This document provides a summary of a church lesson on 1 Samuel 25 that discusses how God protected David from acting out of revenge against Nabal by having Abigail intervene. The lesson outlines how David had an entitlement mentality and acted impulsively due to his flaws, but Abigail's wisdom prevented bloodshed. It discusses how entitlement attitudes can still be problems today and provides biblical perspectives on developing humility and serving others rather than oneself.

1. 1 Samuel 25:1-44
Protected
God sometimes must protect us from ourselves.
August 14, 2016
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
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The glory of God!
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1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
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2. August Memory Verse
Romans 8:28 ESV
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to his purpose.
Special Lesson on August 28, 2016
Parkinson’s First Hero: KING DAVID
Facing the Facts
Dr. Randy Voyles
(His latest book)
Lesson Introduction
• David’s life was a portrait of successes and failures.
• “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).
• David had absolute faith in God, loved God’s law, was truly thankful, was
truly repentant.
• David was impulsive, had an entitlement attitude, and had a weakness for
women.
Lesson Outline
1. Read and review 1 Samuel 25:1-44.
2. Discuss how God used a brave woman (Abigail) to talk sense into a man
(David) seeking revenge.
• Character flaws that led David to act impulsively.
• The Entitlement Mentality – not a new problem.
• What does scripture say about this behavior?
• Jesus had something to say about this.
David’s dysfunctional childhood (Speculation?)
• He was the youngest of 8 sons of Jesse (Head of Sanhedrin & Israelite
leader).
• Jesse was the grandson of Boaz and Ruth (Moabite).
• Mother was Nitzevet according to the Talmud.
• Nitzevet tricked Jesse (husband) into getting pregnant.
• David was not a welcomed child into the family.
• David treated as an outcast by father and brothers.
Background to 1 Samuel 25
• David is in hiding as King Saul pursues killing him.
• David had an opportunity to kill Saul but did not because he trusted God.
• David and 600 of his men are in a stronghold hiding with limited food and
resources.
• David’s wife (Saul’s daughter) is at home with her father during this time.

3. 1 Samuel 25:1a ESV
1a Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they
buried him in his house at Ramah.
• Samuel died at age 88 (1102 BC-1014 BC).
• David and Saul both probably attended the funeral.
• House burial – “in the garden of his home”.
• Remains supposedly moved to Constantinople by Emperor Arcadius in
early 5th century.
1 Samuel 25:1b-3 ESV
1b 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.
Wilderness of Paran

4. Introduction to Characters in 1 Samuel 25
• Nabal – rich owner of sheep and goats in Maon who was harsh and badly
behaved (surly and mean in his dealings; harsh and evil in his dealings)
and a Calebite (Israelite-Tribe of Judah and one of the spies in Number
13:3-6).
• Abigail – Nabal’s wife who was discerning and beautiful (intelligent and
beautiful; good understanding and beautiful appearance).
1 Samuel 25:4-19 ESV
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. 13 And David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!"
And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his
sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred
remained with the baggage.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "Behold, David sent
messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them.
15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not
miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They
were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them
keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do,
for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is
such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him."
18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine
and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a
hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on
donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, "Go on before me; behold, I come
after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

5. 1 Samuel 25:20-22 ESV
20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain,
behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now
David had said, "Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the
wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has
returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if
by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him."
Assumptions by David
• “This man owes me because I have not stolen from him!”
• “I asked nicely, but Nabal was rude to my men and insulted my name!”
• “You cannot treat me this way!”
• “Nabal should know who I am!” (Future King of Israel)
Facts of the story
• Nabal did not owe David anything because he had not hired them for
protection.
• Nabal was greedy and unhospitable to a fellow Israelite in need.
• Nabal treated everyone this way.
• David was so insulted that his impulsive anger became vengeful rage.
1 Samuel 25:23-31 ESV
23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell
before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and
said, "On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your
ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard this worthless
fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him.
But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now
then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has
restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let
your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now
let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young
men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the
Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the
battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men
rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in
the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your
enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord has
done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you
and has appointed you prince over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief
or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord
working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then
remember your servant."

