Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
(KJV)
The deceased prophet, Samuel, had
anointed David to be the next king of Israel. After God had rejected Saul as
king for his disobedience, he made it his life’s mission to kill David. In
order to save his life from a king who had become increasingly mad, David took
his men and went on the run. David had an opportunity to kill Saul and return
evil for evil, but David spared Saul’s life and promised him that he would not
take a sword against his descendants.
David and his mean went to the desert
near where a wealthy man named Nabal lived. Nabal’s servants were there taking
care of their master’s flock. With the amount of men that were with David, he
could have easily subdued Nabal’s servants and taken the flock for himself.
Instead, David protected Nabal’s servants and his flock to keep others from
raiding them. Believing that Nabal would be kind to them after learning what
they had done, David sent word to him to ask for generosity for him and his
men. However, Nabal, whose name means, “fool,” could care less concerning what
David and his men had done. Therefore, he showed no kindness of any kind
towards David nor his men.
This angered David, so he decided
that he would take vengeance against the man who would dare treat him with
total disregard. Therefore, David and his men prepared to slaughter every man
in Nabol’s camp. Upon Nabol’s wife, Abigail, hearing the news about what had
taken place, she immediately went into action in order to avoid what would have
been a disastrous situation. She had food and wine loaded onto donkeys, and
sent servants ahead, so that they could get the supplies as a way of a peace
offering to David. Once she arrived, she made apologies for her foolish husband
and begged David to spare his wrath against him. David accepted the peace
offering and relented on his plans of destruction.
The Apostle Paul lets us know that
our feet must be fitted with the gospel of peace. We as warriors for Christ
must fight against the enemy, but good soldiers always look for peaceful solutions
to problems that may be encountered. Just as Abigail was a peacemaker, and as a
result, prevented the massacre that was about to take place, we too are to be at
peace with everyone if at all possible. Jesus set the example and told us to do
this in His sermon on the mount. Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.” (NIV) The enemy is the one who
causes conflict, but God desires for us to live peacefully with all people just
as He is a God of peace. 1
Corinthians 14:33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. (NIV)
Let us ensure that we represent Christ in all our daily encounters and
relationships. Part of being a warrior for Christ involves being the peacekeepers
in a violent world set on destruction.
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