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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Samuel 25:1 - 25:13
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Nabal's Foolishness
v. 1. And Samuel died, his death taking place at about this critical time in the history of Israel; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah, the entire nation thus honoring him as a great prophet, whose rule had been a blessing for Israel. And David arose, and went down to the Wilderness of Paran, the northern end of the Arabian desert.
v. 2. And there was a man in Maon, 1Sa_23:24, a city southeast of Hebron, whose possessions were in Carmel, he had his herds and flocks on the mountain-meadows near the city, in the elevated plain of Judah; and the man was very great, rich and influential, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel, usually an occasion of great festivities.
v. 3. Now, the name of the man was Nabal and the name of his wife Abigail; and she was a woman of good understanding, sensible, well versed in genteel conduct, and of a beautiful countenance, well formed; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb, to whom this entire region near Hebron had been given, Jdg_1:10-15.
v. 4. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep, and therefore would probably have an abundance of food on hand for the joyful meal.
v. 5. And David sent out ten young men, as on an important and solemn embassy, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name, with the customary greeting of peace;
v. 6. and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, rather, May good fortune attend thee for a long and happy life! Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. This comprehensive greeting was intended to render Nabal well-disposed toward the messengers.
v. 7. And now, I have heard that thou hast shearers, with all that this implied; now, thy shepherds which were with us, with whom David's men lived on terms of good fellowship, protecting them against wild animals and against robbers, we hurt them not, by any form of injury, neither was there ought missing unto them all the while they were in Carmel. Even during his exile David proved himself the champion of the people.
v. 8. Ask thy young men, his sheep-herders, and they will show thee, testifying to the splendid fellowship which existed between David's men and them. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day, for such a festivity should be an auspicious occasion; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand, as much as he could afford at this time, unto thy servants and to thy son David.
v. 9. And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words, making their request in his very words, in the name of David, and ceased, they sat down, awaiting the fulfillment of their request.
v. 10. And Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? What was David and his concerns to him? Why should he bother about his troubles? There be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master; these words insulted David as a common runaway and renegade, who had maliciously severed his relation with Saul.
v. 11. 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? Both the necessities of life and the luxuries he denied them; the very idea of sharing these with David and his men he represented as preposterous.
v. 12. So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings, gave him the report of this contemptuous and insulting rebuff.
v. 13. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword, to take revenge for this insult. 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, guarding the camp. Nabal is a type of a covetous fool, whose heart has been hardened against every form of distress and want, who is willing enough to accept services at the hand of others, but wants to know nothing of services on his part.