July 23, 2006

Forgotten Lives - Abigail

Married to Mr. Wrong

I Samuel 25:2-14

Opening Words: There are sixty-six books in the Bible, thirty-nine in the Old Testament. The New Testament is dominated by Jesus, himself, our Lord and Savior. The Old Testament consists of a variety of lives. Each one played a small part in God’s plan for the salvation of the world. Most of those lives are forgotten. So what I have been doing this summer is looking at some of those forgotten lives. It is for this reason that I have call this sermon series Forgotten Lives.

This weekend we look at Abigail. According to the twenty-fifth chapter of First Samuel she is a beautiful woman both inside and out. The problem was her husband. She is married to Mr. Wrong. His name is Nabal. His name literally means “Fool.” (Does anyone here feel like they are married to a fool?) He is a man of means. In other words, he has amassed a great fortune. He is wise in the ways of business but he is a fool in the way that he handles the people in his life. One of the people he offends is David. The future king is still a young man. He emotionally reacts to the insult and threatens to take the “Fool’s” life. He would have succeeded if not for the response of Abigail. With this little introduction let us hear this weekend’s scripture lesson. Let me call this message Married to Mr. Wrong.

Introduction

Somerset Maugham, the English writer, once wrote a story about a janitor at St Peter's Church in London. One day a young vicar discovered that the janitor was illiterate and fired him. Jobless, the man invested his meager savings in a tiny tobacco shop, where he prospered, bought another, expanded, and ended up with a chain of tobacco stores worth several hundred thousand dollars. One day the man's banker said, "You've done well for an illiterate, but where would you be if you could read and write?" "Well," replied the man, "I'd be janitor of St. Peter's Church in Neville Square."

Do you react or respond to the problems in your life? Some people react when a problem enters their lives. They become so frustrated with the situation they fire back. Has anyone here every slammed a door or hurled some ugly language at someone you love in a moment of frustration? Has anyone here ever said or thought those three magic words, “I’ll get even!” Perhaps, there is some one here that is still waiting for just that right opportunity? Some people fire back at a problem. Other people are more likely to retreat. Has anyone here ever climbed back into bed at 3:00 in the afternoon because there is no other option? Some people react when a problem enters their lives. Some people respond to the problems in their lives. Abigail thoughtfully responded to her problem.

Body

Her story sounds like a Disney movie. Abigail is a beautiful woman. She is beautiful both internally and externally. In the twenty-fifth chapter of First Samuel she finds herself between a fool and a reactionary. The fool is her husband, Nabal. The reactionary is the future king of Israel, David. Foolishly Nabal has insulted and cheated the future king. David reacts to the situation and threatens to take the fool’s life. If not for the beautiful Abigail he would have acted on that threat. In the end she saves her husband life and David’s future. In the very end of the story Nabal dies and David asks her to be his wife. Like every Disney movie they live happily ever after.

This weekend I am going to challenge you! I am going to challenge you to step back the next time you are in the middle of a personal problem and look at the big picture. I am going to challenge you and ask you to remember three things. One reminder is to help you eliminate future problems. The other two reminders will give you some hope. They will comfort you and will help you eliminate future mistakes in your life. They are all illustrated in Abigail’s story. I hope you never have a problem again but just in case remember these three reminders. So if you are ready to be challenged say, “Amen!”

Reminder Number One: Don’t make decisions rashly.

The next time you are facing a problem in your life remember don’t make decisions rashly. In the twenty-fifth chapter of First Samuel David is a young man. He has already killed Goliath and has received his anointing as the next king. He is not yet the king. The problem is the reigning king, Saul. He is jealous of David so David moves to the remote area of Israel called Moan. With his small army he offers protection to the local sheepherders. Without them chaos would come to that area and no one would have made a profit. Pay day came for David and his little army of protectors when the sheep were sheared. Nabal had taken his sheep to Carmel to be sheared. David expects to be paid for his service but all he receives is an insult. David’s emotional reaction to this situation is to kill the “Fool.” David should have known not to make a rash decision. If he would have killed Nabal then he never would have become the king. Have you ever made a rash decision that you regretted later?

