David and Abigail

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

1 Samuel 25:2-9
2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite.
4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name.
6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.
7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time 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 come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited.

We are introduced to Nabal and his fair wife Abigail in this passage, a couple of the most unlikely pairing. While Nabal comes off as harsh, stiff-necked, and rude, Abigail is described as beautiful, and more importantly discerning. Of course, in the days of arranged marriages, this union may have been more to the benefit of the parents than the bride, but that is shear conjecture.

Let’s take a few minutes and consider Nabel. First off, he was filthy rich, literally owning thousands of sheep and goats. He had it all, and was living the high life. Rich in physical goods. Rich in things. Rich accomplishments. Rich rich rich.

His story reminds me of a story in the New Testament, a parable the Lord spoke, where a rich man tore down his barns to build bigger barns.

Luke 12:16-18 “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

Nabal, at this time of the year, was experiencing the same sense of wealth and self sufficiency that the rich man in the parable was enjoying. Eventually, God would speak to Nabal in the same manner as He does the rich man in the parable, but I am getting ahead of myself. Back to the passage for the day.

Nabal was shearing his sheep, a time of harvesting for a rancher like Nabal, a time of potential thanksgiving and rejoicing, of hopefully sharing and giving to others out of an abundance. This time of abundance provided Nabal a huge opportunity to be a blessing to others. To be gracious to those less fortunate.

It seems David was less fortunate, for he approached Nabal in the form of ten servants, requesting a charity, based on his own charity to Nabal in the past. It seems David, in the past had spent time protecting Nabal’s sheep (and shepherds) as a charity, for it does not appear that there had been any formal agreement between the two men. As the future king of Israel, David seems to have taken on the spirit of protection over those of Israel, and during this time, the Philistines were consistently finding opportunity to make raids into the country side.

Just a few chapters earlier, David rescued Keilah from the Philistines in chapter 23, and later in the same chapter, Saul had to break off his pursuit of David to return home due to the Philistines attacking his property.

It seems it was common for the Philistines to cause skirmishes along the southern border at this time, and the region including Maon and Camel, where Nabal and Abigail lived, was a prime location for the Philistines to consider. I cannot find a specific time where the flocks of Nabal were under any direct threat from an enemy, but that might be there very point. David and his men kept them safe.

David sent a formal delegation of his men to Nabal, representing themselves in a humble manner, reminding Nabal of their voluntary service of protection, and requesting a kind response out of Nabal’s abundance. An act of thankfulness to those who provided a shield for Nabal’s servants and sheep.

I am sure most of my readers recall how Nabal reacted, and we shall get to that next post, but for this passage, let’s consider the thankful spirit that Nabal could have provided but didn’t.

Is it not right to live in a thankful spirit to God, for the many blessings He has provided? Relating to this passage, specifically for the protection we may not realize is provided to us. David’s men came to Nabal to inform him of protection. I get the sense this may have been the first time Nabal knew of this added benefit for his shepherds and sheep in the wilderness.

No matter the situation you may find yourself in today, we have an opportunity to be thankful, to be gracious to others, to be a blessing. Nabal was “harsh and badly behaved”, and his life, like the rich man in the parable above, is impacted negatively, not only in our opinion of him, but also in the length of life.

Be a blessing to others today. Take a moment today to reflect on all the blessings God has provided to you. Consider God’s active protection from your enemies, protection that is beyond your experience, or understanding, for there is much going on about us that we do not see. But the Lord is there, encircling your family, your business, your church, your life.

For it is true that God is good all the time.

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