David settles in the wilderness of Paran, which is west of En-Gedi. David speaks to a man from Carmel, which was the town Saul created a monument to himself. Sometimes the best places to hide from an enemy is in plain sight.
What David requests of Nabal in verses 2-8 sounds like extortion. However, this was a common custom due to the presence of robbers. This area was known for having many thieves. David was protecting Nabal’s men and possessions from these men. David should have considered what the response would have been from a man whose name means “fool” (1 Samuel 25.25).
David’s request was rejected by Nabal in the next paragraph. The rejection was a crass statement on David’s legitimacy. This enraged David and he set off to battle Nabal with four hundred men.
The main characters in this chapter each present a way we can respond to what others do for us. This paragraph shows us the response of Nabal and of David. The rest of the chapter shows Abigail’s response.
We see Nabal’s response was to repay evil for good (10-11). When he refused to share what he had with David, he was acting foolish. We see that his household was set up for failure because of this attitude (Proverbs 17.13).
The next response is David’s response to what Nabal did as returning evil for evil (12-13). David’s plan was to punish Nabal and his household for being so disrespectful and inhospitable. David was hurt and reacted in anger. David was stopped from doing this by Nabal’s wife, Abigail. It is interesting that David had greater patience for Saul than he did for Nabal. This presents the truth of Song of Solomon 2.15 that shows the little things can destroy us. Or, this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
One of the servants of Nabal reported to Abigail, not Nabal, to inform her of the truth of David’s words (14-17). His words reflected the character of each of the main characters:
- David was kind and protective
- Nabal was a foolish, disrespectful, and harsh man.
- Abigail would know what to do.
Abigail responded with the kindness that is common in the middle east and did what Nabal should have done. She prepared the food as David had requested (18-20). She reflected the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. She went to David, without Nabal’s consent for he would not have given it to her even though it is the right thing to do. When a spouse or authority asks us to do something that is against God’s will or is harmful to others (in this case it was not against God’s law for her not to go to David but would be harmful if she did not go; also, it was not against God’s law for her to go), we need to politely do what God has commanded us to do (Acts 4.13-22)
After David considered what Abigail said and did for Nabal and him (26-31), he repented of his words and did not complete his actions (32-35). Abigail showed David that we overcome evil, not with evil, but with good (Proverbs 20:22 and 24.29 with Romans 12.19). In her speech to him, Abigail reminds David of who Nabal is, who he is, who God is, and the consequences of completing this act. Do you have someone like that in your life?
When Abigail returns to Nabal, he is doing for himself exactly what David requested he do for David. For this pride, God struck him dead.
David is already married to Michal, Saul’s daughter. Saul, after the separation between him and David, gave Michal to another (verse 44). God would later condemn and judge the people of Gallim for this and other crimes (Isaiah 10.30). Second Samuel 3.12-16 presents the end of this story when Michal is returned to David. When he hears Nabal is dead, he courts Abigail and marries her. The writer then lists the other wives of David.
A few sidebars for this chapter:
- The only time the term “forgive” is mentioned in this book is in verse 28.
- Verse 29 shows that Abigail had rehearsed and practice her speech before she said the words to David. If you read them, they are quite poetic.
- In verse three, the writer provides a description of Abigail whose name means “father of joy.” He states she was outwardly and inwardly beautiful.
- In this chapter names describe character. If you were to be renamed, what would you be called?