wisdom

At the beginning of this chapter, we learn that Samuel has died. He was given a proper sendoff and David flees to the wilderness of Paran.

The remainder of this chapter deals with David’s dealings with Nabal and Abigail. Nabal was harsh and evil. The word Nabal means “fool.” Abigail was of wisdom and beauty. A contrasting couple, to be sure.  

While David was hiding in the wilderness from Saul, he and his men had worked hard to protect Nabal and his thousands of sheep. Nabal would have needed this protection as he lived in the wilderness and was vulnerable to thieves. David also implies that he and his men could have taken advantage of Nabal while they were in the surrounding wilderness. David sends his men to Nabal to request a form of payment for this protection. As Nabal was shearing his many sheep, he would have had a lot of money on hand.

Nabal resists payment, citing that he does not know where these men are from. Plus, he has to feed his own men. David meets this response with the act of taking four hundred men with him, ready for battle, presumably to take what he feels he and his men are owed and to decimate Nabal’s household. At this, we may see into a fault of David. Why does he need to answer Nabal’s rebuke with violence? Was his pride hurt? Did he feel that he and his men deserved the money and that it was worth fighting for? David says as much in verses 21-22: ““Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good. May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light.”

One of the young men that work for Nabal goes to Abigail and tell her of the situation, mentioning also how well David and his men protected Nabal’s sheep during their time in the wilderness. Immediately Abigail collects an appropriate amount of goods for payment to David and his men and goes to intercept David before he can bring violence to Nabal and the family. Abigail is showing shrewd wisdom and dedication to protecting her own, and she does so without the knowledge of her wicked husband.

But God’s grace comes in many forms. In this chapter, Abigail is the instrument, and also one of the beneficiaries of His grace. David is softened by Abigail’s entreaty and gift and does not pursue killing the house of Nabal.  After this event, things go very well for David and his men. Abigail tells Nabal of how she interceded to protect the family, and Nabal dies about ten days later. David wholly ascribes Nabal’s death to God’s intervention: “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.”

David then marries Abigail and likely takes ownership of all of Nabal’s former wealth. This lengthy chapter is a brief interlude into the story of David, and it teaches us a few things:

1. David’s judgment is fallible
2. The grace of God benefits the righteous
3. God can protect us from our own weaknesses

These are the primary lessons, although there are more. The underlying lesson for each one of us today is to witness David’s consistent dedication to God and to living righteously. David’s misstep in this chapter show us God’s longsuffering mercy towards those that love, serve, and fear him. This gives us confidence to love and serve God and not to fear for the loss of His providence and blessings when we make mistakes. We are only human after all. We all have sinned and will continue to sin, not willfully, but our place in the flesh leaves us vulnerable to temptation. If David can sin (and this instance is not his worst), and still remain in God’s graces, surely, we can and will too. God’s grace can, but also often will not, remove the real-life consequences of sin that follow misdeeds.

The secret to spiritual balance is knowing that we will not be perfect, accepting it, and continuing to work harder than ever to please God in every situation we are in. When we make mistakes, we need to take our lumps, move on, and redouble our efforts to please God again, ashamed that we have let Him down, but also knowing that He understands and accepts our spirits of repentance, our fear, and our worship.