1 Samuel 30:7-15 - Bring me the ephod

30:7,8

So instead of mediums, David turned to the priest, and through the ephod sought an answer from the Lord. We are not told how the ephod worked, but it is evident that David got a clear answer. David should pursue the raiding party, and he would succeed in the rescue.

30:9-15

So David and his men set out. Two hundred of the men were exhausted, so they were left behind to guard what few possessions they had left by his master because he was ill. David and the remaining four hundred continued the pursuit. They came across an Egyptian who had been abandoned. He had had no food or drink, so they fed and watered him. He was able to lead them to the raiding party, as long as he was not killed not handed over to his former master.

1 Corinthians 15:1 - I want to remind you of the gospel

15:1

We now come to what is my favourite chapter in 1 Corinthians, Paul’s great exposition of the resurrection. This can be read as a standalone passage, and a great deal can be gained from doing so. However, it is part of 1 Corinthians and was not just thrown in as an “extra”. It calls on the Corinthians to remember what the heart of the gospel is, which isn’t just the resurrection on its own, but the resurrection and all its meaning. It also seems that there were some wrong ideas floating around, one being the denial of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Of course,these sorts of ideas are still floating around!.

“I want to remind you ..” It is the gospel on which they, and we, had/have taken their/our stand. We so easily veer off into making something else the primary issue. Even if these things are good in themselves, they are not the foundation, and building on them as the foundation will ultimately lead to us collapsing. Examples include social action, social justice, even evangelism. In the right context these are all good, but if they become the main thing we are in trouble.

1 Samuel 30:1-6 - David and his men reached Ziklag

30:1,2

David returned to Ziklag to find enormous trouble. While he and his men had been absent the Amalekites had raided the place. They had burned everything and taken the women and children captive, though none of them had been killed. This was more trouble that David’s living and acting out of fear had caused. However, this was also going to make a turning point for David, and time when he started to get back on track.

30:3-6

David’s men did not react well, which was quite understandable. Their possessions had been burnt, and their wives and children taken captive. David also shared in the loss as his two wives had been taken. The men talked of stoning David. One of the burdens of leadership is that when things go wrong, when you do things wrong, many people are affected, not just yourself. And those who are affected will naturally want to take it out on the leader. Comparing this to Saul’s reaction, David “found strength in the Lord his God”, rather than seeking the spirits of the dead. When Jesus told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times, Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail (Lk 22:31,32).  We can all go through times when we fail, and fail badly, but even so if there is the least vestige of faith left in us, we should turn to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 14:36-40 - Did the word of God originate with you?

14:36,37

14:34,35 do seem to break the flow of the argument, with 14:36 following on more smoothly from 14:33. Whatever the case, Paul says that if anyone is a prophet then they will follow what he is saying. There is always a danger that if we are gifted in some way, we start to think we are above everyone else, and will not listen to instruction. The truly Spirit led person is willing to listen and learn. Of course, there may be times when the church is going in the wrong direction, and we need to speak out. But the spirit led person is teachable.

14:38

“If anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored”. Someone can become so full of themselves, that they are so convinced that they uniquely know the truth. They then go their own way, thinking others will follow. But in fact, they will end up being ignored.

14:39,40

Paul then rounds off this ling section of his letter. They should eagerly desire the gift of prophecy. They should not have a wrong view of tongues, but they must not forbid speaking in tongues. And “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way”. Love and order are to be the guiding principles. 

1 Samuel 29:2-11 - But what have I done?

29:2-5

David had duped Achish into believing that David was faithful to him, despite his frequent raids into various places. The Philistine commanders, or lords, were not so easily satisfied. They knew of David’s reputation, and recognised the Hebrews. They did not trust David, and wanted to know how David and his men had ended up with the Philistine armies. Achish says that he has found David to be reliable, but the commanders are not convinced. They wanted David sent back to Ziklag, fearing that David would try and regain favour with Saul by killing more Philistines.

29:6-11

Achish admits defeat and tells David the news. He assures David that he has nothing against him and could find no fault in him. However, his superiors do not approve of David, so back to Ziklag he has to go. David protests, saying he wants to fight against Achish’s enemies. David is being rather silly here, though maybe he is just doing this so that Achish remains unsuspecting. Achish cannot change things, and so David is sent back to Ziklag at first light, and so they go.

