I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent._ (1Samuel 25:25 NLT)
Humans are not just labelled as tins in supermarkets. Human names are more of an ingredients sticker on us. We should be careful as we name our children, not because those names will influence these people’s thoughts and actions but because naming is definitive. We shouldn’t name children because we want them to be what we name them. Rather, we should observe these children (or people) and name them exactly what they are.
I had my first son out of wedlock and the religion I attended then (SDA) regarded my son as unclean. I contested this and in protest, I named him DIVINE in relation to the most revered hour in the Saturday service of this denomination. It was at this point that I actually started questioning the beliefs of this religion.
Folks, names are very important and 1Samuel 25 exhibits exactly that. Parents of a certain rich man named him Nabal, which means: a FOOL. It is only in the Bible where we have a rich fool. In our current world, tradition says that there is no rich fool, but here we are face to face with a rich fool. In other words, the Bible contends our modern tradition of THERE IS NO RICH FOOL (Teri Mugagga Musiru).
To understand the entire story, please read the chapter but the drama was sparked off when Nabal lashed at David the army commander, just because David had asked for some food for his soldiers (1Samuel 25:9-11). David decided to attack this fool, kill him and take all he had, but one of the servants of Nabal reported the matter to Abigail (Mrs. Nabal) and this woman ran to meet and plead with David before things got out of hand.
A careful eye will see in this story one important thing: NABAL IS A PROTECTED FOOL.
Ironically, his wealth was protected by a national rebel like David (Vss. 7, 15-16), when he was in a danger he was too foolish to know he was, but his employee was busy seeking ways to help his boss (Vss. 14,17). Again, this fool was married, not just to a virtuous woman, but also to a brilliant woman willing to risk all her life to ensure her jubilant foolish husband is secured (Vss. 18-31). God was using a REBEL, an EMPLOYEE and a WIFE to make sure the fool is safe.
It is in this historical event that we see the providence of God. Regardless of the foolishness, the wickedness and freedom of Nabal, God has prospered him. God, through unlikely forces like the rebel group, has protected his wealth. God has worked through his employees to ensure that Nabal is safe. Apart from a divine influence behind the scenes, there is no way a fool like Nabal can land Abigail for a wife, but here she is struggling to save her fool.
Friend, just in case you didn’t know, we are all Nabals, and we are protected fools. We drive recklessly, we drive on wheels that have lost bolts, we eat food we never participated in the preparation, we are have insulted people we don’t know, we have made choices that if it weren’t for God, we would be dead by now. If we weren’t that foolish, we wouldn’t be laughing if we knew the state of our internal organs, our H.I.V status, etc.
We are fools laughing even when a rebel group of over 400 soldiers is approaching to demolish us. We are fools smiling in the chest of prostitutes, rapists, murderers, etc.
Nevertheless, thanks to the providence of God, he has surrounded each of us his fools, with a REBEL to protect our property, an employee to report our status and a wife to advocate for us before our danger.
God is dealing with your dirt, while you play around with your dice. God loves you. You might not see what he is doing but he is busy securing you. Fools are people who clearly see what God hasn’t done and are very blind to what he is doing. We are the modern Nabals and we ought to be thanking God.
God bless you and: THINK about what I am saying. The LORD will help you UNDERSTAND all these things. (2Tim 2:7 NLT)
Pr ITM WHITE
The Gospel Hawker
iTiS Well of Worship Ministries (John 4:24)
iTiS Well of Worship Fellowship (John 4:24) 