1 Samuel 25:1-42
At this point, David has more than proven his faithfulness to God; and not a moment too soon because Samuel now dies and is buried at his home in Ramah. So, David moved to the wilderness of Maon (or Paran) near a place called Carmel. The time came to celebrate the sheep shearing, and David and his men wanted to participate. That being the case, they asked their neighbor to hook them up.
At this point, David has more than proven his faithfulness to God; and not a moment too soon because Samuel now dies and is buried at his home in Ramah. So, David moved to the wilderness of Maon (or Paran) near a place called Carmel. The time came to celebrate the sheep shearing, and David and his men wanted to participate. That being the case, they asked their neighbor to hook them up.
Now this wasn't just any neighbor; this was Nabal, a wealthy man with many goats and sheep and fields and servants. Not only that, but David's men had protected his sheep and shepherds while they were grazing through their area. So, surely this neighbor could return the kindness with this small request. But, the Bible tells us that Nabal means fool, so here's how it really went down.
David sent ten of his men to make the request in his name. Once he heard their request, Nabal replied by screaming all sorts of insults at them. He called them runaways, liars, freeloaders and probably all sorts of other socially unacceptable terms, for the time. So, David's servants returned to him empty handed and told him what happened.
Oh, really?! When David heard that, he told his men to get their swords, while he was getting his own. He was about to go do some damage; he felt slighted, after all. He and his men had protected this man's livelihood out of friendly courtesy, and now he doesn't even know who David is? In David's mind, now he had to pay. Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants went to his wife, Abigail, and told her what happened, warning her that she needed to do something or things were going to get ugly for all of them.
Fortunately for Nabal, his wife understood the value of words and their relation to actions. She immediately whipped into action, gathering all the items David's men may have had in mind when they made their request; and in no small volume. She sent the items ahead with the servants, then made her way toward David's camp on a donkey.
As they approached each other in a mountain ravine, David was declaring his rage and vowing vengeance on Nabal, his family and all he owned. When Abigail saw him, she approached him very humbly and respectfully, bowing deeply at his feet. Then, she went into her spiel about how great David was and how he feared God and was merciful, even to men who hunted him. She appealed to his devotion to God and his uprightness and sealed the deal by reminding him that he didn't want to have Nabal's blood on his hands for getting his own revenge.
David was impressed and agreed to accept Abigail's gifts and speech in exchange for Nabal's and their lives. (It probably didn't hurt that Abigail was also a beautiful woman.) So, she went back home to find her husband throwing a huge party and getting very drunk. Since she had not told him that she had done all these things, she decided to wait until the next morning, when he was sober, to fill him in.
And when she did, boy did he take it hard. Indeed, he had a stroke and lay paralyzed in bed for a full week and a half when he heard that news. Then, God finally put him out of his misery (or gave him what he earned) and struck him dead. Well, that word got back to David and he threw his own little party. Of course, he had to invite Abigail to join him...permanently. She gladly accepted the invitation, and became one of David's wives along with Ahinoam of Jezreel. (I know, it seems pretty shady, but, hey, that's how they rolled back then.)
So, what's the moral of this story? Well, there could be many. The main things I took from it - this time - are that 1) it's not expedient to return evil for good, 2) wisdom and sincerity (and attractiveness) can go a long way to mend relationships and save lives, and 3) words mean something.
We can't just go around talking to and treating people any old way and think that's okay; especially not a child of God. So, since we don't always know who belongs to him - and even when we do, we have to treat people with respect, dignity and fairness. Not just to avoid God's wrath if we don't, but because it's the right thing to do. Then, any additional blessings God decides to give us for doing what he says are a bonus.
Lord, help us to always do what is pleasing in your sight. We know that everyone will not always treat us right or live for you the way we do. But, help us to remember that others' poor treatment of us is no excuse to treat them poorly in return. Give us grace and wisdom to deal with them in the way that you would have us to. Show us how to love those that hate us and bless those that curse us. Teach us to forgive and move forward in life; not hang on to hurts of the past. Thank you for forgiving us and being patient with us, even though we continue to make mistakes. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Oh, really?! When David heard that, he told his men to get their swords, while he was getting his own. He was about to go do some damage; he felt slighted, after all. He and his men had protected this man's livelihood out of friendly courtesy, and now he doesn't even know who David is? In David's mind, now he had to pay. Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants went to his wife, Abigail, and told her what happened, warning her that she needed to do something or things were going to get ugly for all of them.
Fortunately for Nabal, his wife understood the value of words and their relation to actions. She immediately whipped into action, gathering all the items David's men may have had in mind when they made their request; and in no small volume. She sent the items ahead with the servants, then made her way toward David's camp on a donkey.
As they approached each other in a mountain ravine, David was declaring his rage and vowing vengeance on Nabal, his family and all he owned. When Abigail saw him, she approached him very humbly and respectfully, bowing deeply at his feet. Then, she went into her spiel about how great David was and how he feared God and was merciful, even to men who hunted him. She appealed to his devotion to God and his uprightness and sealed the deal by reminding him that he didn't want to have Nabal's blood on his hands for getting his own revenge.
David was impressed and agreed to accept Abigail's gifts and speech in exchange for Nabal's and their lives. (It probably didn't hurt that Abigail was also a beautiful woman.) So, she went back home to find her husband throwing a huge party and getting very drunk. Since she had not told him that she had done all these things, she decided to wait until the next morning, when he was sober, to fill him in.
And when she did, boy did he take it hard. Indeed, he had a stroke and lay paralyzed in bed for a full week and a half when he heard that news. Then, God finally put him out of his misery (or gave him what he earned) and struck him dead. Well, that word got back to David and he threw his own little party. Of course, he had to invite Abigail to join him...permanently. She gladly accepted the invitation, and became one of David's wives along with Ahinoam of Jezreel. (I know, it seems pretty shady, but, hey, that's how they rolled back then.)
So, what's the moral of this story? Well, there could be many. The main things I took from it - this time - are that 1) it's not expedient to return evil for good, 2) wisdom and sincerity (and attractiveness) can go a long way to mend relationships and save lives, and 3) words mean something.
We can't just go around talking to and treating people any old way and think that's okay; especially not a child of God. So, since we don't always know who belongs to him - and even when we do, we have to treat people with respect, dignity and fairness. Not just to avoid God's wrath if we don't, but because it's the right thing to do. Then, any additional blessings God decides to give us for doing what he says are a bonus.
Lord, help us to always do what is pleasing in your sight. We know that everyone will not always treat us right or live for you the way we do. But, help us to remember that others' poor treatment of us is no excuse to treat them poorly in return. Give us grace and wisdom to deal with them in the way that you would have us to. Show us how to love those that hate us and bless those that curse us. Teach us to forgive and move forward in life; not hang on to hurts of the past. Thank you for forgiving us and being patient with us, even though we continue to make mistakes. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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