1 Corinthians 14:31-35 - You can all prophesy in turn

14:31-33

“The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets”. People who do evil sometimes claim “the devil made me do it”, this is never a convincing argument. Similarly, people may sometimes say “the Spirit made me do it”, this is nonsense. The one who prophecies is in control of himself, he is responsible for his actions, including prophesying. Similarly charismatic churches sometimes seem to think the more disordered a meeting is the more the Spirit was present. This is also nonsense. Now the converse is also wrong, i.e. refusing to deviate at all from a set programme. God has created us as sentient beings, with responsibility.

14:34,35

A couple of verses guaranteed to raise hackles. There are some manuscripts where these two verses do not appear until after 14:40, but the location after 13:33 is the most likely, but that is a minor point. Some see this as the God ordained order, and take the verse absolutely literally. However, elsewhere Paul does refer to women prophesying or praying in church so an absolute ban on women speaking does not seem likely. Two other suggestions are more plausible. One is that within the culture of the time it would have been unseemly for women to be speaking in church. A second is that it refers to women raising questions or disputes within church about a tongue or prophecy.

1 Samuel 29:1 - The Philistines gathered all their forces

29:1

In the previous chapter we see Saul gripped by fear, and this led him to break the Law by consulting the spirits of the dead. One does wonder what he was thinking. He knew Samuel spoke the word of the Lord, so even if his efforts did bring the word from Samuel, it would only remind him that he was under God’s judgement. This is what did indeed happen. If it was not Samuel, it would be demons he would encounter, and that could hardly end well. When people abandon God they end up living out of fear, and behaving irrationally. Now we turn back to David. He also has acted out of fear, and he is now in a fix, for he is potentially going to have to fight with the Philistines against Israel. However, we will see that God acts providentially to release David from this bind. David did not deserve this favour, but he was under the grace of God.

1 Corinthians 14:29,30 - Two or three prophets should speak

14:29

Two or three prophets can speak, and then what they say should be “weighed carefully”. This is a principle that is consistent in the New Testament (1 Thess 5:20,21; 1 John 4:1). Prophecy is not to be despised, but it is to be treated carefully. With all the gifts there is a mixture. They come from God, there is no other way to receive them. At the same time, we have “agency”, we are in control of whether or not we use them, and when and how we use them, and we are to use our brains.

14:30

“And if a revelation comes ...” Prophecy and revelation seem to be synonymous here. Prophecy is not a prepared speech in the sense that a teaching or sermon is, it is a sudden understanding that comes from God. This does not mean it is not built upon a consistent studying of the Bible, but there is a clear God given aspect to it. There also seems to be a possible dealing of the situation of someone droning on and on!

1 Samuel 28:19-25 - I will not eat

28:19,20

Samuel ends his message with a foretelling of the ensuing defeat of Israel, and the death of Saul and his sons. Saul falls to the ground with fear.  Saul is like the whole of humanity. He regrets the situation he is in, but will not face up to the reality of his own sin, and there is no real solution until we do so.

28:21-25

The woman sees the state that Saul is in, and then gets food ready for him so that he can be on his way. Maybe she wants to get rid of him. Saul, demonstrating his usual complete lack of wisdom and common sense, initially refuses to eat. However, his men and the woman urged him to eat, and Saul listened to them. It seems that the woman had quite a feast for him. So Saul and his men ate and then left that same night.

1 Corinthians 14:27,28 - If anyone speaks in a tongue

14:27,28

Earlier Paul has said that speaking in tongues in a public meeting, without interpretation, was something of a waste of time. There are two key points here. One is that at most two or three were to speak in tongues, and then one at a time. The other is that there had to be an interpreter. In the absence of an interpreter anyone speaking in tongues should do so quietly, to themselves and to God, not to the whole congregation. On this latter point, charismatic churches seem to ignore this point. There are one or two implications of Paul’s teaching here. Sometimes people refer to tongues as “ecstatic speech”. It is clear from what Paul says that the tongue speaker is in control of himself. It is a gift we can choose if and when to use. We are in control. A second implication is that there can be people who know how to interpret tongues, it is not something that suddenly comes upon someone.

1 Samuel 28:14-18 - Because you did not obey the Lord

28:14,15

It seems that only the woman can see the vision of Samuel. Saul asks what he looks like, and she tells him that he is wearing a robe. Saul then “knew it was Samuel”, and he falls to the ground. Samuel asked Saul why he had disturbed him. Saul explains his predicament. He is a man alone, desperately seeking help, but looking, as always, in all the wrong places.

