David and Abigail
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great (extremely wealthy) and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing — his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear — his sheep.
And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask — thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, — whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. (the shearing of sheep was joyous occasion) And Nabal answered — David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take — my bread, and — my water, and — my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?
Prior to studying these new verses let’s recap our last two Vida’s. One of the greatest and most damaging lies Is that God is a condemning God. I trust with the last two devotions we have completely squashed that. God hates sin because it entraps the soul that he died to free. He gave his life to free us from ourselves and the vices and habits that so easily entrap us. We MUST distinguish between the sin and the sinner. With Christ we have the opportunity to “come clean” with full assurance that on the other side of repentance are the welcoming arms of the Father. That message we must keep close to our chest. For whatever reason whether it was for money, love or both, after the woman’s encounter with Christ I’m sure that she found his love for her to be her “True Treasure.”
Starting with us “hombres” (men). We don’t know much about Nabal. Was he this brash always, or did he become more so as he became wealthier? We can only assume that his nature from his youth was stingy, for hence his name. Nabal also means rude, arrogant, prideful. It’s a personality type that cannot speak civilly with anyone. To whatever extent he was prior to acquiring his wealth, and I’m sure given his answer to David’s men it only made him more. His response on the surface may seem justified, but even his own servant condemns his actions.
“But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute — our master; and he railed (to scorn or insult) on them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, (good for nothing) that a man cannot speak to him.” (I Samuel 25:14-17)
We see that his character was contemptible even in the eyes of his own servant. Let’s answer Nabal’s question, “Who was David? Who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants…” Prior to this period in David’s life he was the commander of the Israeli army. He had not known a single defeat. It was because God fought for Israel as long as David was in charge. So “Who was David,” was an arrogant and insulting statement and the servant knew that their lives were in danger because of it. “Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept — all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.” (referring to killing all the men) I Samuel 25:21-22
Upon hearing the servant’s report, “Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys…” “And it was so, as she rode on the donkey that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met — them.” “And when Abigail saw — David, she hasted, and lighted off the donkey and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even — Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not — the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send…” ” Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withheld thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal…” “Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek — thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; and — the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle — of a sling.” (1 Samuel 25:18,20,23& 25-26 &29, 33-34)
David responded, “And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.
For in very deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting — thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.” (I Samuel 25:32-33)
So David receives her advice acknowledging it was God intervening through Abigail. For David needed to swallow his pride and know that it is The Lord that he must respond too and not react to the folly of men. We will continue our study next week and draw lessons from it, but it is the same with us. Responding to truth, God’s word, or words spoken to us via people whom God uses, verses becoming offended at comments or insults from people who only care about themselves.
Father God,
Thank you for this real life lesson of David’s. To do good to and for someone to only receive bad in return is frustrating and can be angering. As David learned through Abigail’s wisdom that he could not allow himself to be given over to his own defense or passions. Our reputation stands on what You say of us not men, and if we seek You and allow You to live through us, our reputation is in your hands, not ours.
Thank you and Amen.
Move Forward in His Grace, Arthur