By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sermon Text: I Samuel 25:1-13
Sermon Theme
Abigail was caught in a difficult situation. Her foolish husband, Nabal (the name means “fool”) had insulted and mistreated David. David was enraged and planned to take vengeance on Nabal and his entire household. Without telling her husband, Abigail goes to David, apologizes for her husband, and is able to prevent David from acting out his anger in ways which David himself recognizes would be wrong. Abigail is essentially an outsider. She cannot claim to represent her husband in any official way. She has no standing with David. She risks herself to avoid a conflict. She demonstrates great faith. God often uses people who don’t fit in, who are not accepted, to accomplish great things. He may even use us in the same way.
Sermon Outline
- Outsider. The Bible is full of people who are outsiders, people who didn’t really belong, who weren’t accepted. These also included people who were simply not believed to be important. There are many people who fit this description from pagan kings like Abimelech and Cyrus in the Old Testament to the Canaanite woman and believing Centurion in the New. Included in this list must also be key characters in Jesus’ parables like the good Samaritan and the prodigal son. The ultimate outsider is Jesus Christ himself. He is “despised and rejected” (Isaiah 53:3). Abigail is an outsider. She has no prominence or importance in Israel. Yet she is resourceful, intelligent and daring. She places herself in a position where she could be rejected both by her husband and by David. God often speaks through outsiders as he speaks to David through Abigail preventing him from falling into sin (I Samuel 25:33). We need to pay attention to the voice of the outsiders. We may ourselves be among the outsiders at times.
- Opportunity. Abigail seizes the opportunity of the moment. She wastes no time. She hurries to David without telling her husband. The Roman Centurion who asks Jesus to cure his servant was certainly an “outsider” from the standpoint of the Jews in Palestine (Matthew 8:5-10). He has no way of knowing whether or not Jesus will be favorable to him. Yet as soon as Jesus appears he takes the opportunity to approach him. The result is that Jesus is amazed and says the Centurion’s faith is greater than the faith of anyone in Israel! This is an astonishing statement. We can only imagine what the disciples might have thought of this affirmation. The Canaanite woman who pleads with Jesus for her demon possessed daughter is an outsider. When Jesus initially rejects her she appeals to his mercy and he responds, casting out the demon (Matthew 15:21-28, 9:13). Too often we limit God. God’s grace and mercy is always greater than we imagine (Lamentations 3:21-22; Ephesians 2:4-5). We don’t recognize that he shows us examples of faith from completely surprising sources. There is a double lesson here. We need to be open to the outsiders who take the opportunity to come to us. We also need to lay hold of those special opportunities which God places in our path.
- Offering. Abigail brings a major offering to David. This includes bread and wine (foreshadowing holy communion), sheep, grain, raisins and figs, all in abundance (I Samuel 25:18-18). Her husband must have been drunk not to know this was all going on (I Samuel 25:36). Abigail brought what she had to David. This also is a lesson we can learn from the outsiders. They are often examples of giving to the Lord. Ultimately their offerings are expressions of praise and thanksgiving. Leah, the unchosen wife of Jacob, is another outsider. She knows that her husband, Jacob, loves her sister and not her. God in his mercy gives her children. These include Judah who will be the ancestor of Jesus Christ. At Judah’s birth she offers praise to God (Genesis 29:34-35). Those who feel neglected, who are the outsiders, are the ones who most readily offer praise to God. Abigail offers praise to God for his care of David. God rewards her by making her David’s second wife. God’s grace transforms lives. The faith of the outsiders is a gift to all of us. We ourselves may be called to be outsiders as a witness to God’s incredible grace.
Questions for Us
- Why do you think God so often works through people who are regarded as “outsiders” by the world? What does this tell us about how we should view others?
- Have you known people like the Roman Centurion or Canaanite woman who, while officially outside the community of faith, nonetheless may have greater faith than those in the church? What lessons can we learn from such people?
- How can we more effectively share the message that God in Christ accepts all who believe in him? What are some of the ways we can witness to the fact that in Christ there are no outsiders (Galatians 3:28-29)?