28:16-18

Whatever the nature of the vision, the message is entirely consistent with all that Samuel said to Saul during his lifetime. This does not preclude it from being some sort of demonic vision, but it is also consistent with it being Samuel in some form or other. But the key point is the message itself. Saul is reminded of why he is in the predicament he is in. It is because he failed to obey the Lord. Saul never really faced up to this point. He never sought to repent. 

1 Corinthians 14:26 - What shall we say then?

14:26

The primary emphasis on the use of the gifts of the spirit has been on using them in love, which in the present context meant using them to build up others. In the final section of the letter Paul deals with another point, namely that everything in church meetings should be done “in a fitting and orderly way” (14:40).

“When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation”. How this applies depends upon the size of the church. The churches were rather small in the early days. In a large church, anything more than a couple of dozen or so, the literal interpretation of this verse would not be practical, especially if numbers start to go into the hundreds! However, the principle is that everyone has something to contribute, and the practical outworking of this can take place in small groups, house groups, or whatever your church calls them.

All this was to be done for the edification of the church, it was not to be done for the sake of your own ego!

1 Samuel 28:11-13 - Bring up Samuel

28:11

The woman asked “whom shall I bring up for you?”, and Saul replied “Samuel”, for Saul would have gone to see Samuel if Samuel had still been alive. It is interesting that people who are disobedient to God will still want to hear from a man of God. Our human nature still contains something that knows we ought and need to hear from God.

28:12,13

Samuel then appears to the woman. This, of course, presents us with a problem. Is this really Samuel? Is it some demonic apparition? Or is it something else? Now we should note that the text makes no attempt to answer this question, so my view is that we should not worry about it. We should also remember that consulting the spirits of the dead is strictly forbidden. What the text does focus on is the message that Saul receives. The woman is deeply concerned, realising that the man who asked her to bring up Samuel is indeed Saul. Saul assures her that she will not be in trouble.

1 Corinthians 14:23-25 - God is really among you

14:23

How was tongues a sign for unbelievers? It would demonstrate two things to them. One, they would think the folk in the church were mad! Secondly it would show that the gospel was not for them, for they could not understand it. Today we still need to beware of treating tongues as though it was some sort of magic.

14:24,25

How is prophecy a sign for believers? It is intelligible speech, and shows that God is interested in us, wishing to communicate with us. It is interesting then that Paul goes on to show its effect on unbelievers. They will hear words that they understand, and will be convicted of sin. In response they will repent and worship the Lord. If it is a sign for the church, why does Paul talk about its effect on unbelievers? It is because a key part of the purpose of the church is to influence the world, to take the gospel to the world. Tongues does not help the church take the gospel to the world, prophecy does.

1 Samuel 28:4-10 - Find me a woman who is a medium

28:4-6

The Philistines were at Shunem, this is actually further south than Aphek (29:1), and so indicates that the events here happened after those in chapter 29. These events are related here to put them side by side with David. Saul was gathering his troops in response. Saul, like David, was full of fear. Like David, he too acted out of fear. Although he had expelled the mediums and spiritists, he now wanted to consult one. Samuel was dead, so he saw this as the only way he could consult Samuel. God was not speaking to him at all. What Saul should have done was realise that the problem was his own disobedience, and if he had repented of this things might have been different. Instead he was led by self-interest and circumstances.

28:7-10

So Saul told his attendants to find a medium, and was told that there was one in Endor. Saul had to travel through dangerous territory to get there, so he disguised himself and went at night. Two men went with him. He told the medium to “consult a spirit for me”. The woman knew the penalty for being a medium and suspected a trap. Saul swore by the Lord that she would not be punished. It is ironic that Saul swears by the Lord, when he is in the midst of disobeying Him.

1 Corinthians 14:21,22 - Tongues are a sign for unbelievers

14:21

Paul then quotes (roughly) from Isaiah 28:11,12. This referred to the Assyrian conquering of the northern kingdom of Israel. They had repeatedly refused to listen to the prophets, and then the Assyrian army conquered the land, speaking in foreign languages. They would not listen to God speaking to them in their own languages, i.e. through the Law and through prophets. So they would have to listen to the Assyrians speaking to them in foreign languages.