6. 1 Samuel 25:32-33 ESV
32 And David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent
you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who
have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own
hand! 34 For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me
from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning
there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male." 35 Then David received
from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, "Go up in peace to
your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”
36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house,
like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very
drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 In the morning,
when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his
heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later
the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord who
has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his
servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own
head." Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the
servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, "David has sent us
to you to take you to him as his wife." 41 And she rose and bowed with her face
to the ground and said, "Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of
the servants of my lord." 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey,
and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David
and became his wife.
43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives.
44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who
was of Gallim.
The Many Wives of David (Political Polygamy)
1. Michal
2. Abigail
3. Ahinoam of Jezreel
4. Eglah
5. Maacah
6. Abital
7. Haggoth
8. Bathsheba (David’s entitlement mentality in action)
9. Others

7. Application of David’s Behavior to Today’s Culture
Ecclesiastes 1:9
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
 People are still the same – human nature has not changed
 Fallen Human Nature Attitude – “It’s still all about me!”
The Entitlement Mentality
• We were reared to believe or came to believe that “we’re special”, “we’re
unique” and “we’re # 1!”.
• A malignant (hurtful, mean) form of self-love.
• The belief that we are the center of the universe, and if it doesn’t meet our
needs and desires, all hell will break loose.
How do we develop an entitlement mentality?
• Failing to learn as children and young adults that we are not more special
than others, and other people don’t merely exist to serve our needs and
wants.
• Dr. John Rosemond – People with the highest self-esteem scores are
usually in prison!
• It is in our fallen nature to feel entitled.

8. Spectrum of Entitlement Symptoms:
You might have an entitlement mentality if…
1. You impose unrealistic demands on others.
2. You feel sorry for yourself if things don’t work out the way you wanted
(self-pity).
3. People call you “egotistical”, “bully”, “manipulative”.
4. You believe you deserve happiness and go to great lengths often at the
expense of others.
5. You punish people when they don’t do what you want – passively or
aggressively.
6. In order to succeed in life, you believe in going to any lengths.
7. You constantly see other people as competition or threats.
8. You have a double standard for yourself & others.
9. You tend to take more than give in friendships and relationships (Takers
not Givers).
10.You tend to look out for yourself, your needs and desires, more than
anyone else’s.
11.You have a hard time negotiating or compromising.
12.You have a deep seated conviction that you have. priority and should
come first, even at the expense of others (Break in line, will not wait.).
13.You think you are more important than others.
14.You crave admiration and adoration.
15.You like to assert your superiority over other people.
The extreme is Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• You behave in socially distressing ways.
• Your ability to function in relationships, work and life is limited.
• This is more than just confidence because it crosses the border of healthy
confidence in that you value yourself more than others value you.
What does Scripture say about an entitlement mentality?
Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests,
but also to the interests of others.
Galatians 5:14-15 ESV
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as
yourself." 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not
consumed by one another.

9. What does Scripture say about an entitlement mentality?
Colossians 3:12-14
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if
one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has
forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which
binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for
building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be
put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Jesus explains the attitude toward others for His followers
Matthew 20:26–28 ESV
26 But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever
would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Luke 6:31, 36 ESV
31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Steps to overcoming an entitlement attitude
1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to show you – Self Awareness.
2. Memorize helpful scriptures.
3. Trust God and put Him at the center of your life.
4. Concentrate on putting others first.
5. Manage your anger.
6. Seek Professional Counselors.
Psalm 25:8-10 ESV (By David)
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

10. Next Sunday – August 21, 2016
1 Samuel 26 – Respect
Bill Boteler
August 28 – Dr. Randy Voyles
King David & Parkinson’s Disease
The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.”
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a
23a For the wages of sin is death,
 Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
 Even Jesus, the one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sins.
 The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death explained in
Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Romans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
Romans 6:23b
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

11. Revelation 21:7
7 "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will
be my son.”
 Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquerors.
Romans 10:9-10
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
If you have questions or would like to know more, please, contact First Baptist
Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/