March 13, 2019 SENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL

WEEK 9 The 2019 Nebraska Senate Series: “Rulers After God’s Own Heart—The Life of ”

Beauty and the Beast

INSIDE

A WOOL MERCHANT Nabal, the Rich Fool ...... 2

RICH PASTURE LANDS Carmel and Maon ...... 3

A BEAUTY FOR TWO BEASTS The Lovely ...... 4

NON-INTELLIGENCE? Foolish Atheism ...... 5 eauty is in the eye of the beholder, or so the saying goes. 1 Samuel 25 is a story about a beauty and a beast. It is a passage about right and wrong. VERSE OF THE WEEK B The theme of good and evil is interwoven into its 44-verse-long fabric. Romans 12:19 ...... 6 Beauty? Different people have different tastes as we witnessed in last week’s joke ABOUT about the Englishwoman and the Frenchman. Likewise, opinions vary about Capitol Ministries® ...... 6 definitions of right and wrong and how to define good and evil. Who are you to judge is a phrase I have heard a lot in the Capitol the last 11 years. Who can judge?

True good, as God defines it, is beautiful, but evil is a beast. It is vital that we let God define good and evil. Eve’s green-eyed, envious desire to eat from the only forbidden tree in Eden’s green garden became the free-will choice that ushered evil into Earth’s perfect paradise. Persuaded by the devil and persuading Adam to join her, this trio decided it was time they became like God and decided what good and evil were. I mean, who was God to judge? How dare He forbid anything?

Yet God had warned them, and He has warned us that He is the absolute Standard of morality, and He Himself defines what is good and what is evil. He even pronounces woe on all who try to turn lies into truth, good into evil, and beauty into a beast. In Isaiah 5:20-21, God warns humanity that they’d better get it right.

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!

The Hebrew word “woe” means to wail at a funeral. Sin brings death. God warned Adam and Eve that in the day they ate of the forbidden fruit they would surely die. Life and death. 1 Samuel 25 is bracketed by two deaths. Let us study and read about right and wrong, good and evil, a tale as old as time. Beauty and the Beast.

Rev. Perry M. Gauthier, V.D.M.

Weekly Bible Study During the 106th Legislature’s First Session th SENATORS: 6:45-8:00 a.m., Wednesdays, 13 Floor Sen. McDonnell Hot Breakfast Served STAFF: Noon, Wednesdays, Room 1022 Sen. Halloran Catered Lunch & B.Y.O.BrownBag

Beauty and the Beast

NABAL, THE RICH FOOL A. THE DEATH OF THE profits were reaped, not biennially,

but biannually. Great and generous GODLY

1 Samuel 25:1 feasts were always provided for all. Then Samuel died; and all Israel Beautiful banquets were held. gathered together and mourned ....And David arose and went down Here we meet two main characters: to the wilderness of Paran. a mismatched married couple. Her name meant “joy of my father.” His The end of an era came with the end name probably originally meant of the life of that national hero and “noble” or “skilled” (but more on godly prophetic kingmaker. Even that later). Abigail is purposefully the best of men are men at best, and described with the rare Hebrew all must meet their Maker. Death is phrase “beautiful of outline” (yaw- a tale as old as time. The Bible says She shares .( ֶפָי ה רַאֹתּ = all death is the finale of every son of feh toe-are Adam who lives in this fallen world. that description with Queen Samuel’s passing killed the chances and Rebekah, who were also known of any possible ceasefire from for how their gifts of outward beauty played a key role in Biblical SHEEP SHEARING against David. Death is a real beast, but woes expressed at the national history. Did this beauty marry this funeral were in memory of a harsh, churlish tightwad because WOOL was harvested twice a year, first in the she was young and naïve? An Spring in early June when things begin to dry out beautiful life. Then David fled south into the Judean deserts, further arranged marriage? Maybe “he and the sheep were getting hot with all their thick changed” after he said, “I do.” wool on. It was also harvested in the Fall. from his mortally envious enemy. There he met a real beauty married The Romans used to pluck the wool by hand, but to a real beast of a man. DAVID SENDS HIS BLESSINGS the Jews actually sheared it off using bronze AND REQUESTS combs. The Philistines limited their access to and 1 Samuel 25:5-9 B. DAVID’S NEED; ABIGAIL’S So David sent ten young men; David use of iron initially. However, later on, iron shears BEAUTY; NABAL’S INSULT; were developed. said to the young men, “Go up to DAVID’S REFUSAL TO TURN Carmel, visit Nabal and greet him in my name; 6and thus you shall say, NABAL is like “the rich fool” Jesus talked about— THE OTHER CHEEK. ‘Have a long life, peace be to you, the only man that Jesus called a fool. A BEAUTY AND A BEAST and peace be to your house, and