14:22

The point that Paul is making is that they should stop treating tongues as a toy, or as some sort of magic. The fact that someone was speaking in a language no one else understood was not a sign of God’s blessing on the church. In the case of Is 28:11,12 it was a sign of God’s judgement! They needed to grow up. If tongues were a sign at all, it was a sign for unbelievers.

1 Samuel 28:1-3 - Philistines gathered their forces

28:1,2

David’s actions, motivated by fear and not guided by God, now lead to even more trouble. The Philistines are gathering to attack Israel, and Achish, considering David to now be an ally, tells David that he and his men must accompany Achish in battle. David has depended upon Achish for protection, instead of upon the Lord. We can all make the same sort of mistakes that David has made. David gives Achish a non-committal reply, but Achish seems happy enough with the response.

28:3

Having seen how David is getting on, or not getting on, we now turn to Saul. The commentary likens the David-Saul situation to Peter-Judas. Both David and Peter made serious mistakes, both were sinners. But they turned to God and were saved, despite all their failings. Saul and Judas, on the other hand, never really knew God, and were destined for destruction. Samuel was now dead. Also Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land, this action was in line with the various commandments in the Law against consulting the spirits of the dead and related activities. There were a number of occasions when Saul outwardly obeyed.

1 Corinthians 14:18-20 - I thank God that I speak in tongues

14:18,19

Just in case anyone gets the wrong end of the stick, and thinks Paul is denigrating tongues, he assures them that he “speaks in tongues more than all of you”. Tongues is a good gift, used in the right context. So on his own Paul often prays in tongues, but when he is in church he speaks intelligible words, so that all are instructed, edified.

14:20

The Corinthians were thinking and acting like children. They treated tongues as though it were a new toy. With regard to evil they should be infants, i.e. not knowing much about it at all, and having even less to do with it. Jesus told us that we need to become like children (Matt 18:3), but that referred to our trust in God, not to our being simple minded. In our thinking we are to be adults, to be mature.

1 Samuel 27:5-12 - Where did you go raiding today?

27:5-7

David was effectively in enemy territory. He seeks somewhere else to live, so that he would have more freedom. So he persuades Achish to assign one of the country towns to him. He presents this as being a favour to Achish as well as in his own interests. Achish agrees and gives him Ziklag. Ziklag had originally been given to the tribe of Simeon (Josh 19:1-5). It had later been lost to the Philistines. David and his men lived there for one year and four months. This would be after the death of Saul.

27:8-12 

David used Ziklag as a base for raiding various peoples. These people had all lived in the area “from ancient times”. David inflicted wanton destruction and death on the people. Achish asked David what he was doing and David lied to him. At least part of the reason for David killing everyone was so that no one could tell Achish what he was actually doing. So Achish thought David was now “so obnoxious to his people”, and that he would be his servant forever.

When someone powerful is living out of fear they will often cause destruction for many other people.

1 Corinthians 14:15-17 - So what shall I do?

14:15

”So what shall I do?”. It is not a matter of tongues or not tongues. We will pray in tongues, sing in tongues, pray with our minds, and sing with understanding. We recognise what the gift of tongues is, and use it in the right place and in the right way. 

14:16,17

When in a gathering, if all we do is pray in tongues we benefit no one else. No one else in the gathering knows what we are saying (and neither do we for that matter!), so they are in no position to agree (say ‘Amen’) with what we are saying. So note the importance of the mind here. We communicate with each other intelligibly. The person praying in tongues may be “giving thanks well enough”, but no one else benefits. Note also the implication that one of things we are doing when praying in tongues is giving thanks to God.

1 Samuel 27:1-4 - I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul

27:1

So far David has come across as a righteous man who trusts God. In this chapter we get a rather different picture. And looking at David’s life as a whole we get the full picture of David, including his sinfulness. David, like all men, sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Yet he did achieve a lot of good for the nation, and did many good things. We see in the West that the nations of the west were blessed in many ways, and were based on roughly Christian principles. They too had many failings, sometimes absolutely terrible ones. Now they are abandoning their Christian heritage, and are reaping the consequences. 

This first verse show that here David living out of fear. Interestingly, God does not get a mention in this chapter! David thinks he will be “destroyed by Saul”, and decides that as soon as he can he will “escape to the land of the Philistines”. The rest of the chapter will show what a disastrous decision this was. Decisions based on fear are almost always bad decisions.

