David essentially demands Nabal's hospitality. David has the right to do so, as he has helped Nabal's shepherds in the past. David is known to Nabal, not only through public acclaim (David was a famous man by this point), but through personal contact with Nabal's people. More, honor within the tribal society demanded Nabal honor the debt of hospitality owed by him on behalf of his shepherds. At the same time, the Bible does not indicate Nabal sought David's assistance with the sheep, nor does it say David actually aided the shepherds. The men were essentially offered "protection" by David. Now that it was time to harvest the wool, however, David wanted a share.
1 Samuel 25:-9-11:
When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David; and then they waited. But Nabal answered David's servants, 'Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and the meat that I have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?'
Nabal lives up to his name. Not only does he foolishly deny the debt of honor he owes-denying even that he knows David's name, but adds insult by emphasising David's rebellion against Saul. David was one of the servants "who are breaking away from their masters". Keep in mind, David isn't on a Sunday outing, he travels with an army of men who have worked as mercenaries-six hundred battle hardened warriors. In essence, Nabal has gotten smart with a "Soldier of Fortune."
David's men return with Nabal's answer.
1 Samuel 25:13:
David said to his men, 'Every man strap on his sword!' And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
"Load 'em up and move 'em out," David declares. These men ride armed for combat against Nabal--a self important sheepherder! At the same time, though, David's actions are extreme and out of proportion. Hospitality should have been given, yes, but David did not have the right to demand or take by force. 1 Samuel 25:14-17:
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, 'David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at them. Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never missed anything when we were in the fields, as long as we were with them; they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know this and consider what you should do; for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one can speak to him.'
Here we encounter something interesting: the servant comes to Abigail, not to gossip about his master, but with the expectation of her action. He says, "know this and consider what you should do." He does not go to his "ill-natured" master, instead he seeks out his mistress. The Bible does not correct or in anyway admonish him for "breaking the chain of command" that many churches stress.
1 Samuel 25:18-19:
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys and said to her young men, 'Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you.' But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
Abigail quickly considers what she should do, and puts her plan into practice. She gathers the makings of the feast David had requested, prepares for travel and takes off to meet David....all without telling Nabal. For those of us having been taught that wives are to "obey" their husbands, this presents an interesting biblical precedent. Abigail has: 1) Considered the problem, 2) determined a course of action directly opposed to her husband's wishes, 3) implemented that plan, 4) failed to seek her husband's permission--in fact, she hasn't told him anything.
1 Samuel 25:20-22:
As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them. Now David had said, 'Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good. God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.'
Abigail has set off, and meets David. He is not a happy camper. He swears he will destroy every male "belonging" to Nabal. This doesn't mean only slaves, but includes every male member of Nabal's extended household.
1 Samuel 25:-23-26
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the donkey, and fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, 'Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.'
In riding a donkey to greet David, Abigail displays a measure of her wealth. Donkeys at this time were animals for the elite. Abigail abases herself before David. She assumes the responsibility for Nabal's actions, and even goes so far as to publicly criticize Nabal. In tribal cultures loss of face carried a great deal of stigma. For Abigail to have publicly labeled her husband a fool posed a serious threat to Nabal's standing and reputation. Then she goes further and hints she was supposed to be in charge of the matters anyway, saying "I did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent." What difference would her having seen them, if she did not have the authority to act?
1 Samuel 25:26:
'Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal.'"
David will face allegations of bloodguilt several times in his life. Abigail has reminded him, in a very nice way, that if he followed through in his intent he not, Nabal, would be the guilty party. David does not have a right under the law to retaliate in this way. If he does, he will be guilty before God.
1 Samuel 25:27-30:
'And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your servant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. When the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.'
Clever Abigail went on to demonstrate spiritual understanding. She didn't defend Nabal, but reminded David of the spiritual consequences of his actions. If David killed Nabal, David would have the burden. More she offered a prayer/prophecy that David's enemies would be like Nabal-fools. She reminded David that he pursued God's plans, and fought for God Himself. David walked in the protection of the Lord, while his enemies would be defeated. Why should he tamper with such a destiny by stooping to murder?
Before we turn Abigail into a saint, however, we do need to remember she acted in her own best interest. The last sentence emphasizes this. Notice that she wanted David to remember her once things were resolved in his favor.
David castigated Abigail for being a rebellious woman who refused to honor her husband's authority and stuck her nose in men's business ....right? Well, no.
1 Samuel 25:32-35:
David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand! For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male.' Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, 'Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition.'
In fact, David didn't chastise Abigail. He praised the Lord for her, then proclaimed her good sense. He applauded her spiritual knowledge in preventing him from sin--more he told her she had saved every man in her extended household. Unlike what we are often told, David listened and "heeds" a woman.
1 Samuel 25:36:
Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light.
Finally Abigail went to Nabal, but he was drunk. I stopped at this sentence because I've read that Abigail's taking charge was only OK because her husband was a drunkard. This interpretation simply isn't supported by the Word. Until this verse only one mention has been made of any form of alcohol-the wine Abigail took to David. We might assume (a stretch by any measure) that Nabal was a drunkard, but certainly that cannot be a rationalization of the story; for if it were the Bible would have told us well before Abigail went to David or come out and said it point blank. The Word simply does not say this--instead it tells us that Abigail was clever and beautiful, and Nabal is cruel and foolish. More if this were the case the servant would have explained Nabal's drunken state, not how ill-natured his master was.
1 Samuel 25:37-38:
In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him; he became like a stone. About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
After all of this, God punished Nabal, not Abigail. But what does he punish him for?
1 Samuel 25:39
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, 'Blessed be the Lord who has judged the case of Nabal's insult to me, and has kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own head.'
Often I have read teachings that say Nabal was punished for his mistreatment of Abigail, therefore women can rest assured that God will punish their husbands if the husbands do something wrong to them. For instance, if a man beats his wife, she should just wait until the Lord stops him, as he stopped Nabal. If a husband creates barriers between a woman and her ministry she should just yield, because if God wanted things to change He'd correct the husband. Well, its true God chastises us, but we aren't to wait for someone else to change before we act....and if we use this story as the basis of such a teaching we are in for a long wait. David says God punished Nabal because of the insult given David not Abigail. "Huh??," you say. Read the verses above again "Blessed be the Lord who has judged the case of Nabal's insult to me"
Still, what did God do about Abigail's blatantly disrespectful and rebellious behavior?
1 Samuel 25:39-42:
Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife. When David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, 'David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.' She rose and bowed down, with her face to the ground, and said, 'Your servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.' Abigail got up hurriedly and rode away on a donkey; her five maids attended her. She went after the messengers of David and became his wife. David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel; both of them became his wives.
Wow, she got to be wife to the future king of Israel. The warrior she's just had a run in with sends for her. She falls to the ground in self abasement--then gets a marriage proposal. Seems like the Lord was rewarding His servant. But Abigail's adventures aren't over yet.
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