1 Samuel 25:2-4 peace be to all that you have. 7Now I Luke 12:16-21: And He told them a parable, Now there was a man in Maon have heard that you have shearers; saying, “The land of a rich man was very whose business was in Carmel; and now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, productive. And he began reasoning to himself, the man was very rich, and he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. And it nor have they missed anything all saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to 8 came about while he was shearing the days they were in Carmel. Ask store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will his sheep in Carmel 3(now the man’s your young men and they will tell do: I will tear down my barns and build larger name was Nabal, and his wife’s you. Let my young men find favor in ones, and there I will store all my grain and my name was Abigail. The woman was your eyes, for we have come on a goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have intelligent and beautiful in festive day. Please give whatever many goods laid up for many years to come; take appearance but the man was harsh you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’” 9When your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said and evil in his dealings, and he was a 4 David’s young men came, they spoke to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is Calebite), that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing to Nabal according to all these required of you; and now who will own what you his sheep. words in David’s name, then waited. have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. From his years at Jesse & Sons LLC, Needing to feed his 600 men and David was well aware of the value of their families, David sent a ten-man protecting flocks from poaching delegation to deliver a blessing and bandits and marauding sheep request. He uses the word shalom . rustlers. His small army gave round- (English: peace) three times. Peace the-clock protection to Nabal’s huge is wished upon Nabal, his house, herds and expected payment by the and even all of his possessions. standards and customs of the day. Next, David asked (he did not Like our bellboys and food servers, demand) that Nabal see if anything such payment is surely expected but is handy with which he might pay never demanded. Shearing time back the troops of David for months was the wool harvest when great of faithful service and protection.

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SENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL

AN EVIL, ARROGANT ANSWER Ü In Engedi’s cave our humble hero RICH PASTURE LANDS

1 Samuel 25:10-11 did “the Dave wave,” said goodbye

Nabal answered David’s servants, to personal vengeance, and spared saying, “Who is David? Who is the his mortal enemy—the killer-King— son of Jesse? Many servants today are each breaking away from his Saul. Now, 401 swords are rattling master. 11Shall I then take my bread, simply because his pride was hurt my water, and my meat that I have by that stinging slap in front of his slaughtered for my shearers, and I 600 hungry soldiers. Big mistake! give it to men whose origin I do not know?” (emphasis mine) We should note the contrast. In chapter 24 David is the restrainer; Instead of an honest and economic he will not harm Saul himself or appreciation for David’s work and permit his men to do so. But in CARMEL AND MAON blessing, this greedy, thick-headed chapter 25 he must be restrained; he

clod offered insults—public, major, is bent on spilling Nabal’s blood and There are two Carmels in the ugly, stinging slaps to David’s right that of his men because of Nabal’s Old Testament. affront. He refuses to harm the cheek. To prosper under Saul’s anointed king but is most willing to The better-known Carmel is on the a choking rule, Nabal was probably liquidate a private Israelite. northwest coast of Israel near Haifa (the on the take. Was he an “Always ancient seaport of Joppa to which Jonah Sauler” with a red MIGA ballcap: In Operation Elah, David said that fled). That is “Mount Carmel” and the God delivered not by the swords of site where the mighty Elijah slew the MAKE ISRAEL GREAT AGAIN? Eight prophets of Baal in bold victory. Soon times this selfish brute used the sin but here wants to charge down after, he was tempted to failure against first-person pronouns “I” and “my” the mountain in a cloud of dust and a lesser foe: Queen Jezebel from whom use hundreds of them to pay back he ran for his life. in his egotistic reply. Nabal’s tight- fisted, inconsiderate equation was: Nabal for a personal insult. The southern Carmel is the one in our

