2 A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. 3 His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. SHE WAS AN INTELLIGENT AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings – he was a Calebite. 1 Samuel 25
Have you ever noticed how often the Bible refers to people’s character? (Even the Lord’s character was commented upon) Here we have contrasted the character of Nabal, surly and mean and his intelligent and beautiful wife, Abigail. The verse names the husband first ahead of the wife, but when it comes to character, the order is reversed and Abigail is listed ahead of her husband. I listened to a Derek Prince broadcast recently and was impacted by a remark he made regarding spiritual gifts and character. He said that spiritual gifts would cease immediately we left this earth, they would be unnecessary in heaven, when we’ll live in the presence of God. On the other hand he said we would take our character into eternity. My impression is that the Church in our day has valued gifts over character, perhaps in keeping with this world’s love of the dramatic, but I believe that change is coming to the Body of Christ.
In the New Testament Paul lists nine gifts of the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and then in Galatians 5:22-23 we have the corresponding nine fruit of the Spirit. A modern picture of both gifts and fruit would be like the two wings of a bird, where we need both functioning in tandem to fly. All gifts and no fruit and similarly all fruit and no gifts won’t enable us to get airborne. We need character to carry the gifts in our lives. Once again, I like the quote by Johnny Enlow that the Christian life is about holding two truths together in tension. He says if we veer too far in either direction it’s like falling into a ditch on either side of a road. We must keep both in tension and stay balanced to get airborne in the Spirit.
In the narrative about Nabal and Abigail in 1 Samuel 25, it’s easy to pass over scripture’s character assessment which lays the foundation for the whole account. Nabal’s defective character led to his complete downfall and all his wealth didn’t save him.
3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
IN THE PLACE WHERE IT FALLS IT WILL LIE. Ecclesiastes 11
Don’t neglect your character, when we leave the scene of time that’s what we’ll carry into eternity.
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.