Abigail had true discernment. She knew that even though David was on the
run and surrounded by what most would have deemed to be worthless men, men who
were in distress, debt and bitter in soul, that he was fighting the Lord's
battles. She knew the Lord was with him
even though the evidence pointed in the other direction. She saw that the Lord would give David
success in the future. Her husband,
Nabal, is a fool, just as his name suggests and she knows it. When she tells him what she has done, the
life goes out of him, and within only ten days he dies. David's response is to take this woman, noble
and discerning, as his wife. David also
takes another as a wife. We are also
told that Saul has given his daughter, Michal, to another. How can he do this since she was already
David's wife and not Saul's to give? He
counts David as dead. Does Michal share
that idea?
The disciples get a glimpse of who Jesus truly is. They believe certain things about Him after
having spent some time with Him and seeing healings, exorcisms, and hearing Him
teach. They also believe some things
because they see the crowds attracted to Him.
Their faith is far from complete, however. This night on the boat they have fear but
still they awaken Him and ask a simple yet deeply ironic question,
"Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing?" He is here because He cares profoundly about
the fact that they and all of humanity are perishing but that isn't in their
minds at this moment. Why did they ask
this question? Do they believe that He
can do something miraculous or just help them with the work of bailing the
water out that is causing them to sink?
There is no question they had no expectation He would do what He did,
speak to the wind and sea and have them obey.
Were they more afraid before or after He did this?
(Just for your enjoyment, here is a little tale of another
who "commanded" the elements: Henry of Huntingdon, the 12th-century
chronicler, tells how Cnut set his throne by the sea shore and commanded the
tide to halt and not wet his feet and robes. Yet "continuing to rise as
usual [the tide] dashed over his feet and legs without respect to his royal
person. Then the king leapt backwards, saying: 'Let all men know how empty and
worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He
whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws.' He then hung his gold crown
on a crucifix, and never wore it again "to the honour of God the almighty
King".)
In Lystra the Jews from cities Paul had previously visited came
to rouse opposition against his message and are able to talk the locals into
stoning him. That, however, isn't the
end of the story. He is taken out of the
city and as the others gather round Paul rises up and goes back into the city
and preaches some more. The man has an
indomitable spirit and the Gospel is all that matters. After moving on for a time he goes back all
the places he has already been including the places where he was mistreated and
preaches some more before returning to the sending church in Antioch in
Syria. Paul's motivation was mission,
nothing else. He had discernment to know
that the Lord was sovereign and that he would rather die doing the Lord's work
than anything else.
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