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David-Marries Abigail
August 15, 2020

After the death of Samuel, David went to the wilderness of Paran. While there, David became aware of a rich man named Nabal who lived in Maon who was lucky enough to be married to an intelligent well-spoken wife named Abigail who also was beautiful. We don’t know why Abigail married Nabal, what she saw in him because Nabal is described as both stubborn and evil, a real hard-head. David heard that it was sheep-shearing time for Nabal’s herd and David thought this would make a great time for an introduction to be set up between the two, so David sent a group of ten young men to approach Nabal. He told them to greet Nabal politely by offering a greeting of peace and prosperity. David was hoping he may be able to negotiate provisions from Nabal by showing how he had treated his sheep-shearers well while they were in the proximity of David. They asked Nabal that he may find favor for them and awaited for Nabal’s response.

Nabal was blunt and direct telling the men that David had sent that he had no idea who David was or who his father Jesse was, nor did he know any of the men who were with David. He shared with them that there were many young men, just like David who weren’t doing what they needed to do by staying with their master and doing what was required and just looking for a quick hand-out. If this type of dialog happened today, all that might change is a discussion regarding the sheep and sheep-shearers. Just like in Nabal’s day, people who have achieved a degree of success and accomplishment in life seem to be quick to discount what the younger generation is doing, not realizing that what the younger generation is doing is not that far removed from what that generation did when the same age. Nabal was unwilling to shared bread and meat with David’s men preferring to save it for his own men. When Nabal shared his thoughts with David’s men, they realized the discussion with Nabal was over and returned to David. How Nabal responded to the request by David’s men did not sit well with David who gathered two hundred armed men to take on Nabal.

What Nabal told David was well within his prerogative to say. The view that Nabal had of David was a view that most successful and accomplished people would likely have in similar circumstances today. Nabal’s word provoked an anger response out of David, a man identified as a man of faith in Hebrews chapter eleven verse thirty-two, anointed by God to be the king of Israel. David wanted to respond by bringing his army to Nabal. Sometimes those who have attained status in life forget how to be kind to others. Consider how David might have responded if Nabal had used kinder words in responding to the request given him by David’s men. Word of this got back to Nabal’s wife, Abigail, through one of the servants who explained that David’s men had treated them well and were friendly. This servant was also able to determine that how Nabal had responded would not end favorably for Nabal, and knowing that Nabal was very stubborn, a request was made of Abigail to respond.

Abigail knew she needed to intervene on Nabal’s behalf and made a decision to leave quickly without telling Nabal and took with her two hundred loaves of bread and two vessels of wine, with each vessel probably large enough to complement the bread, along with dried grain, raisins, and figs. Abigail knew food was a great way to show hospitality, and food is still a great way to show hospitality. Eventually Abigail met up with David who was flustered that even though his men had treated Nabal kindly, Nabal had not shown them any favor. In David’s mind, it would have been better if he had taken the animals in pasture. He also told Abigail that he was prepared to take the lives of every man who served Nabal or who were family members. Hearing this, Abigail quickly got off her donkey and bowed before David as a sign of respect. She admitted to David that Nabal was hard-headed and asked David to reconsider and asked for God to give David a blessing, and establish his throne because he fought the battles of God. She also asked that David find no offense or take lives unnecessarily.

David was touched by what Abigail had said and gave praises to God for bringing Abigail to him. He told her that her actions saved the lives of all the men who were servants of Nabal as well as the men of the family. David asked Abigail to return to her home. When Abigail returned to Nabal, they had a huge feast that would rival the feast of a king. Nabal became very drunk, and he was a happy drunk. Abigail thought all would be well in the morning, and in the morning when Nabal was sobering up, his heart became as cold as a stone. He was stubborn, digging in, and would not change his mind concerning David and David’s men. God had mercy on Abigail and ten days later let Nabal die, sparing Abigail the horror of having to see a slaughter of the men. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he knew that God had intervened to save him from an unpleasant task. David knew he wanted to marry Abigail and sent men to tell Abigail of David’s desire, and she accepted David’s proposal. At the same time, David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. While he was away, Saul had his daughter, Michal, David’s wife, married to Phalti, the son of Laish of Gallim.

1 Samuel 25:1-44
And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be? So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him. Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid. And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person. And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife. And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives. But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.

Once again the Ziphites came to Saul to let him know they knew where David was hiding, in the hills of Hachilah near Jeshimon. With this information, Saul took three thousand men to hunt David and made camp nearby. David sent spies to verify Saul’s location. Instead of running from Saul, David decided to confront Saul and from a distance determined the very spot where Saul and his captain, Abner, slept. With David were Ahimelech and Abishai and Abishai agreed to go with David to Saul’s camp.

They approached the encampment at night when Saul was asleep and Abishai wanted to kill Saul. David declined to do so because Saul was still anointed king of Israel by God. This was after Saul had taken Michal, David’s wife, and given her to another man. Very few people would have faulted David had he gone ahead and killed Saul. David knew when the time was right, Saul would be removed from his life and that he would not be the one to take Saul’s life and instead took the spear and water container.

After taking the spear and water container, they left the camp and nobody knew they were there. God worked a miracle to keep all the men asleep. When David was safely away at a distance, he cried out to Abner and told Abner he was not worthy to live, because Saul’s spear and water container had been taken when it was his responsibility to protect the king.

Saul could tell from the voice that it was David, and David confirmed to the king he was David. David asked Saul if the source of Saul’s desire to kill him came from God or man, and this prompted Saul to consider the source of his desire. He went on to tell David, that he would no longer pursue him. David then offered to return Saul’s spear and asked that a young man come to retrieve it. This was not only a generous offer, but showed everyone that David could have killed Saul. Both men then left.

1 Samuel 26:1-25
And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed. And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him. Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless? David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD'S anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods. Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed. And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Even though Saul promised him peace, David knew that Saul’s desire to kill him would never fully leave and could be rekindled at any time. David decided to leave Israel and live among the Philistines who would likely leave him alone because of the death and destruction that David had brought to their army. He asked Achish if he could stay with them, and Achish agreed giving him Ziklag as a place to live and he lived there for sixteen months. With Saul learning that David was living with the Philistines, he gave up on the idea of pursuing David.

While living in Ziklag, David used the opportunity to invade and conquer people who had lived in the area the longest times, and he utterly killed the people taking their livestock and possessions. David did this so frequently that Achish wanted to know where David was off to next. Deep down, Achish felt that David had caused problems for Israel and that David and Israel would always be at odds with each other.

1 Samuel 27:1-12
And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him. And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

Achish believed that David would be a life-long servant, not knowing the plan that God had already determined for David. Achish saw David as his bread basket bringing plunder from the people whom David killed. He didn’t seem concerned that David was the man who had taken out the Philistine army, nor did he seem aware that David would be the next king of Israel. Next week, we will see how much Saul lacked faith and what caused David’s return to Israel.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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