Sermon Tone Analysis

This morning I want to talk to you about how to face off with a fool.

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, I tell you that fools are everywhere.

One day a young mother and her kindergarten-age son were driving down the street.

The inquisitive little boy asked, "Mommy, why do the idiots only come out when Daddy drives?" [i]

Idiots don’t come out when I’m driving, but doofuses do.

Yes, /doofus /is a real word.

Believe it or not it comes from a Scottish word /doof /and the French word /goffe /from which we get the English word /goofy.

/I could offer you a dictionary definition, but I mean something very specific when I call somebody a doofus.

A doofus is a person who knows what they /ought /to do, but deliberately /chooses/ to do the opposite.

A doofus is a person who enjoys making you guess which way they’re turning instead of using the blinker.

A doofus passes you then slows down when you get behind them.

A doofus thinks a stop sign means /slow down.

/

A doofus passes you in the emergency lane, in the pouring down rain, with his lights off.

They come out in force every time I pull out of my driveway—nay, they practically infest the highway, just to test my sanctification.

The Bible has another word for a doofus—/fool.

/Most times when you read about a fool in the Bible, it’s not describing an unintelligent person, but a person who knows what’s right but deliberately chooses to do what’s wrong, /a person who *knows* better but doesn’t *do* better.

/

The book of Proverbs abounds in examples:

*Proverbs 10:23* /To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom./

*Proverbs 12:15* /The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise./

*Proverbs 14:16* /A wise man fears and departs from evil, But a fool rages and is self-confident./

*Proverbs 29:11* /A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back./

/     /I imagine every one of us encounter fools on a regular basis: people who think their sin is no big deal, fools who think their way is the only way, self-confident doofuses who always let everybody know how they feel about everything.

How do you deal with doofuses?

How do you face off with fools?

I want to get some pointers this morning from *1 Samuel 25* where David faces off with a fool.

(*vs.

1-13)*.

*PRAYER*

* *

*            *The 19th century preacher Henry Ward Beecher entered the pulpit one Sunday to find an envelope with a letter inside which contained the single word "Fool".

He looked up and said to his congregation, "I have known many instances of a man writing a letter and forgetting to sign his name, but this is the only instance I’ve ever known of a man signing his name and forgetting to write the letter."

*            *You never know when you’ll face off with a fool.

It’s good to be prepared, so listen up to what this story teaches us, beginning with item # 1:

*1.    **Don’t let fools make a fool out of you.

(v.

1-13) *

*     *This chapter begins on a sad note with the death of the prophet Samuel, the man who anointed David as king of Israel, who gave David refuge from king Saul, the man who probably spent a lot of time encouraging him at his low points.

I’m sure Samuel’s death makes David feel more alone than ever.

Maybe it makes him doubt God’s plan or purpose for his life.

It’s very possible that David becomes discouraged over the news of the death of the old prophet.

But there’s not much time for grief.

You never know when Saul will show up again, thirsty for blood, so David and his 600 men have to keep moving, keep surviving.

It is in these circumstances of grief, discouragement, and danger that Scripture introduces us to the fool whom David faces off with: Nabal.

His very name means /fool, /and you’ve got to wonder if mayve his parents knew they had a doofus on their hands.

He’s a rich fool, a prosperous livestock farmer.

He’s got a wife with a good head on her shoulders—isn’t it a shame when a good woman marries a fool?—and on top of this she’s beautiful.

He comes from a good family—the family of Caleb, who was one of the heroes back when Israel was conquering the promised land.

But Nabal doesn’t live up to either his good family nor his good wife.

*Vs.

3* says he’s /harsh and evil in his doings= he’s a fool.

/

/            /He shows off his doofus side when it comes time sheep-shearing time.

This is a big celebration in Israel, almost like our Christmas and Thanksgiving rolled into one, a time when people are joyful and generous.

Maybe this is why David sends 10 men to Nabal /now/ to ask him for help with food and provisions.

He sends season’s greetings, wishing the rich fool peace and prosperity.

He reminds Nabal how he and his men protected Nabal’s shepherds and sheep from foreign raiders who are known to come and rob flocks near Carmel and Maon.

Nabal’s servant says in *v.

16* /..they were a wall to us, both by night and by day…//­ = a wall of protection from enemies.

/His request is respectful, humbly stressing their kinship by calling himself /…your son, David… /(*v.

8*).* *

Nabal’s reply is not so courteous.

Notice how many times the word /I /and /mine/ appear/ /in *v.

11*.

/Who is David to me?

Why should I share my food and drink with the likes of you?

You’re nothing but just another runaway rebel.

Get lost!  /

     This is a very selfish, very wicked, very foolish reply to somebody who does you a good turn.

But the greater danger comes with David’s response.

He tells his men to grab their swords and head out to Nabal’s place.

There’s about to be a slaughter.

But wait: David knows better than this.

He knows this is not how you treat an enemy; he proved that back in the previous chapter when he showed mercy to King Saul.

David allows his anger to drive him to do something foolish.

David allows this fool to make him foolish.

Watch out!

This can happen to you, too!

If you’re not careful, a fool can make a fool out of you.

Nobody can /make /you do anything, but you can let them push your buttons so that you do something only a doofus would do.

A fool can lead you to say foolish words of anger, or hold on to foolish resentments.

A fool can influence you to do foolish things, behave in foolish ways.

You know the right thing to do, but you allow a fool to make a fool out of you.

Don’t do it.

Don’t descend to the level of a fool.

Don’t let your emotions or your reactions be dictated by somebody else—especially not a fool.

A farmer had a watermelon patch that somebody kept helping themselves to without permission.

So the farmer he farmer puts up a sign that reads "WARNING: ONE OF THESE WATERMELONS CONTAINS POISON!"

The farmer returns a few days later and sees somebody has scribbled on his sign "NOW THERE ARE TWO WATERMELONS WITH POISON IN THEM!"

     David almost made a terrible mistake, but God sends somebody to help him come to his senses, somebody who gave him a chance to follow the second tactic for facing off with a fool:

*2.    **Heed the voice of wisdom, and you’ll do the right thing.

(v.

14-35) *

*     *In almost every culture of the ancient world, wisdom is personified as a lady.

Seems the wise men knew that it often takes a lady to keep us men from acting like fools.

The wise lady here happens to be Nabal the fool’s wife.

(What /did /she see in him?

Must have been one of those arranged marriages!)

One of her husband’s young servants runs and tells dear Abby what is happening.

He is scared because Nabal’s foolishness is going to cost his whole family, and there’s no talking to him.

Abigail acts quickly and secretly, getting together food for David and his men, sending it on ahead of her, setting out to meet David, who is muttering to himself how he plans to kill every man and boy in Nabal’s household.

His ride is interrupted first by the servants with all the food, and then by Abigail, who humbly apologizes for her husband’s offensiveness.

She puts a lot of thought into her speech.

Notice how tactfully she jokes about her husband’s name in *v.

25* and then mentions a sling in *v.

29*, reminding David of his victory over Goliath.

She lays out her case with shrewd wit and real skill.

Abigail is one classy, smart lady.