A PROFOUND LESSON: GREAT text. It was, and still is today, a rich (“I” x 4) + (“my” x 4) = 8-FOLD EGO pasture land and ideal place for sheep OVERLOAD IN NARCISSISM. VICTORIES OFTEN PRECEDE farming. Nabal lived in Maon but sent GREAT TEMPTATIONS TO his sheep herds south one mile to be FAILURE IN LESSER TESTS! sheared in Carmel. Maon was 8 miles south of Hebron, the city conquered by Ü “Who is David?” asked that rich , the faithful spy in Joshua’s time. brute, implying he’s no better than C. WISE AND WINSOME Caleb was the famous ancestor of Nabal. a runaway slave. Well, Einstein, INTERCESSION Hebron would become King David’s billions of people, over 3,ooo years TROUBLE BREWING AT THE capital for 7.5 years once he finally had later, know of the infamous David. become king de facto (for now he’s only NABAL & CO. SHEEP FARMS Wake up and smell the cappuccino. the king anointed). His marriage to the Among your fellow Judahites, he is 1 Samuel 25:14-17 widowed, childless Abigail, and the But one of the young men told inheritance of her vast wealth, helped the most famous warrior-lion from Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, pave the way for his establishment of the tribe of Judah (thus far). He “Behold, David sent messengers the capital city of Hebron. destroyed Goliath and also “tens of from the wilderness to greet our master, and he scorned them. 15Yet thousands” of Israel’s war foes. the men were very good to us, and Your godly ancestor, the faithful spy we were not insulted, nor did we Caleb, founded his hometown, the miss anything as long as we went little town of Bethlehem. You know about with them, while we were in who David is, yet you shame him the fields.16They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the publicly. You are arrogant, greedy, time we were with them tending the

selfish, godless, and evil. Beastly. sheep. 17Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil “I’LL SHOW HIM!” PLANNING is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is ON PERSONAL VENGEANCE such a worthless man that no one

1 Samuel 25:12-13 can speak to him.”

Because of this, David’s men did an about face, went back, and came and An anonymous servant played a told David according to all Nabal’s vital role in this drama. He reported words. 13David said to his men, the entire scandalous affair to the “Each of you gird on his sword.” winsome wife of “worthless” Nabal. So each man girded on his sword. He knew David’s delegation was And David also girded on his sword, and about 400 men went up behind infuriated, but unwise Nabal wasn’t David while 200 tended the baggage. “easy to be entreated” (James 3:17).

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Beauty and the Beast

A BEAUTY FOR TWO BEASTS ABIGAIL PREPARES FOR A Samuel had died, so the most likely BEAUTIFUL INTERCESSION human author of these last seven

1 Samuel 25:18-22 chapters of 1 Samuel was either the Then Abigail hurried and took two prophet Gad or the prophet Nathan hundred loaves of bread and two who would later confront David in jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and a bushel of roasted 2 Samuel 11 about Bathsheba. This grain and a hundred clusters of book’s Divine Author is God raisins and two hundred cakes of Himself (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:20-21). figs, and loaded them on As such, God lets us read David’s donkeys. 19She said to her young mind on the mountainside descent, men, “Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not mad and rehearsing his managerial

tell her husband Nabal. 20It came mistake of months of most of his ABIGAIL about as she was riding on her men’s time protecting the massive donkey and coming down by the flocks of Nabal. With the steely eye The defenseless Abigail knew that she hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were of the tiger and his warrior face on, had very little time to change the minds coming down toward her; so she met David vowed to murder every male them. 21Now David had said, “Surely of 400 men bent on war. She whipped up associated with the evil beast who in vain I have guarded all that backhanded the right cheek of his this man has in the wilderness, so a feast and made haste with her catering b that nothing was missed of all that face. Beastly! Evil. Could a beauty caravan. She also humbled herself—a belonged to him; and he has stand between two beasts, or a rose returned me evil for good. 22May God flower between two thorns, or this rare thing for beautiful people who have do so to the enemies of David, and woman save many men? more also, if by morning I leave as money and power. While Nabal referred much as one male of his house.” to David as “a servant” (v. 10), for The vast wealth of their household Ü ABIGAIL’S ARRIVAL FROM Abigail, David was “master” (v. 25, 26). is evident in the ease with which the AN EVIL FOOL’S HOUSEHOLD