The Eiffel Tower is one of the famous buildings of the world. It was named after its architect, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. He was commissioned to build it for an international exposition late in the nineteenth century. When he conceived the idea he was excited. When the tower was built he was filled with pride. Here was a building destined for greatness, a structure by which Paris would be identified the world over. Yet his attitude was not shared by the citizens of Paris. It was widely described as hideous and monstrous, and people called for this embarrassment to be torn down as soon as the international exposition was finished. History vindicated Alexandre Eiffel. In 1889 he was roundly condemned. Today he is praised. History teaches us don’t make your decisions rashly.

That is what I tried to tell Wes and Carol. They met at college during the first quarter of their freshmen year. They came to talk to me because they wanted to get married. They met in late August. They were talking to me in early November because they wanted a New Year’s Eve wedding. I asked, “Why New Year’s Eve?” They responded by saying, “We want to start the New Year off together as man and wife. We have a love that will last a lifetime.” I said, “so what is the hurry?” I said, “If your love will last a lifetime then why not wait until you finish school?” That was not the answer they wanted. They left upset. Today, Wes and Carol are married. They are married to different people. Wes married Debbie and Carol married someone named Steve. They are both very happy married to someone else. The more important the decision the slower you should move. David made an important decision rashly and it almost cost him everything. The next time you are facing a problem in your life remember don’t make decisions rashly. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” That is reminder number one. This is reminder number two.

Reminder Number Two: Bad situations can not frustrate God’s divine plan.

The next time you are facing a problem in your life remember bad situations can not frustrate God’s divine plans. In the story of Abigail, David made a rash decision. It could also cost him his future. It was a bad situation but it never derailed God’s divine plan for David’s life. David went on to be the king and unite the twelve tribes. God has a plan for your life and our world and human problems can not derail those plans. Psalm 47:7 says, “For God is the king of all the earth.” And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

They tell me in the frigid waters around Greenland are countless icebergs, some little and some gigantic. If you'd observe them carefully, you'd notice that sometimes the small ice masses move in one direction while their massive counterparts flow in another. The explanation is simple. Surface winds drive the little ones, whereas the huge masses of ice are carried along by deep ocean currents. Have you ever felt like you are on one of those smaller icebergs? Do you feel like you are being blown around by the problems in your life? Have you ever felt like your problems are the final chapter in your life? Here is some good news. Bad situations can not frustrate God’s plan for your life and our world. We believe in an all powerful God! How many examples do you need? Let me give you just one.

In 1996 the old Youngstown District suffered a great loss. The pastor of the Girard United Methodist Church, Stu Stephens died. We were not friends but I feel comfortable saying this. He was a young man in the prime of his life and we felt the pain of grieving. He left behind his wife, Barbara, and two small children, Matt and Katie. It was hard to think about those two young children living without their father. On Friday night Kathy and I saw those two youngsters for the first time in over ten years. Time has passed and those two are no longer little children. They are two wonderful teenagers with their whole life in front of them. When I looked at them do you know what I saw? Stu! They have the physical looks of their father and they have his great presence and promise. Without saying a word they reminded me that death, itself, can not frustrate God’s divine plan. We worship a God, who is king of all the earth. When you are going through the most difficult experience in your life step back and remember bad situations can not frustrate God’s plan. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Reminder number one says when you are going through some difficult experience don’t make any decision rashly. Reminder number two says bad situations can not frustrate God’s plan. Ever so briefly let me say number three.

Reminder Number Three: One person can make a difference.

The next time you are facing a problem remember one person can make a difference. Let us look at the story of Abigail one more time. The “Fool” she was married to has insulted and cheated the future king. David does not handle this well. He prepares his men to kill Nabal. He was a dead man if not for his wife. She saved his neck and that illustrates for us that fact that one person can make a difference. Queen Esther heard Mordecai say it first but let me say it now. Perhaps, you are in such a position to make a difference for God. Perhaps, your hardship is part of God’s plan for your life? In the end of the story Abigail got her reward for being faithful. In the end you will get your reward as well. And all of God’s people said, ”Amen!”

Conclusion

Did you know Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for the light bulb? When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained, "All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing." Edison replied very confidently, "Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb."

How do you respond to the problems in your life? Do you get mad at God? Or do you see the big picture? Do you remember that one person can make a difference? Do you remember that bad situations can not frustrate God’s divine plan? Do you remember that when life is hard don’t make any rash decisions. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”