NABAL

1. NABAL The Predatory Way

2. The NABAL: Profile Isa 32, 1 Sam 25 (Nabal), 2 Sam 13 (Amnon) • “NABAL” comes from a word which means “to wither” • Unbelievably corrupt, low, vile, deliberately mean, unprincipled, and dishonest • “bottom-line” kind of person; treats others as minimally as necessary • perverted and treacherous; will return evil for good and harm those who help • sees possessions as rightfully is even if he owes them to others

3. 1 Sam 25:11 "Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?"

4. The NABAL: Profile Isa 32 • “NABAL” comes from a word which means “to wither” • Unbelievably corrupt, low, vile, deliberately mean, unprincipled, and dishonest • “bottom-line” kind of person; treats others as minimally as necessary • perverted and treacherous; will return evil for good and harm those who help • sees possessions as rightfully is even if he owes them to others 1 Sam 25:11 • intensely self-absorbed; no concern for others • all walks of life: lowlife outcasts to socially prominent

5. How NABALs React to God

6. React to God • a confirmed atheist: • logically and consistently • theoretically and practically • ethically

7. Psalm 53:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God," They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; Ps 14:1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;

8. React to God • a confirmed atheist: • logically and consistently • theoretically and practically • ethically • the most dangerous of all the fools because he truly believes there is no God and so, no consequences; no one will hold him ultimately accountable • If he is clever enough to avoid detection by man, he can do whatever he desires • no moral boundaries

9. React to God • hypocrisy is a NABAL trademark • may appear as a “fervent” religious leader • his service will include false doctrine

10. Isa. 32:6 For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness, To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD, To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty.

11. Eze 13:3 'Thus says the Lord God, "Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing…

12. Ps 74:18 Remember this, O LORD, that the enemy has reviled; And a foolish people has spurned Thy name.

13. Ps 74:22 Do arise, O God, and plead Thine own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches Thee all day long.

14. React to God • hypocrisy is a NABAL trademark • may appear as a “fervent” religious leader • his service will include false doctrine • The logical end of atheistic thinking (add in an evolutionary worldview) is social and personal Darwinism: the strong survive; the weak are consumed by them and this is right

15. 2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves….

16. 2 Peter 2:1-3 …Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you* with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. * KJV “make merchandise of you”

17. How NABALs Respond to Advice

18. Respond to advice • a shrewd plotter, but blind to the disaster coming from God

19. Deut 32:28 For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them.

20. Respond to advice • a shrewd plotter, but blind to the disaster coming from God • misunderstands life such that he cannot give or accept good advice

21. 1 Sam 25:17 “Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.“ (Servants speaking to Abigail, wife of Nabal)

22. How NABALs Lead & Follow

23. As a leader • do not aspire to top position; they desire to be free to prey on others at will • false prophets of the OT & NT • he will refuse to listen to input from followers (as Nabal in 1 Sam 25) • will gain leadership by undermining authority rather than out-competing peers • will delight in preying n smaller companies and have no compunction destroying them

24. As a follower • follows only for his own practical reasons • leaders never know when the compliant follower will suddenly erupt and destroy others or the system to get ahead personally • “He seemed like such a quiet boy…”

25. How NABALs Handle Relationships

26. Handle relationships • a vampiric approach to relationships • do not simply use people; prefer to actively harm causing pain • partner with other predators but only briefly for personal gain

27. 2 Sam 13:3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother; and Jonadab was a very shrewd man

28. How NABALs Behave at Home

29. Behave at home • abusive • two-faced • purposefully kills his compassion and sears his conscience

30. How NABALs Make Decisions

31. Make decisions • opportunistic (Achan or the rapists of Gibeah in Judg 19-20), but can spend a great deal of time and patience plotting (Amnon 2 Sam 13:6-11) • limited vision, no discernment • discounts God • publicly kind, privately cruel

32. Isa 32:5-6 No longer will the fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous. For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness, To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD, To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty.

33. Make decisions • opportunistic (Achan or the rapists of Gibeah in Judg 19-20), but can spend a great deal of time and patience plotting (Amnon 2 Sam 13:6-11) • limited vision, no discernment • discounts God • publicly kind, privately cruel • given a choice between two paths he’ll choose the one that harms others; deliberately mean

34. How NABALs Make Conversation

35. Make conversation • harsh, severe • reproach, heaping contempt and condemnation • sacrilege

36. How NABALs Handle Work

37. Handle work • adequate planner, inadequate strategist • a crooked manager; will lie, cheat, prey on the weak • will not pay his debts 2 Sam 25 • two-faced: polite to those he has to please (bosses, potential victims), harsh with those he does not • victim find him suddenly vicious • squelch upward communication; people below him know it is useless to talk to him

38. How NABALs Handle Money

39. Handle money • possible public honors • financial predators: default on debts, prey on powerless • he will accumulate wealth, but never enjoy it. In the end he will be unmasked

40. Jer 17:11 "As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly; In the midst of his days it will forsake him, And in the end he will be a fool."

41. How NABALs Deal with Disaster

42. Deal with disaster • try to avoid the consequences of their villany thru hypocrisy • end as a result of their criminality

43. 2 Sam 3:33-34 And the king chanted a lament for Abner and said, "Should Abner die as a fool dies? "Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters; As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen." And all the people wept again over him.

44. Deal with disaster • try to avoid the consequences of their villany thru hypocrisy • end as a result of their criminality • either at the hands of the state (like Achan) • avengers (like Amnon was killed by Absalom) • or direct intervention of God

45. 1 Sam 25:38 And about ten days later, it happened that the LORD struck Nabal, and he died

46. Deal with disaster • try to avoid the consequences of their villany thru hypocrisy • end as a result of their criminality • either at the hands of the state (like Achan) • avengers (like Amnon was killed by Absalom) • or direct intervention of God • when calamity does strike, the NABAL does not recover