Day 38- Vengeance
Apparently David was going through a
learning curve of God’s commandment in Leviticus
19:18 that I mentioned yesterday: “You shall
not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the
children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor
as yourself.”
In 1 Samuel chapter 24 (Day 37 of my
journey), I saw David show an incredible amount of
love and self-control towards the man trying to kill
him. Today in chapter 25, David completely flipped
out over an arrogant response from a fool, and he
very nearly killed a whole lot of people to avenge
himself and his pride.
David’s simple request for provisions
for his men who had helped guard a rich man’s
sheep during shearing time, was denied arrogantly
by the rich man, Nabal. David was furious and set
out with 400 of his men to seek vengeance and kill
all of Nabal’s men. Fortunately Nabal’s
wife, Abigail, is a woman of wisdom and met up with
David before he got to the men. She humbled herself
before him and provided all that he had asked for
from Nabal and apologized for her husband. She reminded
David that Lord was in charge of vengeance, “Vengeance
is mine, I will repay” (Deuteronomy 32:35).
Fortunately David listened to her and
recognized that she was right. He was very thankful
to her for stopping him. The Lord did exact his vengeance
on Nabal the next day when (verse 37-38) “his
heart died within him, and he became like a stone.
Then it happened, after about 10 days, that the Lord
struck Nabal, and he died.”
Even David, who is usually so obedient
to God and loves God so much, gets caught up in the
world from time to time. It’s a good reminder
that we need to daily choose to trust and follow God.
It also reminds us how important it is to have fellow
believers in our lives that will not just love us,
but will hold us accountable and remind us when we’re
slipping down that slippery slope.
Lord,
Thank You so much for the reminder that even as I
grow closer to You and walk in Your ways, I will still
stumble and probably even fall down. Thank You for
reminding me to humble myself before friends that
are guiding me back to Your word and Your path. Thank
You Lord for reminding me that I have to choose Your
way each and every day, sometimes many times a day.
I know there will be some smooth sailing, some rough
currents and even a few tidal waves, but I also know
that You will always be my compass that I can look
to, to make sure I’m heading in the right direction-
toward You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
