Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Today’s Scripture:
“And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.” (1 Samuel 25:38–39).
Quick Observation:
Unfortunately, Nabal was an unreasonable man, who feared neither God nor people, and the Lord was forced to judge him according to his continual unrepentance. When David heard of this, he was overjoyed! He was spared from committing the sin of revenge, and suddenly, beautiful Abigail was available. I need to make a quick comment about availability here: While Abigail was free to marry since her husband was dead, David was not, because he already had a wife. It was an unholy custom in those days, that men would have multiple wives. The Lord tolerated it for a period of time, but He never sanctioned it. He demonstrated in Eden and other places that the two people, not three or more people, would become one through marriage. God is so merciful to have patiently taught His children, through stern counsel and consequences, what His will was concerning marriage.
That being said, today I want to focus on what attracted David to Abigail. Was she beautiful? Yes! Was she available? Yes! Did it stop there? No! Scripture went to great lengths to describe the sweet, holy character of this woman. She was committed to her husband, humble, extremely wise, shrewd, trustworthy, well respected, patient under trial, brave, and God-fearing. She was the perfect woman of God, covered in His righteousness, and the perfect wife. Men, I hope you are paying attention. Women, I hope you are paying attention.
Life Application:
What attracts you to people? Is it outward and superficial? If you were to list what makes people attractive, what would be on the top? Would it be a certain dress size or physique? Would it be educational attainments or yearly earnings? Are you drawn to people simply because there’s “chemistry”? I am in no way suggesting that we should ignore that which may be outwardly attractive about people. However, we must not allow those things to be distractions or the full determining factors in our decision making for courting or marriage. It is the beautiful character that God manifests in His children, which continue to manifest themselves no matter the circumstance, that should become our reliable guide to ultimate attraction. With godly characteristics as our standard, all other things, if they actually matter, will fall neatly into place.
A Prayer for Your Hearts:
Lord, please teach us all to look for your enduring character in people, and not simply superficial things that pass away. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
