someone else’s sheep. He did good before he was asked because it was who he was. He used his gifts to bless others because it was what he was made to do. His only request of Nabal was to give what he was able. Is this your approach? Do you give what you can? In a world of such great need, we are not called to solve meet all the world's needs. We are called to give what we can. Who could you be generous to or help before they even ask? Think of how kind and generous God is to you before you even ask. 

Abigail acted quickly. Doing something quickly is not always doing something well, but in that moment, it was the right thing to do. She was wise because she knew that if she did not act, many people would be harmed. She chose to be generous and humble. She rusted God would protect her from the punishment due her household. She was not the one who caused harm, Nabal did, but she stepped in and stood in the gap for others. Even after becoming the wife of David, her heart was to wash the feet of his servants. Is that your heart? Are you looking for how you can stand in the gap for someone else and wash feet like Jesus? The salvation way looks a lot more like serving humbly and giving generously than reclining comfortably.  

“Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart…Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works, The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; to Him belongs eternal praise.” Psalms 111:1-10

The next name that emerges in our text today is the name of the Lord. Holy and awesome is his name. His name his Provider. His name is Power. His name is Faithful Promise Keeper. His name is Justice. His name is Redeemer. His name is Gift Giver and Covenant Keeper. His name is Yahweh. His name is Jesus. Who is God to you? 

Long before proverbs, David says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Abigail was wise. She had a right perspective and lived righteously. Nabal was a fool.  He lived for himself and had no fear of the Lord. The Hebrew word for fear means honor, respect be in awe of the Almighty. Lift up the Name of the Lord today. His name is Awesome and worthy of our awe. We all need more awe in our lives. We need more moments where we stand under the stars and give thanks to God for how awesome He is. The right reaction to the awesomeness of God is to praise God. Your life will reflect how in awe of God you are by how much you praise God. 

The text says God remembers His covenant. Today is a day of remembering. Nabal chose to forget the kindness David showed him because of what it would cost him. Our world would be way better off if we got better at remembering all God has done, all He has given, and how awesome He is. Are you good at remembering? Every time we choose offense over grace we are forgetting what Jesus did on the cross. We need to remember and revere the Lord. Every time we choose selfishness over generosity somehow we have forgotten. Everything we have including the breath in our lungs is from God, for God. Ask the Lord to reveal something He wants you to remember that you could rightly praise and please Him. Remembering will renew a right Spirit in you. 

“My son, if…you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth. Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler…A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who plots evil with deceit in his heart— he always stirs up conflict. Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are the way to life,”

Proverbs 6:1-23

Think of the connections between these words of Solomon and the lives of Abigail and Nabal. Abigail was humble and responsive. When her household had been ensnared by the foolishness of her husband’s words, she worked quickly and faithfully to calm the conflict. Do not forget she was a wealthy woman and could have been self-righteous. Instead, she chose correction and instruction that’s the way of her life. She chose to serve and save others. 

Compare that with Nabal. Is it not fascinating that the proverb says the person who is corrupt and evil will have disaster strike them suddenly and Nabal died of a heart attack? Solomon goes on to share what displeases God.  Haughty eyes, lying tongues, and those who stir up conflict. 

It’s very easy to judge Nabal, but who of us can say we’ve never done any of these things? Jesus said whoever is free of sin, cast the first stone.  The important lesson here is to seek God and ask where we could use correction and instruction in our lives? Where have we gone off track or become arrogant? Where have you stirred up conflict or not followed the law of love given to us by Jesus? 

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians” Isaiah 10:1-3, 17, 24

Do you see all people as made and loved by God?  Consider how Jesus came to serve the least and the outcast of the world. He did not live a life of comfort among kings. He healed, served, and cared for all people. There has never been a more righteous and just example of how to love like God. 

God asks very challenging questions through Isaiah. What will you do on the day of reckoning?  To whom will you run? What will you do with your riches? These questions are somewhat rhetorical and meant to realign our thinking.  You will not take your riches with you. The question will be what will your riches say about the reward due to you in heaven? Be thankful there is a person you can run to and His name is Jesus. He will stand in the gap for you like Abigail did for the house. The text invites us to remember to live with the end in mind and who our Savior is on the day of reckoning. 

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? When King Herod heard this he was disturbed…Then Herod…sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets” 

Matthew 2:1-23 

Just like Abigail and Nabal, we can see a contrast between the wise men and the wealthy king Herod. Both had an opportunity to do what is right and worship the king. When the wise men saw the light of the star and came before the king, they bowed and worshiped by generously, giving what they could. 

Proverbs says God hates the lying tongue and haughty heart. Herod was clearly both of these as he tried to trick them, wise men so he could kill Jesus. Just like Nabal his life ends in death and his legacy was wickedness. Herod feared losing his power and possessions more than God. Imagine how different both stories could have been if the men had feared God and lived with an awareness that one day they would meet their Maker. Life on earth is short and eternity in the lake of suffering is a terrible price to pay to enjoy comforts of this world. 

Everything eventually comes back to Jesus. The savior was born and God’s promises fulfilled because the name of the Lord is faithful. Holy and awesome is his name.  We find healing and hope in our hearts when live like Abigail and David, like the wise men, Mary and Joseph. We find healing and hope when we hear His voice, follow Him with humility, and honor him by living for him knowing one day we will stand before Him. Your name will become great as you lift up the Name above all Names and invite Him to fill your heart with His presence now and forever more.