If you’ve been following my blog, you know we’re in the middle of the story where Abigail persuades David not to kill her foolish husband, Nabal. David responds to her wisdom by acknowledging that she has been used by the Lord to prevent him from doing something wrong.
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 kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand!” (1 Samuel 25:32-33).
I’ve always been interested in following wars. I started with the first Gulf War and have kept up with conflicts ever since. This includes the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Middle East, and even America’s actions against people in boats off Venezuela.
I have to trust that people in government know more than I do about handling war. Still, the Bible mentions the shedding of innocent blood many times. It makes me think we deeply grieve God’s heart when we take a life.
No one who sheds innocent blood will stand guiltless before the Lord. Yes, there is forgiveness. Jesus’ bloodshed on the cross allows us to be forgiven when we accept it. But unforgiven shed blood across the world will demand God’s judgment.
David knew the weight of shedding innocent blood and responded rightly. May we do the same.
Nabal’s Heart Trouble
When Abigail came back from calming David’s anger with lavish gifts, she discovered her husband was having a feast and was very drunk. The next morning, she told him what had happened. The Bible says his heart became like a stone.
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 (1 Samuel 25:37-38).
I think Nabal, being selfish and foolish, was furious that his wife gave away so much food to David and his army. His heart hardened against her and her generosity towards David.
Interestingly, Rudy Ross sees Nabal’s stony heart differently. I encourage you to watch the video we made to hear his perspective. As I often tell Rudy, he is more gracious than I am.
David and Abigail
Saying David wasn’t sad when Nebal died is an understatement.
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” (1 Samuel 25:39).
Abigail’s wisdom stopped David from seeking revenge on her husband. However, that didn’t prevent God from judging a man whose name meant fool. In the Old Testament, a fool wasn’t just someone naive or simple. Instead, it referred to someone with a deliberate inclination toward greed and evil.
God has a way of setting thing right with people like Nabal, both then and now.
David sent word to Abigail to make her his wife, and she joined David’s other wife, Ahinoam. Meanwhile, Saul gave his daughter and David’s wife, Michal, to be the wife of another man.
Reflections
I heard an expert on Russia, Ukraine, and the region discuss how Russian leaders don’t value human life. This is evident as at least a million of their soldiers have died or been seriously wounded since the war with Ukraine began.
Ukraine has a new strategy: targeting Russia’s oil industry. They understand that while Russian leaders may not care about lives, they do care about their money and finances.
In the Bible, a fool is someone who believes there is a God but wrongly thinks they won’t be held accountable for their actions. These people may harm others to gain land, money, or power without considering that one day they will face a just and holy God who will judge them. This is the classic definition of a fool.
Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies. We should take time to pray for these foolish leaders around the world. Ask God to reveal himself to them so they might repent, turn to him, be forgiven, and change their ways.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 