Lessons on Trust

1 Samuel 25–26

Main Idea: Nabal’s insults, David’s response, and Abigail’s intervention teach lessons on what it means to trust the Lord.

1. Violence for God? Or Who Is David’s Defender?
2. Learning to Trust
3. Who Is Our Defender?

Introduction

During their tense encounter in the cave (1 Sam 24), David and Saul showed themselves to be polar opposites: Saul was concerned with his reputation, his name, and his kingdom, while David was able to rest in the sovereignty and steadfast love of his God. David stands as a model for all of us of godly patience in the midst of strong temptation. God’s approval is all we need for lasting satisfaction, and David seems to be a man who understands that to his core.

When the reader arrives at 1 Samuel 25, we find David confronting another adversary; this time it is Nabal (whose name means “fool”).

Violence for God? Or Who Is David’s Defender?

Theologian and commentator David Firth reveals how this passage is a pivot for what goes on between 1 Samuel 24 and 26. David spares Saul’s life in chapters 24 and 26. In the first instance David is ready to do violence against Saul, shaming him by cutting off a section of his robe (24:5). In the second instance David has the chance to kill Saul, but David’s comments are telling:

“Don’t destroy him, for who can lift a hand against the Lord’ s anointed and be blameless?” David added, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will certainly strike him down: either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.” (26:9-10)

By 1 Samuel 26, David knows without a doubt that God is his defender and source of strength. Yahweh will protect David and mete out justice against Saul. Violence is not the answer to his troubles with Saul. Rather, he should trust in God’s providential care.

Where did David learn this lesson? He learned it when he was confronted with another Saul, a wealthy and powerful adversary. This other Saul’s name was Nabal. The text gives us hints that Nabal is an idiot, greedy, and mean. His wife, Abigail, taught David to trust God above all else because the Lord sets right the wrongs—you can trust in His providential care. Listen how the Scriptures contrast the man and his wife: “The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings” (25:3). Nabal was a fool and stood in the place of Saul as an adversary to David (although clearly the two should not be conflated—Nabal is not Saul, after all!).

Learning to Trust

Chapter 25 shows us a development in David’s faithfulness with God, a moment when he learns that he can ultimately trust in the Lord rather than in his own strength. The story develops in verses 4-9.

David and Nabal were, in a general sense, business partners. David had been in Nabal’s vicinity for some time and had protected Nabal’s shepherds several times over the course of the year. Shepherding can be a risky venture, so it is always helpful to have a roaming band of soldiers like David’s to keep bandits at bay. Apparently, David held up his end of this partnership well: Nabal’s men even describe him as having been like “a wall around us, both day and night” (v. 16). David’s presence had been nothing but positive for Nabal.

It was customary in those times for shepherds to dole out gifts during the time of sheep shearing to all those people who had assisted them throughout the year. So David sends a request for a small gift along these lines. It should be a simple and courteous transaction. But Nabal is, as verse 3 bluntly says it, “harsh and evil in his dealings.” So an average token of appreciation becomes for him a major problem.

Not only does Nabal deny David’s request, which is rude enough, but in verses 10-12 he sends back a stinging insult: “David? David who? Never heard of him. Sounds like some runaway slave trying to scam me out of my hard-earned cash.” This was not merely cautious stinginess, either. (After all, as a rich man, Nabal probably entertained a lot of suspect requests. One might excuse a bit of suspicion from his end.)

But everyone knew about David—Nabal included. So this was just an unwarranted slap in the face. Nabal shames David. And as we have seen, in an honor-shame culture, such a shaming cannot go unnoticed. A modern equivalent might be waiting on a table at a restaurant and serving someone who not only refused to tip you but also said that you look like the sort of person who flunked out of school and would only waste the money on booze anyway.

Naturally, David finds Nabal’s affront offensive. So in verse 13 he musters his men: “All of you, put on your swords!” Nobody crosses David and gets away with it! David takes 400 warriors and begins a furious march toward Nabal, determined to wipe out every single man he can find (v. 22).

A military showdown seems imminent until Nabal’s wife steps in. Unlike Nabal, who is harsh and badly behaved, his wife Abigail is “intelligent and beautiful” (v. 3). When word gets to her that David is on the move, she puts together an enormous gift basket and hurries out to meet David, hoping to prevent David from his intended rampage. She gets to David just in time.

Nabal was probably not a popular name for Hebrew children because, as Abigail points out (v. 25), his name means “fool,” and her husband is true to his name! No one intentionally names their kid “fool.”

