Book of Common Prayer

A Royal Wedding Song

Psalm 45

In Celebration of God’s Reign

Psalm 47

Consider Zion’s Towers

Psalm 48

Abigail and Foolish Nabal

25 Then Samuel died, and all Israel gathered and lamented him, and buried him at his house in Ramah. David then arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

² Now there was a man in Maon, whose business was in Carmel, and the man was so wealthy, he had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ The man’s name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings. ⁴ While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David dispatched ten young men, and said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and when you reach Nabal, greet him in my name. ⁶ Thus you will say: ‘Long life! And shalom to you, shalom to your house and shalom to all that is yours. ⁷ Now I hear that you have shearers. When your shepherds were with us, we did them no harm and nothing of theirs was missing all the time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore, let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. So please, give to your servants and to your son David, whatever you find at hand.’”

⁹ David’s young men went and told Nabal all those words in David’s name, and waited. ¹⁰ But Nabal answered David’s servants by saying, “Who is David? And who is Jesse’s son? Nowadays there are many slaves each running away from his master. ¹¹ So should I take my bread, my water and my meat that I have cooked for my shearers, and give it to men whom I don’t know where they come from?”

¹² So David’s young men turned around and went back. When they came and reported to him all these words, ¹³ David said to his men, “Everyone buckle on your sword!” So each man buckled on his sword and David also buckled on his sword. About 400 men went up following David, while 200 stayed with the baggage.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Nabal’s wife Abigail saying, “Look, David had sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he spurned them. ¹⁵ Yet the men were very good to us. We were not harmed, nor were we missing anything as long as we went about with them while we were in the fields. ¹⁶ They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time that we were with them tending the sheep. ¹⁷ Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household. But he is such a worthless fellow that no one can speak to him.”

¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and took 200 loaves, two bottles of wine, five dressed sheep, five measures of roasted corn, 100 cakes of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and put them on donkeys. ¹⁹ Then she said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me—see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ As she was riding on the donkey and going down by the hidden pass of the mountain, behold, David and his men were coming down towards her, so she met them.

²¹ Now David had been saying, “Surely in vain I’ve guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missing of all that belonged to him—yet he has returned me evil for good. ²² May God do so and even more to David’s enemies if by the morning I leave even one male of all who belong to him!”

Mixed Crowds Believe Amidst Persecution

14 Now in Iconium, the same thing happened—they entered as usual into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a large number of Jewish and Greek people believed. ² But the Jewish people who would not believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

³ So they stayed there a considerable time, speaking boldly in the Lord—who was testifying to the message of His grace, granting signs and wonders to come about by their hands. ⁴ But the population of the city split; some were with the Jewish leaders and some were with the emissaries. ⁵ Now it happened that an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jewish people, along with their rulers, to abuse and stone them. ⁶ But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding countryside. ⁷ There they proclaimed the Good News.

⁸ Now a man was sitting in Lystra without strength in his feet, lame from birth, who had never walked. ⁹ This man heard Paul speaking. When Paul looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ he said with a loud voice, “Stand right up! On your feet!” And the man leaped up and began to walk around!

¹¹ Now the crowd, seeing what Paul had done, lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have become like men and come down to us!” ¹² And they began calling Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes” (because he was the main speaker).

¹³ The priest of Zeus, whose temple was before the front gate of the city, brought bulls and garlands; he wanted to offer a sacrifice with the people. ¹⁴ But when the emissaries Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out among the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are human, just like you! We proclaim the Good News to you, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ^{[a] 16} In past generations He allowed all the nations to go their own ways. ^{[b] 17} Yet He did not leave Himself without a witness—He did good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with joy and gladness.” ^{[c] 18} Even saying these things, they barely restrained the crowd from sacrificing to them.

Reaping What You Sow

²¹ He also was saying to them, “Is a lamp put under a basket or a bed? No, shouldn’t it be placed on a lampstand? ²² For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything kept secret except that it would come to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ Then He continued, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be added to you. ²⁵ For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

What Is the Kingdom of God Like?

²⁶ And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like when a man spreads seed on the soil ²⁷ and falls asleep at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows. He himself doesn’t know how. ²⁸ Automatically, the earth brings forth a crop—first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain is ready, at once he sends in the sickle, for the harvest has come.”

³⁰ Yeshua also said, “How should we picture the kingdom of God? Or by what story shall we present it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed when it’s planted in the ground. Though the smallest of all seeds in the earth, ³² yet when planted it grows up and becomes the largest of all the herbs. It puts forth big branches, so the birds of the air can nest in its shade.”^[a]

³³ With many such parables He used to tell them the word, as much as they were able to hear. ³⁴ But apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them. Yet when they were alone, to His own disciples He would explain everything.