1 Samuel 25

David Spared Nabal’s Life 

In this section, we can see the continued providence and provision of God for David as He worked through the wisdom of Abigail to prevent the future king from slaughtering an entire household of men. 

This chapter opens with one disappointment for David, the death of his mentor, and it closes with another, the departure of his mate. This suggests that the events of chapter 25 took place when David was at a low point in his life emotionally. This may account for the fact that David did not conduct himself completely honorably at this time. He is not the hero of this chapter. Abigail is. Again, God used a woman to avert a tragedy in Israel’s history.           - Thomas Constable

Samuel Died

Vs. 1 - Samuel died, and all Israel assembled to mourn for him, and they buried him by his home in Ramah.

Samuel’s years of being a blessing to all Israel ended at this time. David took his place as God’s major channel of blessing to the nation. Samuel’s ministry of providing a transition to the monarchy had therefore ended. People all over Israel mourned Samuel’s death. Samuel was the last of the judges. David would probably have continued Samuel’s ministry and become Israel’s first king without the hiatus of Saul’s tragic reign if Israel had not insisted on having a king prematurely.          - Thomas Constable

This Man’s Name Was Nabal

A Very Rich Man

Vs. 2-3 - A man in Maon had a business in Carmel; he was a very rich man with three thousand sheep and one thousand goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name, Abigail.

Nabal in Hebrew means “fool,” and we are told that he appears to be accurately named. He was harsh and badly behaved. His wife is described as the opposite. Her name is Abigail and her name means “my father is delighted.” She is discerning and beautiful.                - Brent Kercheville

A Feast Day

Vs. 8 - Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your son David.

David’s armed followers had been patrolling the wilderness of Paran in Judah where Nabal’s shepherds had been tending his flocks. They had made that area safe from raiding Amalekites, Philistines, and occasional wild animals that might have harassed Nabal’s shepherds. It was only common courtesy that wealthy Nabal would have expressed his appreciation to David by providing some food for David’s men.    - Thomas Constable

Most commentators agree that David’s request was a reasonable one in this context and culture. 

Who is David?

Vs. 10 - Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is Jesse’s son? Many slaves these days are running away from their masters.

Nabal’s response was arrogant and insulting. He compared David to a runaway slave, insinuating that he was a nobody who was running from Saul.              - Bryan E. Beyer

Put On Your Swords

Vs. 13 - He said to his men, “All of you, put on your swords!” So each man put on his sword, and David also put on his sword.

Vs. 22 - May God punish me and do so severely if I let any of his males survive until morning.

The author described David’s reaction as instant anger and offense.  Nabal knew exactly who Daved was and all that he had done to protect his property and his people.  This was a great insult, and David intended to respond in kind. 

The Lord Kept You from Bloodshed

Forgive Your Servant’s Offense

Vs. 3 - The woman was intelligent and beautiful

Vs. 20 - As she rode the donkey down a mountain pass hidden from view, she saw David and his men coming toward her and met them.

Visualize this solitary woman, riding a donkey, approaching 400 armed men who were riding horses and were bent on slaughtering her household. It took immense courage and boldness, as well as great wisdom, for Abigail to take her life in her hands and do what she did.      - Thomas Constable

It would seem that David encountered both Abigail’s servants and gifts before her arrival, but neither was sufficient to disarm David’s determination for revenge. As Dr. Constable notes, Abigail is the hero of this story.  She is the mediator, the peacemaker between one man’s foolishness and one man’s wrath.

A Lasting Dynasty

Vs. 28 - the Lord is certain to make a lasting dynasty for my lord because he fights the Lord’s battles.

Abigail’s description of David’s throne rang with promise and hope, perhaps even Messianic hope, that God was fighting for His people as He prepared and preserved the dynasty of the future king. 

Needless Bloodshed

Vs. 26 - it is the Lord who kept you from participating in bloodshed and avenging yourself by your own hand

Vs. 31 - there will not be remorse or a troubled conscience for my lord because of needless bloodshed or my lord’s revenge

Vs. 33 - Today you kept me from participating in bloodshed and avenging myself by my own hand.

We can only speculate as to how the death of Samuel and the loss of his wife Michal may have been affecting David at this time.  We do know from his many Psalms that he was in constant fear, uncertainty, and emotional upheaval during this season of suffering.  So the mercy of God is on full display in chapters 24-26 in the way David was prevented from taking vengeance into his own hands.  By means of his own conscience or the intercession of a wise woman, God protected David from his own impulses. 

The Lord Struck Nabal

Vs. 38-39 - About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal dead.  When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who championed my cause against Nabal’s insults and restrained his servant from doing evil. The Lord brought Nabal’s evil deeds back on his own head.”

When she returned home, Abigail discovered that her foolish husband was drunk from celebrating. He was totally oblivious to his mortal danger. He was feasting rather than fasting. He was behaving like a king, the ultimate authority, rather than as a servant of the next king. Here is another allusion to the similarity between Nabal and Saul who both viewed themselves proudly as kings. Pride was the root of Nabal’s folly as well as Saul’s folly, and it preceded destruction in both of their cases.

Nabal’s death undoubtedly encouraged David to believe that God would take vengeance on Saul. David’s experiences with Nabal were a microcosm of all that he had been enduring for so long with Saul, another fool.           - Thomas Constable

She Became His Wife

Multiple Wives

Vs. 43 - And so she became his wife.  David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and the two of them became his wives.

Commentators are not in agreement as to whether or not David should have married Abigail or as to whether or not polygamy was in direct disobedience to any command of God at this time.  However, all Israel would have been intimately familiar with the Genesis record of the marriage relationship (Genesis 2:24) between Adam and Eve and with Moses’ instructions for future kings in which he warned against multiplying gold and wives that could turn their hearts from following the Lord. 

Some Bible teachers see the issue of polygamy much like slavery.  Though it was pervasive and culturally acceptable, it was only described and never prescribed in scripture.  And the biblical authors consistently recorded how polygamous practices created only trouble and frustration for the participants as they ran contrary to God’s original design for marriage. 

Marrying Abigail gave David control of a sizable estate in Judah and gained him valuable resources for his cause.          - Bryan E. Beyer

Michal

Vs. 44 - But Saul gave his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti, son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

The text does not clarify whether Saul gave his daughter, Michal, who was already David's wife, to another man at her request or as punishment for her support of David against her father (1 Samuel 19:17).              - Bryan E. Beyer