Sarah
After Samuel died, all the people of Israel came together. They were heartbroken and mourned for him. In the end, Samuel was buried in Ramah, in his own burial place.
Now, back to David.
David and his men moved toward the wilderness of Paran.
At that time, there was a wealthy man in Maon named Nabal.
Nabal had quite a fortune. He owned three thousand sheep and one thousand goats. He was a real big shot in the area. It happened to be sheep-shearing season, and he was busy working in Carmel.
His wife was named Abigail.
She was beautiful, smart, and, most importantly, she had good sense.
But Nabal?
Well, he really lived up to his name.
The name Nabal means “foolish” or “fool.”
This man had a terrible temper. He was stubborn, rude, and always ready to talk back. He was the kind of person who simply would not listen to reason.
David Sends His Men to Nabal
While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
Back in those days, sheep-shearing was a big occasion. It was something like harvest time or a festival. People usually prepared plenty of food and celebrated together.
So David sent ten of his young men to Nabal.
David told them:
“Go to Nabal and greet him for me.”
Then David told them to say:
“We have been looking after your shepherds while they were with us in the wilderness. We never harmed them, and nothing belonging to you was lost while they were with us.”
What David meant was pretty simple:
“Brother, we’ve treated each other pretty well. Today is a happy day for your household because you’re shearing the sheep. So, how about sharing some food and drink with us?”
Honestly, it wasn’t an unreasonable request.
But when Nabal heard David’s message, he immediately got angry.
“What? Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse?”
“There are plenty of servants running away from their masters these days. Why should I give my food to someone I don’t even know where he came from?”
David’s men went back and reported everything Nabal had said.
When David heard it, he was furious.
“What? He has the nerve to talk to me like that?”
David immediately said:
“Fine! Everyone, grab your swords!”
Oh boy.
David was now seriously ready to fight.
Four hundred men went with him carrying their swords, while another two hundred stayed behind to guard the supplies.
One of Nabal’s servants saw what was happening and became terrified.
He hurried to Abigail.
“Ma’am, we’ve got trouble!”
“What happened?”
“David came from the wilderness to speak with our master. But our master not only refused to give them anything—he insulted them!”
“But David’s men have always treated us well. When our shepherds were out in the fields, David’s men never harmed them, and nothing was ever lost.”
“They protected us day and night.”
“Now David’s men are coming against us! What are we going to do?”
When Abigail heard this, she thought:
“Oh no. This is bad.”
But this woman really had a good head on her shoulders.
She didn’t even bother asking Nabal what to do, because she knew—
trying to reason with that stubborn, hot-tempered man probably wouldn’t get anywhere.
So she immediately started preparing supplies.
Two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already prepared, five measures of roasted grain, one hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes.
She loaded everything onto donkeys.
Then she told her servants:
“Go ahead of me. I’ll follow you.”
Abigail Meets David
Abigail rode her donkey down the mountain.
At the same time, David and his four hundred men were coming up the road.
David was still furious.
He was thinking:
“By tomorrow morning, not one male belonging to Nabal will be left alive!”
In other words:
“You mess with me, and I’ll deal with you!”
Then, at that critical moment, Abigail arrived.
When she saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before him.
She said:
“My lord, please don’t hold this against my husband Nabal.”
“He is a foolish man. His name is Nabal, and foolishness really does seem to follow him.”
It was a blunt thing to say, but she was telling the truth.
Then Abigail continued:
“I brought these gifts for you and your men. Please accept them.”
“But there is something even more important I want to tell you.”
“David, please don’t take revenge yourself.”
She reminded David:
“The LORD will protect you.”
“You are being hunted by Saul, but your life is safely held in the hands of the LORD your God, like a precious treasure wrapped up and protected.”
“As for your enemies, the LORD Himself will deal with them.”
“If you personally kill all these people today because of Nabal, then someday, when you become king, you may carry the burden of this bloodshed in your heart.”
Then Abigail said something very important:
“When the LORD brings you success and fulfills all the good things He has promised you, please remember your servant.”
David listened to Abigail and slo