smart Abigail could whip up a feast 1 Samuel 25:23-25 fit for a future king in the Bible’s When Abigail saw David, she first ever mobile catering service. hurried and dismounted from her Taking five ready-to-eat sheep from donkey, and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the Nabal’s 3,000 would only let each ground. 24She fell at his feet and said, starved soldier snarf a few ounces of “On me alone, my lord, be the blame. mutton. While 200 loaves of bread And please let your maidservant would barely fit in our pantry, it speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant.25Please do not would only yield a slice or so for the let my lord pay attention to this families of David’s 600 soldiers. worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is his game; but I your Ü Propriety says we should submit maidservant did not see the young to and also communicate with the men of my lord whom you sent.” authorities God has placed over us. However life-threatening situations Ceasefire attempts are best begun or emergencies might force a need in humility. Once within eyeshot of to skip both. Abigail was comin’ the man after God’s own heart round the mountain when she (since everybody knows David came, beautiful and seated on a except Nabal, and all Israel loves donkey. A rare meeting of a woman David except Saul), Abigail put her privately greeting her husband’s feminine face and fair form down in adversary was scandalous. Riding the dirt by her donkey. Like Jesus, solo, single, and side saddle into a the greater Son of David, would a murder-minded mob of 400 hungry thousand years later, she asked to men brandishing bronze swords take the blame for the sins of her shows incredible faith and courage. spouse, Nabal. David vowed to kill Their meeting in a hidden valley any male of his house so, Abigail had put him in an impossible situation. between two mountain peaks adds intrigue to the scene and reminds us ABIGAIL WAS A SAVIOR IN that our beloved David is still in the SKIRTS AND GOD’S STOP SIGN fugitive-outlaw stage of his life. FOR A MAN DRIVEN BY ANGER.

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SENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL

Ü No mother would ever name her the redhead became a hothead and NABAL—FOOLISH

boy “fool” (or “Sue”). Just as Judah was dead set on greasing the path to (Heb.: praise Yahweh) became his throne with Nabal’s blood—a Judas (in Greek), Nabal’s name beastly intent. Abigail prefigured morphed into negative connotation. the wise “Proverbs-31-woman” as a faithful and beautiful intercessor. NO ONE NAMES THEIR SON JUDAS ANYMORE. Ü Abigail referred to his coming Nabal was a fool, like his name had kingdom as “an enduring house,” come to imply. Biblically, “fools” are referring back into the now dead godless. We often wrongly assume Samuel’s royal anointing many atheists are atheists because some years prior. David should cool his harsh or hypocritical Christian hurt jets and cease fire. She continued: them or turned them off. Note SHE APPEALED TO WHO where the Bible puts the blame for DAVID WOULD BECOME those with an atheistic claim: ARE FOOLS IN THE BIBLE A BUNCH OF 1 Samuel 25:29-31 UNINTELLIGENT PEOPLE? Psalm 14:1 “Should anyone rise up to pursue has said you and to seek your life, then the We often think of fools as people lacking in [ לָבָנ = The fool [Hebrew: nabal in his heart, “There is no God.” They life of my lord shall be bound in the intellect—they are just not too bright...not bundle of the living with the LORD are corrupt, they have committed the sharpest knives in the drawer...dumber abominable deeds; your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the than a box of rocks. That may be true in the The Bible commands that we hollow of a sling. 30And when the lingo and language of everyday American answer fools as they deserve, but LORD does for my lord according to English, but it is not so in the Bible. In the that we NOT answer fools according all the good that He has spoken Scriptures, the fool is morally foolish. concerning you, and appoints you to their folly. David took the bait to 31 ruler over Israel, this will not cause Wisdom is the opposite of foolishness. have an evil reply (with a sword)! grief or a troubled heart to my lord, Proverbs 9:10 says, “The beginning of He needed to turn the other cheek. both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having wisdom is the fear of the LORD.” To have a avenged himself...”. reverential respect and highly-regarding HAVING PERFECT APPEAL “fear” of God puts one on the path of To “avenge himself” is literally to wisdom. The polar opposite of that state is SHE APPEALED TO WHAT help himself “by his own hand.” the abject denial that God even exists. How DAVID COULD DO Just as a shoplifter uses the five- foolish is such a moral choice!

1 Samuel 25:26-28 finger discount to “help himself” to “Now, my lord, as the LORD lives and goods not his own, David took his Abigail was forced to admit that Nabal was a as your soul lives, since the LORD has hurt pride and reputation into his fool in his ill-nature (lit. “a man of Belial,” restrained you from shedding blood, meaning “wicked,” “godless,” so living up and from avenging yourself by your own hands. He forgot his royal (or down) to his name), in what he says and own hand, now then let your destiny as Israel’s greatest king. enemies and those who seek evil in his motivation, for the fool in the Bible is against my lord, be as Nabal. 27Now EACH OF US IS ON A JOURNEY godless. Nabal, like most atheists, shows no let this gift which your maidservant SOMEWHERE, DESTINED TO regard for a power higher than himself. The has brought to my lord be given to BECOME SOMEONE. atheist, no matter how intelligent, sees the young men who accompany my himself as “god.” Foolish. Beastly. 28 lord. Please forgive the sin of your maidservant for the LORD will surely Ü Abigail’s faith said God could kill

make for my lord an enduring David’s giants and mortal enemies.

