Thurs. Devo - Who's paying for lunch?

Read 1 Sam 25
1Sa 25:1 And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
Samuel died and David arose. One of God's greatest prophets leaves and one of God's greatest kings is exalted. It is all part of the plan.
Now back to the narative: Maon is a rich man who owns many sheep. David and his men were a protective shield for Maon's shepherds as they grazed their sheep. David finds out where Maon is and asks for some help...his men are very hungry and Maon is very rich. Maon gets mad and refuses to help them. This tics David off enough to want to go kill Maon and all his household. Did I mention David was very hungry?
Maon has a beautiful and wise wife. (It had to be an arranged marriage.) She finds out about how foolish her husband has been and steps in to save their lives. She secretly packs a wallop of a picnic dinner and heads out to meet David and beg for mercy. David accepts her gifts and promises not to harm them. David and his men eat, and Abigail goes back to Maon. Maon is having a drunken party with all his opulence, so Abigail waits till the next day to tell him what she had done. Maon's already hardened heart became like a stone and he died 10 days later. David's mercy brought God's judgement. That's what happens when we give our anger and griefs to the Lord - he fights for us.
David sends for Abigail and she leaves all that money can buy to become the wife of a poor outlaw-soon-to-be king. Her name means "source of joy" which is what she was to David. Then David takes Ahinoam of Jezreel as his wife also. Her name means "God will sow grace and delight." What a great trio.
1Sa 25:44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim. (We'll leave this for another study.)
Lord, may we, like Abigail, be tenacious in protecting our families from harm. May we abandon all to follow You.