February 6, 2025

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 25-28
Meditation Verse: 25:39

Thought

David planned to kill Nabal and all his men because he wouldn't repay David's kindness with some meat. Instead, Nabal insulted him. And David was incited to take vengeance on him for the insult to him and to his men. But for Abigail, he would have killed every man in Nabal's household. And when God struck Nabal and killed him, David rejoiced that God had taken up his cause and defended his honor. There was an insult that was worthy of vengeance, but David was glad he had been restrained from taking his own vengeance. He fought the Lord's battles, not his own, and that was important to him.

Application

This is a lesson in turning the other cheek when men insult me. Leave it to God to take vengeance for me. And I, on my part need to defend God's honor. Not by killing people, unless I am given such authority, but by using the tools He has given the church to discipline those who dishonor Him. Or using the authority I've been given as a father to discipline my sons, when they dishonor the Lord. The challenge is when people dishonor me who represents God, either as pastor or father, to discern when it is right to discipline them. Am I fighting the Lord's battles or my own? Perhaps that's why David had a hard time disciplining his own sons, which snowballed into civil war.