"Who Is the Son of Jesse?

April 21, 2018

"Who Is the Son of Jesse?

Blessings folk!

We read the entire “Nabal” story yesterday.

Now, look closely at a portion…

1 SAMUEL 25

1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite.

4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men,
“Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 

6 And thus you shall greet him:
‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 

7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us,
and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 

8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you.
Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day.
Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

9 When David’s young men came,
they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited.

10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse?
There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters.

11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?”

12 So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this.


As we can tell from these verses, and the balance of the account, David sent some of his men to procure food.

David knew Nabal’s men.
David and his men had been with Nabal’s men and had treated them well.
They had taken nothing from them.
Later we learn that they had protected them.

David sent peace.
Peace to Nabal.
Peace to Nabal’s house,
Peace to all Nabal had.

Nabal’s response?
He decried “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse?”
“There are many servants these day who are breaking away from their masters.”

Nabal knew David.
He knew he was the son of Jesse.
He considered David to be a fugitive that had broken away from Saul, the master.
He considered David to be “nothing” but trouble.
Should he give his meat to David and “men who come from I do not know where?”

Nabal was as his name - a fool.

He refused to reciprocate the good that David had shown his men.
He went beyond that.

He sought to build himself up by tearing others down.

This is too common within the professing church today.
Just listen to folk…especially some leadership.
You will hear the bluster and foolishness of Nabal ringing forth.

Be not as Nabal.

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