27:2-4

David and his six hundred men went over to Gath. Now remember that Gath was where Goliath had come from. The men and their families, and David and his two wives, settled in Gath with Achish son of Maok, king of Gath. Saul learnt where David was and gave up searching for him.

1 Corinthians 14:10-14 - Try to excel in those that build up the church

14:10-12

There are many languages, but they all have meaning. We speak with meaning, and to convey meaning. So if someone speaks in a language and I do not understand the language, then the speaker and I are foreigners to each other. So the members of the Corinthian church should be keen to build each other up, not to demonstrate how “gifted” they are. So they should eagerly seek the gifts that build up the church.

14:13,14

“For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say”. This is in reference to speaking on tongues in church, or some other public setting. My praying in tongues, without interpretation, may benefit me, but does not benefit anyone else. Today the gift of interpretation seems to be sadly lacking. Praying in tongues edifies the spirit of the one praying on tongues, but without interpretation benefits no one else. The mind is unfruitful. One thing I have noticed is that to pray in tongues I have to use my tongue, I can do it quietly, but not silently. Conversely, I can pray, think, or speak in English silently, without actually saying anything, for I am using my mind. The “mind is unfruitful” aspect of tongues is important. Our minds are good and useful, but we must not idolise the mind. There are times when our minds are no use, when we don’t know what to think or pray. In those times we can pray in tongues, we can pray with our spirit.

1 Samuel 26:21-25 - I have sinned

26:21

Saul reacts in his usual pathetic manner. He says he has sinned, but there is no repentance, no putting his trust in the Lord. That is what was needed in order to bring stability to his life. He urges David to come back, saying he would not harm David, and that he, Saul, had acted like a fool. This latter part was undoubtedly true.

26:22-25

David does not acquiesce to Saul’s request. In fact he gives sound advice to Saul, “the Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness”. Saul had manifestly failed in both these aspects. David also tells Saul to send one of his men to retrieve the spear. Saul blesses David, but they then both go their separate ways.

1 Corinthians 14:7-9 - Unless you speak intelligible words

14:7,8

Paul then asks them to think about “lifeless” things that make a sound. There needs to be a proper order and distinction to the notes, otherwise there is no tune, and no one listening would have a clue what the tune being played was. In the teaching of the Bible there is a proper approach to rational thinking. Rational thinking is good, it is a God-given attribute, but it must not be idolised nor must it be disparaged. A trumpet sound is used to call people to battle, or to warn them of danger. The call needs to be clear.

14:9

“So it is with you”. Church is not a game, but a deadly serious matter. It affects our own lives, it affects the lives of others. So speaking needs to be intelligible. The tongue is indeed very important, but when speaking in public our words need to be intelligible, otherwise we are “speaking into the air”, we are wasting our and everyone else’s time.

1 Samuel 26:12-20 - Aren't you going to answer me?

26:12-14

David took the spear and water jug in order to impress a point on Saul, to make him realise how vulnerable he actually was. We are told in 26:12 that “the Lord has put them into a deep sleep”. This is tacit approval of David’s actions. David then crossed over to the other side and stood on top of a hill, he then taunted Saul’s army, Abner in particular. Abner’s job had been to protect Saul and David’s actions proved that he had failed in that task.

26:15-20

David pointed out to Abner that his king could so easily have been killed, if David had wanted to do that, David points to the spear and water jug as proof that he could have killed Saul if had wanted to. While David is saying all this, Saul hears and recognises David’s voice, and then speaks to David. David then asks Saul why he is continuing to pursue him. The size of Saul’s forces were out of all proportion for hunting one man.

1 Corinthians 14:5,6 - I would like everyone to speak in tongues

14:5

None of this is to denigrate tongues, and Paul is making sure that this point is not misunderstood. He would like everyone to speak in tongues, but in terms of building up the church as a whole, prophecy is far more relevant. The one exception to this is if someone can interpret the tongue, so then everyone would understand what was being said.

14:6

Paul now points out what is blatantly obvious. The Corinthians seemed to have been captivated by the gift of tongues. That can still happen today, some people get over excited by the gift, or get worried if they don’t speak in tongues. Later on Paul will talk about what the gift of tongues is, but here his purpose is to drum some sense into them. They were keen for Paul to visit them, but if he came and did nothing but speak in tongues it would be of no benefit to them whatsoever. Paul’s visit would only be of use if he brought some “revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction”. Schreiner sees “revelation” and “prophecy” as being equivalent, and “knowledge” and “word of instruction” as being equivalent. Most charismatics see “knowledge” as being a “word of knowledge”, i.e. some God-given insight.

