Don’t Waste the Call

Nabal. Nabal. Nabal.

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” was surely coined specifically for this man.

Nabal was wealthy, but he definitely wasn’t wise. He had three thousand sheep and one thousand goats, yet Scripture describes him as harsh and badly behaved.

That tells us something right there: having a lot does not mean you have wisdom.

While David and his men were living in the wilderness, they provided protection for Nabal’s shepherds and livestock. One of Nabal’s own servants later testified that David’s men had been like a wall around them day and night. Nothing was stolen. Nobody was harmed. David and his men protected what belonged to Nabal without taking advantage of him.

Then came sheep-shearing time.

In 1 Samuel 25:5, David sent ten young men to greet Nabal and ask that he share whatever provisions he could spare.

Considering what David and his men had done for him, it wasn’t an unreasonable request.

But apparently Nabal didn’t get the memo.

Instead of showing gratitude, he responded:

“Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse?” —1 Samuel 25:10

Sir.

You know who David is.

Nabal acted as though David was some random man who had wandered in asking for a handout. He dismissed him, insulted him, and refused to give his men anything.

When David heard what Nabal said, he was hot.

And not “I’m going to pray about this” hot.

David told his men to strap up.

He was ready to kill Nabal and every man belonging to his household.

Meanwhile, back at Nabal’s house, one of the servants realized that his master had done something outright foolish and immediately went to Nabal’s wife, Abigail.

If I could Neccolize what he told her, it would sound something like this:

Mrs. Abigail, listen. While we’ve been out here tending these sheep, David and his men have had our backs. We didn’t have to worry about jackers, thieves, or anybody else coming for us. Those men protected us and never took anything from us. Then they came over here asking for some food, and your husband dissed David like he didn’t even know the homie. And now David is about to lose his mind—up in here, up in here.

Basically:

Ma’am, you need to do something. Quickly.

Abigail knew exactly what kind of man she was married to. Scripture describes her as intelligent and beautiful, while Nabal—not so much.

I can only imagine this wasn’t the first time she had to clean up one of his messes.

But this is the one God wanted us to hear about.

Abigail did what a wise woman does when foolishness is threatening everything around her.

She moved.

Without telling Nabal, she gathered bread, wine, prepared sheep, grain, raisins, and figs and went to meet David.

When she saw him, she fell before him and began pleading for mercy.

But what I love about Abigail’s conversation with David is that she didn’t spend all of her time talking about Nabal.

She redirected David’s attention to David.

She said:

“The LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD.” —1 Samuel 25:28

Do you see what she did?

She transitioned the conversation from Nabal’s offense to David’s calling.

In other words:

David, remember who you are.

Remember what God is doing in your life.

Remember what you have been called to.

Don’t waste your calling on a foolish man.

Whew.

That’ll preach all by itself.

Because people will insult you.

People will forget what you’ve done for them.

People will disrespect you after you’ve helped them.

People will abandon you.

People will behave as though the sacrifices you made for them never happened.

And you may have every right to be angry.

But don’t lose your testimony trying to prove you have a reason to be mad.

David’s anger was justified.

His planned response was not.

There is a difference.

The danger wasn’t simply that David was angry. Scripture tells us to “be ye angry, and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26). The danger was that David was about to allow his anger to make a decision that could follow him into his future.

David had already been chosen by God.

He was going to be king.

He had battles to fight for the Lord.

There was purpose on his life.

And here he was preparing to shed blood because Nabal hurt his feelings and offended his pride.

Nabal wasn’t worth that.

And the people who offend us aren’t worth what we are preparing to sacrifice either.

Don’t waste the call.

Don’t jeopardize what God is building because somebody got disrespectful.

Don’t ruin your witness because somebody lied on you.

Don’t damage your character because somebody forgot what you did for them.

Don’t allow a temporary offense to produce permanent consequences.

Sometimes people absolutely need to be dealt with.

But that doesn’t mean they have to be dealt with by you.

Abigail essentially reminded David:

Leave Nabal to God.

And thank God David listened.

That may be one of the most important parts of this entire story.

David was angry enough to kill somebody, but he wasn’t too angry to receive correction.

That takes humility.

Sometimes we become so upset that we don’t want anyone telling us to calm down, reconsider, pray, wait, or walk away.

We want somebody to agree with us.

We want somebody to say, “You’re right. Go get them.”

But God may send an Abigail.

Someone wise enough to remind you:

This response is beneath where God is taking you.

David listened, changed course, and praised God for sending Abigail to stop him from taking vengeance into his own hands.

And God handled Nabal Himself.

Not long afterward, Nabal died.

David didn’t have to touch him.

That is a word for somebody.

You don’t have to fight every battle.

You don’t have to expose everybody.

You don’t have to respond to every insult.

You don’t have to straighten everybody out.

You don’t have to make sure people “get what they deserve.”

Sometimes obedience looks like putting the sword back down and trusting God to handle what you cannot.

Abigail’s wisdom saved an entire household.

David’s willingness to listen protected his testimony.

And Nabal’s foolishness eventually answered to God.

So the next time somebody pushes every button you have, before you pop off, remember David.

Ask yourself:

Is this person worth me stepping outside of who God has called me to be?

We could probably agree they are not.

You have too much purpose to waste your calling on a Nabal.

Don’t waste the call.