house, since my lord is fighting the She referred, dangerously, to the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days.” David-chasing, envy-driven sitting king, Saul. She appealed to the glory In the lengthiest speech by a woman days of Operation Elah with the in the Old Testament (153 Hebrew imagery of a sling-stone. Saul would words), in her cameo appearance, be like a barium sulfate missile Abigail called David “her lord” slung at 100 mph as God would (adoni) fourteen times. Respectful someday soon eject Saul from the and prophetic, this is ironic, since pouch of this life in His own time. adoni also means “husband.” She Shepherds had two pouches: sling beautifully interceded, keeping him pouches, but secondly (before our from sullying his regal résumé with gallon-sized Ziploc® bags) “living a lingering charge of murder. David pouches” where they kept their food

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Beauty and the Beast

VERSE OF THE WEEK wrapped, sealed, and protected. Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, Abigail told David he should trust he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart the Lord to fight his battles, letting was merry within him, for he was the Lord be his Shepherd to wrap very drunk; so she did not tell him him up safely in His providence. anything at all until the morning light. 37But in the morning, when the SHE EVEN APPEALED TO wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife WHO SHE WAS (APPEALING) told him these things, and his heart died within him so he became as a 1 Samuel 25:31b stone.38About ten days later, the “When the LORD deals well with my LORD struck Nabal and he died. lord, then remember your maidservant.” Abigail didn’t waste her breath Romans 12:19 telling her hubby she saved his hide, This beautiful woman predicted for a Breathalyzer® would have said “Never take your own revenge, God’s vengeance for David and he was dead drunk. Overnight, that asked for remembrance not unlike beloved, but leave room for the foolish, godless beast sobered up to the capital criminal on the cross wrath of God, for it is written, hear of her generous, beautiful, asked Jesus to “remember him” wise, intercessory mission to his ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,’ (with forgiveness, pardon, and enemy. The blow to his ego made says the Lord.” blessing) when He came into His him apoplectic with either a brain kingdom. Jesus promised “this day, clot or a heart attack (medically). you shall be with me in Paradise.” Spiritually, God Himself decided to sling that godless fool from this life. Ü DAVID’S RIGHT REACTION

1 Samuel 25:32-35 David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Ü PRAISES: EVIL IS STOPPED! God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, 33and blessed be your 1 Samuel 25:39 discernment, and blessed be you, When David heard that Nabal was who have kept me this day from dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, Making disciples of bloodshed and from avenging myself who has pleaded the cause of my by my own hand. 34Nevertheless, as reproach from the hand of Nabal Jesus Christ in the political and has kept back His servant from arena throughout the world the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, evil. The LORD has also returned the unless you had come quickly to meet evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Capitol Ministries® provides Bible me, surely there would not have studies, evangelism, and discipleship to been left to Nabal until the morning Can you praise God when He stops political leaders. Founded in 1996, we light as much as one male.” 35David evil in you or in others? If you have started ongoing ministries in over received from her hand what she had cannot, there may be something 40 U.S. State Capitols and dozens of brought and said, “Go up to your foreign federal Capitols. house in peace. See, I have listened wrong inside of you. Evil must be to you and granted your request.” stopped. God must be trusted. Life /CapitolMinistriesNE and death. Good and evil. Tales as Ceasefire! David assured Abigail of @PerryGauthier old as time. Beauty and the Beast. a peace treaty, and our beautiful intercessor won the day and saved many lives from two beastly men. A ABIGAIL–HOLY HEROINE key lesson from this paragraph is: Dear Honorable Senator:

DAVID WAS TEACHABLE AS ALL May each of us become Abigail’s Capitol Ministries® DISCIPLES MUST BE! DISCIPLES disciple, interceding for all that is Nebraska State Offices ARE TO BE F. A. T. (FAITHFUL, beautiful, ending beastly behaviors 4547 Calvert Street, Lincoln, NE 68506 AVAILABLE, AND TEACHABLE). on earth as they are in Heaven. 402-327-0011 work Because there IS a God, 402-770-6270 cell/text D. DEATH OF THE WICKED [email protected] [email protected] GOD’S DIVINE RETRIBUTION www.NECapMin.org 1 Samuel 25:36-38 Rev. Perry (and Faith) Gauthier

a criminal evil, physical violence, or affecting government’s duty Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart (Christian to punish crime in Lex Talionis. Jesus was using a Jewish idiom Focus Publications Ltd.), © 2017, p. 260. for affronting someone with evil and “backhanded” insults. b To those not attending the Senators’ Study in person, we learned that “turning the other cheek” has nothing to do with

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