1 Samuel 25-26 and Romans 13

"Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?" - 1 Samuel 25:11


"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore, whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves." -Romans 13:1-2

"Then David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and avenging myself by my own hand." - 1 Samuel 25:32-33

"But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone.  About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died." - 1 Samuel 25:37-38

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." - Romans 13:14

Yall.  

This was a rough morning for the right-wingers in the MG.  In case you missed the point of chapter 25, it started with Nabal, a businessman, avoiding taxes due to King David.  He rationalized by asking who David was (see 25:11 above), and why he should have to give his stuff up for him.  It sounded like what we say about politicians, things like, "I didn't vote for that guy," or "I don't even know where he was born!  He's probably breaking the law even holding a political office."  As soon as I heard those words out of his mouth about his water and his meat, I knew he and I were both in trouble.  

And then, as if it weren't clear enough, Paul comes in with his gloves off and drives home the message from 1 Samuel, telling us that authorities have been placed there by God (by God) and they therefore deserve our respect and submission.  

I was so convicted.  One of my friends told me once that he heard a sermon on submission to authority and he thought about me, because I so despise being told what to do and being forced to pay taxes and all.  I'm even taking a tax class and considering going into business finding out how to do better what Nabal's heart died for this morning.  I feel like this cornerback must have felt when the quarterback let him have both barrels.  I have been patently rebellious; I have a selfish and defiant heart.

Anyway, the Word says that not only did Nabal die shortly afterward, but his heart died first.  Ten days with a dead heart is ten days too many.  I'd rather have a dead body than a dead heart.

I'm glad the Lord didn't just issue a sweeping rule against rebellion.  Instead he modeled an alternative for us that was very attractive.  Abigail acted with bold submission when she stuck up for her idiot husband against the king and his 400 men.  She was such a strong woman that David asked her to marry him after Nabal died.  This reminded me of Tyler (Daniels') point that women often play a role in leading men to the Lord.  That's why it's so important to date and marry Christians if you are a Christian, but we can talk about that later. 

Submission is central to Christianity.  It is one thing that makes Jesus such a powerful figure, and highlights his divinity.  Like Pew and Rob wrote earlier this week, Jesus allowing himself to be brought low into the world and submitting himself to death was the hallmark of his ministry and our salvation.  If we can't take one step toward being submissive, we can't properly bear his name.

Bold submission is a topic for a book, not a blog post.  Let's talk about it tonight.  

Powell