Apr. 07, 2024

Series: AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART    4-7-24

Quenching the Thirst for Anger (1 Samuel 25)

1 Samuel 25:1 Now Samuel died… and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into the Desert of Paran.

TAKING REVENGE or MAKING AMENDS:

Actor #1 - A _____________ FOOL

1 Sam 25:2, 25 ² A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel… 3 the man was harsh and badly behaved… ²⁵ pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name--his name is Fool, and folly goes with him.

1 Samuel 25:7 ⁷ " 'Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. ⁸ Ask your own servants and they will tell you.

1 Samuel 25:8 ⁸ Therefore be favorable toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’”

NABAL’s Reaction: 

1 Samuel 25:11 ¹¹ Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?

DAVID’s Reaction: 

1 Samuel 25:13 ¹³ David said to his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.

CHOICES IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION:

1. ______________ OUT (WITHDRAW)

2. ______________ IT OUT (WAGE WAR)

3. ______________ IT OUT (WIN) 

Actor #2 - AN INTELLIGENT, _______________

WOMAN

1 Samuel 25:3 (ESV-NIV) ³ …his wife's name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, but the man was harsh and badly behaved.

1 Samuel 25:14–17 ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. ¹⁶ Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. ¹⁷ Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”

1 Samuel 25:25-31 ²⁵ 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… ³⁰ When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, ³¹ my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself.

FOUR WAYS TO WIN OVER ANGER:

1. Ignore ____________ disagreements!

Proverbs 17:14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

Proverbs 19:11 A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.

2. Keep a close ____________ on your ______________!

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 

3. Be ______________ in your communication!

Proverbs 27:5-6 Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. 

4. Don’t let ______________ build up!

Ephesians 4:26–27 ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold.

Actor #3 - A HANDSOME, ____________ MAN

1 Samuel 25:21-22 ²¹ David had just said, "It's been useless--all my watching over this fellow's property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. ²² May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!" 

1 Sam 25:32–33 ³² David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord… who has sent you today to meet me. ³³ May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.

BENEFITS of MAKING AMENDS vs TAKING REVENGE:

1. IT ______________ HEALING.

James 5:13–15 (AMP) ¹³ Is anyone among you afflicted? He should pray… ¹⁵ and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ “Confess to one anothertherefore your faults… you may be healed and restored – to a spiritual tone of mind and heart.”

2. IT ______________ A HEALTHY FUTURE. 

1 Samuel 25:39 ³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he… sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. 

3. IT ______________ BITTERNESS.

Matthew 5:23–24 ²³ if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.