Spirit of Pride Will Cause You to Take Your Own Vengeance
Author Dawn Wilson
www.dawnwilsonministries.org
The spirit of pride will cause us to rise up and take our own vengeance. The spirit of pride
will cause us to not wait upon the Lord and His vengeance on your behalf.
King David who did not seek his own vengeance when King Saul pursued him to take his
life let the spirit of pride lead him to seek to take his own vengeance in another situation.
I see this as warning to all of us--- we may operate correctly over and over again in a
situation but we are not above a fall just as King David was not. We must be on our guard
each and every time lest we fall.
In 1 Samuel 25 we find David sending ten men to Nabal at Carmel. Nabal was in the field
sheering his sheep with his shepherds.
1Samuel 25:4-11 that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
1Samuel 25:5-11 So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up
to Carmel, visit Nabal and greet him in my name; 6 and thus you shall say, 'Have a long life,
peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 'Now I
have heard that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have
not insulted them, nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel. 8 'Ask
your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes,
for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants
and to your son David.'" 9 When David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according
to all these words in David's name; then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David's
servants and said, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants
today who are each breaking away from his master. 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?"
Nabal refused to give David and his men any provision. His reply was “Who is David?”
“Why should I give provision to men I do not know?” Nabal refused to recognize that he
had prospered because of David’s watching over his shepherds while the shepherds cared
for the sheep in the fields.
Our pride stings when we know we have helped or prospered others and they do not give
us the due we think they should. Our pride stings when others do not recognize the good
you have done unto them. Our pride stings when we have really prayed for someone and
took them through the infirmity or their weakness and when they make it through they spit
on us and act as if we had no part.
We see the prospering of Nabal by the care of David and his men from this statement made
by David in verse 7 “nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel.”
David states again that he had been part of the prospering of Nabal after he was told the
words of Nabal by his men.
1Samuel 25:21 Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in
the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has returned
me evil for good.
We again see the prospering of Nabal by the hand of David by the report of one of Nabal’s
shepherds.
1Samuel 25:16 "They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with
them tending the sheep.
Nabal’s reply was a reply of scorn. We know this from the words of one of his shepherds
also.
1Samuel 25:14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David
sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, and he scorned them.
Nabal’s reply was a reply of scorn for David. In his scorn Nabal stated that he had
prospered by his own hand, David I do not know!!!
Let us continue and see how David reacted to Nabal’s scorn and refusal to
recognize David’s prospering him by the care of Nabal’s shepherds and sheep.
1Samuel 25:12-13 So David's young men retraced their way and went back; and they
came and told him according to all these words. 13 David said to his men, "Each of you
gird on his sword." So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword,
and about four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred stayed with the
baggage.
Do you hear David?? How dare Nabal not recognize that Nabal had prospered because of
the care of David over his flock!! How dare Nabal refuse provision to those who had cared
for his shepherds and sheep in the field!! How dare Nabal scorn me!!
David’s pride was stung!! David became very angry in the spirit of pride. In that pride and
anger he rose up to seek his own vengeance!!
The spirit of pride can cause you and I to become angry and follow in David’s footsteps.
The spirit of pride will cause us seek our own vengeance and not wait on the vengeance of
the Lord.
David would have in the spirit of pride and in his anger slain Nabal and his whole
household. God saw the pride of David. God saw David rise up in the spirit of pride. God
saw David make the decision to bring vengeance by his own hand.
1Samuel 25:22 "May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if by morning I
leave as much as one male of any who belong to him."
God would use a woman to intervene and halt David’s seeking for his own vengeance.
1Samuel 25:18-19 Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two
jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a
hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.
19 She said to her young men, "Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you." But she
did not tell her husband Nabal.
This wise woman did as she knew Jacob had done as he prepared to meet his brother
Esau as he came back into the land of Caanan. Abigail sent the gifts before her to appease
the anger and stung pride of David.
1Samuel 25:23-26 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey,
and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet
and said, "On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to
you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. 25 "Please do not let my lord pay
attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and
folly is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you
sent. 26 "Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the
LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own
hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal.
By the discernment and wisdom of Abigail David was stopped from avenging himself by his
own hand in his anger and the spirit of pride.
1Samuel 25:30-31 "And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that
He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, 31 this will not cause
grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord
having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your
maidservant."
Abigail spoke wisely to David. She told him that if you do this thing –slay all the household
of Nabal by the avenging of your own hand it will cause you grief and trouble you heart
when you sit as King over Israel. This wise woman was telling David to not take vengeance
in his own hand. Abigail was telling David to not let his stung pride/ to not let his anger
cause him to do this unthinkable and terrible action.
David did relent from seeking vengeance by his own hand at the words of Abigail.
1Samuel 25:32-33 Then David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who
sent you this day to meet me, 33 and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you,
who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.
We must not allow our stung pride or a spirit of pride cause us to rise up and seek our own
vengeance.
We must remember David had passed this test when King Saul pursued him. David would
not seek his own vengeance but waited on the vengeance of God!!
We must guard ourselves at all times lest we fall.
David who had passed this test before now let anger and the spirit of pride cause him to
seek vengeance by his own hand. We must be on our guard at all times!!
Leviticus 19:18 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of
your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy 32:35 'Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, …
2Samuel 22:48 The God who executes vengeance for me, And brings down peoples
under me,
Psalms18:47 The God who executes vengeance for me, And subdues peoples under me.
Isaiah 35:4 Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God
will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you."
Romans 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of
God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord.
Now that David ceased from seeking vengeance by his own hand God brought vengeance
to David by His hand!!
1Samuel 25:38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.
We must not allow the spirit of pride cause us to seek our own vengeance!!! Seeking our
vengeance by our own hand will as Abigail spoke to David cause us grief and a troubled
heart. God will bring our vengeance as He as promised in His Word.
Author: Dawn Wilson
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Ministry is protected under the U.S. Government Copy Right Laws.