1 Samuel 25:9-18 – When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David’s name.  Then they waited.  Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David?  Who is this son of Jesse?  Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.  Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” . . .  Abigail lost no time.  She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys…”

Nabal was a wealthy man in Israel.  He was harsh and self-centered.  His name is the Hebrew word for “fool,” (nabal) and he belonged to the clan of “Calebites,” which in the Hebrew was the same word for “dogs.” (See also Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15).  This story happened while David was in the wilderness, hiding from his persecutors.  David and his men had helped guard Nabal’s shepherds and farm workers and treated them well for a period of some weeks.  All this occurred in an area called Carmel, which means “vineyard” in Hebrew, which reminds us of the abundant blessings we have through the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  When David needed some provisions for his men, he sent messengers asking Nabal for help.  Nabal refused, insulting David and his men, showing ingratitude for all they had done for him.

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1 Samuel 3:1-2 – “The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli.  In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.  One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place…”

The book of 1 Samuel contrasts the ministry of the boy Samuel, who listened to God and functioned as a prophet, with the ministry of the old priest named Eli, who served in the Tabernacle during a period of apostasy (falling away from God) in Israel’s early history.  Most of Eli’s ministry occurred during the period covered by the book of Judges, an era of spiritual confusion, curses, and disobedience.  Eli was over 90 years old in this story, so he began ministering a generation earlier.

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Acts 13:20-22 - “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.  Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.  After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” 

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1 Samuel 22:1 -  ”David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. “

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1 Samuel 14:24 – “Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food…” 

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1 Samuel 13:14 - the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

Acts 13:22 - “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”

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“With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.” - 1 Samuel 24:7

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Acts 13:22 – ” After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” 

Saul had a large standing army and weapons, but could not fight against a single person who defied his army (Goliath – see 1 Samuel 17).  David defeated Goliath with a simple stone and slingshot. 

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1 Sam. 3:9-10 -  ”Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening…”

In this story, Samuel is a little boy who lives at the Tabernacle in Israel and helps with chores.  This was the twilight of the period of the Judges in Israel, a time of great spiritual confusion.  The priests in that day had lost connection with God.  The Bible says that it was very rare then for anyone to hear directly from God.  The people had stopped listening.  The priests themselves were unfaithful.  There were awful scandals surrounding the new generation of priests, and the old generation had grown weak, lazy, and ineffective. 

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“He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.” – 1 Samuel 28:6

There are three main ways that God speaks to his servants today.  One way is through dreams.  Most of our dreams are not from God, of course – they are just from our minds, usually the things we have been worried about during the previous days.  Even so, most Christians have had some dreams where God spoke to them, or He showed them something that would happen and then they saw the fulfillment later, just as the dream foretold.  Some people have even converted because Jesus revealed himself to them in a dream.  This is also one of the main ways He spoke to people in the Bible.  The second main way that God speaks directly to us today is through a direct revelation from the Holy Spirit while we are awake.  This type of experience belonged to the prophets had in the Old Testament, but now it can happen to any true believer.  Sometimes this experience is visual, as when we see a vision while we are praying.  Other times, the Holy Spirit gives a revelation that is verbal, as when words come into our hearts while we are praying, interrupting our own thoughts.  Occasionally, we may even hear an audible voice speaking words while we are in fellowship with the Lord.  These direct revelations – the experience the prophets had – are the second way that God speaks to each individual.  

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