Bethel Mar Thoma Church K. R. Puram, Bangalore. 1 Samuel 25 An overview A chapter of three milestones in David’s life 1. Passing of Samuel - the end of an institution for Israel (1 Samuel 25:1) • For David, Samuel was ‘the anointing hand of God’, his mentor, his priest and prophet, his refuge in times of trouble. • A watershed moment in David’s life 2. Test of authority that he would have as a king in future (1 Samuel 25:2-43) • David now has armed soldiers or servants – how does David wield his authority and power? • The king is entitled to collect taxes – how does David go about exercising his entitlement? • The king has the power to punish rebels against his authority – how does David judge rebelliousness and the degree of punishment? • The kings of the time (as did great warriors and men of high standing) took many wives and concubines – how does David deal with the cultural standards of the day? 3. Saul gives away Michal, his daughter and David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish as his wife – there is no possibility of reconciliation with David for Saul (1 Samuel 25:44) As always let us ask – why does the scripture emphasise David was a man after the LORD’s own heart (a man who had a heart for the LORD)? Q1 1 Samuel 25:1 – 11 Nabal’s choice Sheep shearing time (or harvest time) was a time for celebration. By law (Deuteronomy 14:28-29, Deuteronomy 26:10-13) this was a time to share with the Levites and those who do not have a harvest of their own. It was at such a time that David sends a requests to Nabal for some support for him and his men. What do you think about Nabal’s response to David’s request? Take into account the context of the Mosaic law, the reason and method in David’s request as well as Nabal’s own personal situation. Trivia: By contemporary research it requires 30 acres to sustainably rear 100 sheep. Extrapolating, indicatively it required about 1200 acres (or about 5 square kilometres) to rear 3000 sheep and 1000 goats which was the size of Nabal’s flock. Q2 1 Samuel 25: 12 – 38 Abigail’s wisdom modulates David’s response David responds in anger to Nabal’s snub. While his anger is justified, was his planned response proportional or just? Abigail’s wisdom has a major influence on the lives of the two men we meet in this chapter. Her foresight and quick action stops David from rushing into sin. And her wisdom probably had a major influence in Nabal’s success and prosperity. What can we learn about Abigail’s character from her actions? Also what can we learn about David from his response? Q3 1 Samuel 25: 39 - 43 David takes another wife We see in this portion a hint of David’s sense of entitlement from power which would lead to his grievous sin with Bathsheba in the future. What do you think about David taking Abigail as another wife? Could and should Abigail have acted differently? Note: To explore whether the scripture allowed polygamy read the following passages – Exodus 21:10, Deuteronomy 21:15-17, 2 Samuel 12:7-9, Mathew 19:4-6, 1 Timothy 3:12. Marriage – one flesh not just physically Q4 Both Abigail and Nabal have strong individual characters. Yet, Abigail’s role in Nabal’s life is an example of the complimentary roles of husband and wife in a marriage. To be joined together as one (Mathew 19:5 …and the two will become one flesh) does not mean both become identical twins but the identity of the pair are entwined and formed by both. The learnings about husband-wife roles in a marriage can also be relevant to roles in teams that need to work together. Each person is made unique and so a partnership (be it in marriage or any other type of team work) will face personality challenges? From today’s lesson what can we learn about how a partnership can be successful?
