Two Types

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

TWO TYPES

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

1 Sam 25:1-3

25:1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah.

Then David moved down into the Desert of Maon.   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 His name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings.

NIV

Like all men, Samuel’s time had come to an end, and all of Israel mourned. Samuel was a man of God, and we believe the LORD did not leave him in the grave, but took him home to be with him. Although his body may have remained behind until the day of the resurrection of the dead and the taking up of those who are alive. This event, we call the rapture; however, it is spoken of as being taken up, or caught up in the air to meet our Lord. We believe all godly people who breathe their last will be mourned, but also that there should be rejoicing. Perhaps not by the whole of a people, like Samuel was, but it is the destiny of all of us to pass through the shadow of the valley of death, but we will fear no evil, for the Lord is with us and His rod and His staff comfort us. We are not told the age of Samuel, but he lived a Godly life, and it would seem right to believe he lived to a ripe old age.  In the narrative that follows David and his men, along with a surly man named Nabal and his lovely wife Abigail, we will see the outcome of God's justice. This is our introduction to these characters, David encounters, and how the LORD intervenes to accomplish his will or plan for the life of David. We will get there soon enough, but for now, let us understand the Lord is Sovereign and has a plan for each one of us. He may work directly with us, speaking into our spirit, or heart, and even in our ears. He can work directly with us through his word, or he might work in us through the words of another person through the gift of the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, or the gift of prophecy. What we know is that the Lord has had his plan for us before we were born, as he knew us before the foundation of the earth. If that is not true, then he is not God, but it is true because He is God. Looking at these two people, a surly man and an intelligent and beautiful woman, and we already know David, so it is the character of these two that we take our lesson from. Interestingly, the Hebrew word qasheh, translated as surly means hard, difficult, stubborn, stiff of neck, intense, vehement, obstinate, and even cruel. We cannot believe any believer would fit into that description; for Nabal represents the world, however, Abigail offers us a look into a godly life, intelligent and beautiful, a look into what a child of God looks like.