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Daily Reading: August 10th

#DailyDevotion The Bible Contains Real People Doing Things Real People Do In Christ

August 10th

Read 1 Sam 25:23–44
1Sa 25:25-31 ESV Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. (26) Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. (27) And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. (28) Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. (29) If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. (30) And when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, (31) my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord taking vengeance himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

You know the Bible is not some clean and neat novel by some Christian pietist where nothing is done by its characters that wouldn’t cause us to raise an eye. It’s all over the place with real people doing real things in manners and fashions that puts our heads in a spin. Here David is off to cut off Nabal and his family because Nabal didn’t honor David. Head spin one for Christians who just don’t read their Bibles. Then Nabal’s wife goes to David to intercede for her husband Nabal that David should not have his blood on his hands but rather to leave it to the Lord to get revenge. Head spin #2 that we would want the Lord to get revenge for us at all. But his is in accord with Romans in which Paul reiterates that revenge belongs to the Lord and if we get revenge ourselves there is nothing left for the Lord to do. However it is also true that as Christians we should bless our enemies and pray for their good.

Finally headspin #3 she ask that David remember her when the Lord gets his revenge on Nabal on his behalf. We see that eventually in not a short time, the Lord does take Nabal’s life and David then remembers Abigail and takes her as her wife.

Well what do we do with this? One we should remember we are the Lord’s anointed and we should let the Lord deal our vengeance on those who do us wrong and seek to do us wrong. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. So we should bless and pray for our enemies. But also this, we are bound up in this world. We should remain faithful to those authorities over us and seek their good even if they are worthless. We should intercede for them before the Lord to whom we owe complete allegiance because of all of Jesus’ goodness to us. When Jesus returns he shall take vengeance upon the world and take us to himself as his bride and we shall be in his house forever. Knowing the Lord’s plan for us we can live in this world with fear, trembling, patience and hope and let the Lord fulfill his plans for us in this life.

Lord Jesus Christ, ever give us the courage of Abigail to seek you out, pray for those over us, and trust in your promises of eternal deliverance from this world as we await your time of redemption. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

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