1 Samuel 26:5-11 - Don't destroy him

26:5-7

The spies find the camp and see that all of Saul’s men are “lain down”, presumably sleeping. David goes with Abishai and Ahimelek to Saul's camp. They reach Saul. Now Saul was surrounded by his men, so they must have crept in very carefully; we also learn in 26:12 that the Lord had intervened to put the men into a deep sleep.

26:8-11

Abishai sees this as a God-given opportunity to kill Saul and have done with him. In the previous incident David’s men were keen for David to kill Saul. Once again David refuses. Some people are guided by events, others, like David, are guided by principle. Faith in God and obedience to the Lord are the key principles we should be guided by. Later on, David would be guided by circumstances and his own lust, and caused great trouble, and got into great trouble because of it. David was not going to kill “the Lord’s anointed”. Instead he took Saul’s spear and water jug. 

1 Corinthians 14:3,4 - The one who prophesies edifies the church

14:3

Unlike with tongues, when one prophecies, he or she is speaking in the normal language, so everyone can understand what is being said. And this is for the “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” of the people. This is where the love comes in.

14:4

For when one speaks in a tongue one is edifying oneself. When someone prophecies it is the whole church that is edified. Both are inspired by the Holy Spirit, one to edify the individual, the other to edify the church. So tongues are primarily a personal gift for use on one's “quiet times” with the Lord. 

1 Samuel 26:1-4 - Is not David hiding on the hill

26:1

We have another incident where David spares Saul’s life. Because we have an earlier account (1 Samuel 24) of David sparing Saul’s life, there are some who  try to argue that this is a retelling of the same incident. You always get this, e.g. with the feeding of the 5000 and 4000, the two times when Jesus cleared the temple. These ideas are ludicrous, ignoring the clear differences in the two occasions. The Ziphites have informed Saul of David’s whereabouts. What we have in the incident is a contrast between David the man of faith, and Saul the ship tossed about by the waves, having no anchor in life.

26:2-4

Saul has quickly forgotten the things he said to David at the end of 1 Samuel 24, as he gathers his troops to go in pursuit of David. So Saul arrives at the place that David is at, and David learns of Saul’s presence. David sends out scouts or spies to see what Saul is up to.

1 Corinthians 14:1,2 - Eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit

14:1

Having emphasised the governing principle, namely love, Paul now moves on to details of proper worship at Corinth. Love and the gifts are not antithetical to each other, rather love is to guide and direct the use of the gifts. Indeed, they are to eagerly desire the gifts, especially prophecy.

14:2

Paul now goes into some detail about why prophecy is to be particularly sought after. The fundamental reason is love, i.e. seeking to help others. So any wrong emphasis on tongues is not walking in the way of love. For when someone speaks in a tongue, a gift which seems to have held a particular fascination for the Corinthians, one is speaking to God. No one else has a clue what the person is saying. The outbreak at Pentecost seems to be rather unique, in that the disciples were speaking in tongues that they did not know, but there were people at the gathering who did know the language. That can still happen on occasion, but is not the norm.

1 Samuel 25:39-44 - Who kept his servant from doing wrong

25:39

David heard the news and recognised that the Lord had “upheld his cause”. The Lord had acted against Nabal for treating David with contempt, and had kept David from doing wrong. When we are wronged or are in other serious situations, our thoughts and emotions can become very unreliable. 

25:40-44

David then asked Abigail to become his wife. Abigail was pleased with the outcome. It seems that David had lost Michal, or rather Saul had taken her from David. David had also married “Ahinoam of Jezreel”. David had a weakness for women, and later this would prove to be a serious failing.

1 Corinthians 13:12,13 - The greatest of these is love

13:12

We need to have an eternal perspective. What we have now is good, but it is nothing compared to what we will have in the future. Currently we see a “reflection” (NIV), or “in a mirror dimly” (ESV), but a time is coming when we will see Christ face to face, that is what we should be getting really excited about! Then we will know fully. God already knows us fully, but then we will know Him fully.

13:13

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. It might be argued that faith and hope will not be needed once Christ returns and we see face to face, but I am not so sure. I don’t think we fully realise what faith and hope are.