Abigail’s argument here can be summed up rather simply: “David, you can trust your God to fight your battles for you. Taking matters into your own hands will only leave you with regret.” Abigail truly proves herself to be intelligent, not only arguing with David logically but evoking a specific memory of David’s as well. It is no accident that she reaches for the metaphor of the “sling” to describe God’s avenging David’s enemies in verse 29. With one little sling David had shown to the entire nation of Israel that the battle belongs to God. And as easily as David took down Goliath, Abigail reasons, would not God surely do what is just with regard to Nabal the fool?

Fortunately for Nabal’s men the argument strikes home. David recognizes the folly of violence and stops himself from vengeance, sparing the lives of many. Unsurprisingly, however, the story ends much less favorably for Nabal. Abigail’s words prove to be prophetic, and within two weeks Nabal is dead. God swiftly slung David’s enemy out without David’s lifting a finger.

When David hears of Nabal’s death, his comments reveal he has learned to trust. He says,

“Praise 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.” (v. 39)

Whenever someone lifts a finger to strike down Saul or his family from this point on, David reacts with terrible resolve: only God is his defender (see 1 Sam 26:10-11; 2 Sam 1:14-15; 4:12). He also marries Abigail, who is the instrument God used to teach David to trust the Lord alone.

Who Is Our Defender?

What we must not miss in this account is David’s need for correction and his need to learn God’s ways. David may be able to stand as the paragon of nonviolent resistance in chapter 24, but by Chapter 25 he is a vigilante soldier, ready to mete out justice on his own terms, in his own time. The man who talks his men out of performing an unjust mob hit in chapter 24 needs someone else to give him the same speech in Chapter 25.

Everyone has lapses of faithfulness, which is why we need community. David is a famous figure, a household name, a known hero. In contrast Abigail is a relative nobody. This is her cameo in Scripture, and every mention of her from this point on simply mentions that she is Nabal’s widow and David’s (new) wife. Yet David needs Abigail. Without her he is no better than Saul or Nabal.

Too often when seeking the will of God in our lives, we ignore two majors gifts God has given us—the Word of God and the wise counsel of other believers. Countless sins and major episodes of foolishness have been preceded by Christian believers “praying about a situation” and then acting on their feelings. But God has given the church as the instrument God uses to answer prayers. We should pray for guidance—frequently and earnestly—but we must recognize our prayers find God’s response through the wise words and actions of Christian brothers and sisters.

Believers who make terrible decisions almost always do so in isolation from good counsel. Like David, even the strongest of us is liable to forget what we know to be true and lunge forward toward our own solutions. We come to a crossroads in our marriage, our job, or our finances, and instead of seeking the Lord in prayer, seeking the Lord in Scripture, and seeking counsel from those who know the Word of God, we plow ahead all by ourselves. It should come as no surprise that cutting ourselves off from the body of Christ only leads to ruin and destruction.

In much of our study of 1 Samuel, we have needed to remind ourselves that we are not David, because David displays a faithfulness that reminds us of Christ. But here we should see ourselves in David, a man forgetful of God’s grace and in need of a community to correct him. May God be merciful to us and give us all ears to hear the Abigails in our lives.

So, whom do we trust as our defender? Is it the Lord or is it us? Let us remind ourselves of the words of the following (Davidic!) psalm as we encounter other Sauls in our lives—adversaries, enemies, and those who wish to shame us:

For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love You, Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock,

my fortress, and my deliverer,

my God, my mountain where I seek refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I was saved from my enemies. (Ps 18:1-3)

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does this passage help you understand God?
2. How does this passage of Scripture exalt Jesus?
3. Do you tend to take actions to defend yourself by your own hands, or do you generally trust in God? Explain your answer.
4. Do you believe in the deepest part of your being that the Lord is your defender? Why or why not?
5. What does it feel like when people shame you (or have shamed you in the past)? Be specific and write down your thoughts.
6. Do you believe God will be your “shield”? What would have to change in your life for you to really believe it? Write down your thoughts.
7. Where do you turn to first when you need counsel about dealing with difficulties? How does the teaching about learning and loving Christian community impact you?
8. How do you or your church need to change to embrace the teaching on the centrality of Christian community in answering prayer? Be specific and write down your thoughts.
9. Reread 1 Samuel 25. Is Nabal justified in shaming David? Why or why not?
10. Reread Psalm 18:1-3. What does it do for your heart to know that God stands to defend us? What does it do for your heart to know that God has already defended us in Jesus? “Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).