1 Samuel 25:1-44

Impulsiveness is a very dangerous trait that all of us tend to possess at times.  We have a tendency to react to the circumstances we face without truly thinking through our options or even stopping to consider the will of God.  In this passage we see two impulsive men that are running full speed ahead towards a collision that would have been catastrophic.  Fortunately there was a wise woman who had the good sense and the courage to stand between the two of them and avert the impending disaster.  We must be careful not to be controlled by our emotions and make decisions based on our feelings instead of stopping, asking for God’s wisdom and the doing the right thing.

NABAL’S IMPULSIVENESS MAKES HIM UNAPPRECIATIVE: Nabal raised sheep in the wilderness and had a large and productive herd.  When it came time for him to sheer his sheep, it was like harvest time for him as it was when he got paid for his work.  David and his men had been with Nabal’s shepherds in the wilderness and had protected his sheep from both animals and evil men.  It was common practice for this kind of protection to be rewarded with a gift during the time of sheering.  When David sends his men to collect this “donation,” Nabal responds harshly and insults David and his men.  He is being greedy, ungrateful and most of all foolish.  David is a powerful warrior who has provided a valuable service to him, but instead of being thankful and generous he is insulting and selfish.  In his mind he is thinking that he never asked for David’s protection so why should he be obligated to pay for something that he didn’t order.  He thinks he is being a shrewd business man.  We live in a different culture, but the principle of gratitude, respect and kindness are still very valid qualities that we would do well to emulate.

DAVID’S IMPULSIVENESS MAKES HIM VINDICTIVE: When David gets the news that Nabal has not only refused to give his men a gift but insulted him as well; his temper flares up and he calls for his men to prepare for battle.  He is on his way to destroy Nabal and every male that works for him.  David appoints himself as judge, jury and executioner and decides that Nabal is not worth the air that he breaths.  David does not follow the correct approach in taking care of this situation.  Had he stopped to think, pray and inquire of the Lord what he should do; he would have most certainly come up with a better solution than killing the entire household of this foolish man.  Perhaps God would have told him to just wait as He was about to strike down Nabal.  Perhaps God would have told David to go down himself and make it very clear to Nabal that he was being an idiot.  Whatever the case may be, we can be certain that God was not leading David to go to war with Nabal.  It is very dangerous to make decisions when we are angry and at the spur of the moment.  A good night’s sleep and a season of prayer will help us to make wise decisions that are pleasing to God instead of feeding the flesh.

ABIGAIL’S DECISIVENESS MAKES HER PROTECTIVE: When Abigail gets word from a discerning servant about what her foolish husband has done; she immediately flies into action.  She gets a gift ready and rushes to send it ahead to David in hopes that she can save her husband and household from what she knows will be a great disaster.  When she meets David she pleads with him to forgive her husband’s foolishness and appeals to David’s own conscience of taking into his own hands the vengeance that belongs to the Lord alone.  She has done a great thing for both her husband and for David.  When she returns home to tell her husband how foolish his actions had been and that he had come very close to being killed along with every man in his home, he apparently has a stroke and was dead within a few days.  David is impressed with Abigail and so he takes her as a wife.  Once again David acts impulsively and takes on two more wives when he already has one even if Saul has in essence taken his wife away from him.  We would do well to pay attention to the wisdom of the women that the Lord puts into our lives.  He will often use them and the intuition with which He has gifted them to help us avert disaster.