1 Samuel 25:32-38 - Praise be to the Lord

25:32-34

David is glad to accept Abigail’s offerings, seeing her as being sent by the Lord. We don’t always need a vision, a prophetic word or an angelic visitation in order to be “sent by the Lord”. Abigail acted out of common sense and a sense of justice. If we act out of what we know of the Lord and His desires, then we will be “sent by the Lord”. David recognised that he would have been responsible for much death if Abigail had not acted in the way that she did.

25:35-38

David sent Abigail away in peace, having granted her request. When she got home she found Nabal acting true to his character. He was drunk and in high spirits. Abigail waited until morning to tell him what she had done. Being the fool that he was, Nabal was in shock and suffered what was possibly a stroke. Ten days later he died. The Lord can be relied upon to take action when needed.

1 Corinthians 13:10,11 - When completeness comes

13:10

“But when completeness comes, what is in part disappears” (NIV), some other versions have when the “perfect” comes. Some cessationists say the “perfect” refers to the completeness of the New Testament canon, and that when that happened the gifts would cease. Quite frankly this is a nonsensical argument, and is a case of eisegesis. Schreiner argues that the “perfect” refers to the return of Christ, the resurrection etc. His arguments can be found in his commentary, but the key one is that Paul is clearly talking about the return of Christ, and 13:12 confirms this.

13:11

There are two ways in which this verse can be taken. One is that Paul is trying to get them to realise that we are heading for something far greater, we will become perfectly Christlike. Tongues etc are useful now, but will eventually be superfluous. A second way is that Paul is trying to get them to grow up. The former seems the more likely in the context of this chapter, but the second is what he has been trying to do throughout the letter.

1 Samuel 25:23-31 - Please pay no attention

25:23-27

On seeing David, Abigail got off her donkey and bowed down before David, this was a mark of respect for David. She then spoke to David. She did not beat about the bush about her husband. She referred to him as a complete fool, and a man full of folly. As an aside, this has implications for the notion that a husband or wife should stand by their spouse in all circumstances. Abigail did not stand by her man! So under what circumstances should one partner stand by the other when they are acting foolishly or doing wrong? I would say that it depends on whether the recalcitrant partner is willing to listen and learn. Abigail sees the Lord’s hand in restraining David from bloodshed. 

25:28-31

Abigail knew who David was, which makes Nabal’s attitude all the more reprehensible. “No wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live”. As 2 Samuel will make clear, this did not turn out to be true! She also declares various blessings and success for David from the Lord. Most importantly, David would not have “needless bloodshed” on his conscience. Our conscience is very important, and acting rashly or hastily can lead to us going against our conscience, and causing unnecessary harm for others.

1 Corinthians 13:8,9 - Love never fails

13:8

Paul now puts the gifts in their proper context. The Corinthians had attached a wrong sort of significance to them, considering them to be the pinnacle of God’s grace towards us. The early charismatic movement maybe did the same thing (and possibly some still do), this was understandable in a way as most of the church had almost completely neglected spiritual gifts. However, Paul puts gifts in their proper place. They are tools (good gifts from God) to be used in the context of love, and they are temporal. Prophecy, tongues and knowledge will pass away. In all this Paul is looking forward to the completion of God’s work, to the return of Christ and the resurrection. This is particularly important when we come to 13:10.

13:9

Paul now notes the present limitations of prophecy and knowledge. Prophecy does not tell us everything, and we do not know everything. None of this verse, nor this passage, is to say that prophecy, tongues etc are not useful. They are useful, they are good gifts from God. Rather it is a matter of having the right perspective.

1 Samuel 25:15-22 - Yet these men were very good to us

25:15-17

One of the servants tells Abigail what had happened. He also tells her how David and his men had treated them well, and protected the sheep. The messenger also urges Abigail to do something to divert the disaster that is about to come upon them. He views Nabal as an utterly wicked man who is unwilling to listen to anyone.

25:18-22

Abigail took swift action. She got some supplies together, bread, wine, grain and sheep etc, and loaded them on to donkeys. She sent her servants on ahead with the supplies. She also did not tell her husband. She went out to David. David was still infuriated, full of righteous indignation, and full of anger. He was ready to kill Nabal and all his servants. David was right to be offended, justified in his complaints, but the action he was about to take was wrong. We need to beware of acting out of offence or a sense of injustice. At the same time we should seek to bring justice to others, as some of the Psalms indicate that David did.