In this study today, we shall be studying about Nabal, Nabal and David, David and Nabal, David Abigail and Nabal, Nabal in the bible, Nabal meaning, Who is Nabal? etc.
All the Scriptural quotations in this text are derived from Bible Gateway
King Saul
David had just missed a golden opportunity to put an end to Saul’s life. One look at the faces of his mighty men spelled undying loyalty to their leader and King. However, their attempts to hide their initial disappointments were futile.
Their leader had been leading his life like an aimless nomad for several years. An opportunity presented itself to kill the tyrant (King Saul) in the crags of the wild goats at En gedi (1 Samuel 24). However, David blew it away.
David had been their warlord and coach, who had mentored them (in the Cave of Adullam) right from their days of seeming worthlessness till they became ‘mighty men’. Hence, they had learned to always trust his judgment.
Nevertheless, there was no guarantee that the insecure King Saul would not return to kill them. He always does!
The absence of the fear of God compounded his insecurity. His sense of leadership and morality had declined. Worse still, Samuel (the great prophet of Israel) had just been laid to rest.
Carefully thinking through the events in his life, David concluded that staying in the strongholds (of Engedi) would not be a wise thing to do. Saul will always return to kill him! He would have to flee elsewhere! He was better off as a fugitive than dead!
Once again, his heart welled up with gratitude for these men who staked their lives daily for his sake, pledging their loyalty and support to see God’s purpose for him actualized. They had learned to follow him, even when he made some seemingly absurd decisions!
When will all of these be history? David thought!
You might want to see my post on Who is King David?
He could not remember the last time he had a decent meal, a warm and cozy bath, or even a comfortable bed to lay on. The fugitive leader and his allies lived off bread and other provisions, provided by some kindhearted shepherds and sheep shearers in the wilderness. There were often the proceeds of spoils from war. At other times, they could make do with some wild desert plants that traversed the mountains, that seemed edible!
Severally, he was tempted to throw in the towel! Nonetheless, he encouraged himself in the Lord!
Hence, the son of Jesse braced himself and concluded his plans to move away to the desert of Paran.
Now, deserts were extremely dry areas and the parts that seemed somewhat habitable were the caves one could find therein.
Nabal
From the far riches of the city of Maon (a city of the tribe of Judah) lived a business mogul called Nabal. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep. Maon had a surrounding wilderness that was still used as the wide pasture land for multitudinous flocks.
Nabal was a descendant of Caleb (Joshua 14:14) who had inherited the city of Hebron.
Although he was largely successful in terms of material possessions, he lacked virtue and sincerity and he was quite miserly (stingy).
Nabal (meaning, ‘fool’) was a flock master who had his business empire in Carmel (a town northwards from Maon). Nevertheless, it was not just business as usual in Carmel. This was because; he met his wife there, Abigail, the Carmelite!
The wealthy man had many herdsmen who were often out in the sheepcotes with his flock of sheep. There were usually issues of theft and rivalry amongst different shepherds. Reports of missing sheep, material possessions and supplies were often the cases as fugitives from afar usually flood the deserts.
Fortunately, Nabal’s men found favor before David and his allies as they protected them all through their stay in Carmel.
Now, in course of David’s run from the desperate King, he had been in hiding in the wilderness of Maon (where Nabal lived). Unfortunately, his hideout was discovered by Saul, he fled to the cave of the wild goats in the wilderness of En-gedi where he blew up a seemingly golden opportunity to kill Saul!
Now, David was in the wilderness of Paran. It was during his stay in the wilderness of Maon that he came across Nabal’s herdsmen.
Apparently, David knew their master was wealthy! Fortunately, it was sheep-shearing time!
Hence, when he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep at Carmel. David expected that Nabal’s generosity borne out of his gratitude for protecting his sheep might earn him some victuals (food) in the wilderness of Paran where he was in hiding! This will be an awesome opportunity. Hence, David sent ten of his men with a message for Nabal
“Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. 6 Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!
7 “‘Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. 8 Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’” (1 Sam 25:5-8 NIV)
“Sheep shearing can be likened to grain threshing. It can be somewhat likened to a harvest. A period of great celebration indeed!. In sheep shearing, the whitish woolly substance (fleece) is usually removed for commercial purposes in the big cities”!
As you might assume, that will be greatly rewarding for Nabal who had about three thousand sheep to his credit. What’s more? The herdsmen experienced no loss. Hence, in such a case, festivities would not be uncommon.
Sheep shearing was first mentioned in Genesis 31:19 -21 (Laban was shearing his sheep when Jacob fled with his family) and Genesis 38:13 (the story of Tamar and Judah).
Indeed, the celebration was at top gear. Miserliness was so typical of him, having no thought of distributing food and drinks to the poor, but only for his household and sheep shearers.
The stingy mogul was actively gulping down skins of wine when David’s men came around!
They had been so impressed seeing the large heaps of fleece from the shearing exercise. Their hopes were heightened for they were expectant of a generous reception and victuals (food) to take back home to their master, David. Upon delivering David’s message, they waited to hear Nabal’s response!
Nabal’s prior silence seemed deafening, as the words that followed subsequently left so much to be desired! His silence would have been preferable!
10 Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. 11 Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” (1 Samuel 25:10-11 NIV)
Apparently, the Calebite was well aware of David’s identity! Obviously, he wouldn’t release a loaf of bread to them! Worse still, he had an acerbic tongue. Although he had the right to refuse to grant their request, he went too far as to have shamed David and his men publicly, in the midst of an ongoing celebration.
Nabal’s servants who had faced the perils common to shepherds in the wilderness did their best to speak to him concerning his rather irrational perspective. Unfortunately, Nabal would not so much as allow them to utter a word! It was no surprise to them because they knew their master was usually insensitive and selfish in his dealings with people.
Worse still, they understood that David was a fugitive king, as well as a man of war. A little over one-third of David’s mighty men would crush their master to dust. It was rather unfortunate that Nabal neither listens to them nor considers their opinions.
Who could they turn to, under the present circumstance? They needed to act fast because David was not likely to sweep Nabal’s words under the carpet!
Alas, one of the servants made a decision to tell his wife, Abigail.
To be continued…
Significant lessons: Nabal and Abigail
- The Spirit of God consolidates the fear of God in us. Saul lost the fear of God when the Spirit of God departed from him. He became Satan’s puppet, thus losing his mind and emotional security, dancing to every wind of jealousy!
- Do you still have the fear of God? The fear of God is what keeps you from doing and continuing in evil. Are you losing touch with the Spirit of God, and by implication, the fear of God?
- Saul was hell-bent on destroying David. He did so to the detriment of his leadership over Israel. Indeed, he knew that David was the anointed King, hence, he sought to eliminate him.
What is the driving force behind your everyday decisions? Is it to hurt, discredit and insult another fellow? Will you allow jealousy and the pride of life to rob you of the Spirit of God? God forbid it
- David seemingly missed a golden opportunity to put an end to Saul’s life… but that was an unfortunate opportunity. We must always realize that not every door opened to us was actually opened by God! In fact, the opportunity came twice, yet David wouldn’t subscribe to killing Saul (the Lord’s anointed, as he called him). It might also interest you to know that David would not have been accepted as King over Judah. We must learn to be patient and sensitive to avoid shortcuts to destiny.
- Nabal was regarded as a miserly and dishonest man. We must learn to be appreciative of those who have contributed to our success in life. Nabal went too far by insulting David and Jesse. May riches never rob us of our senses of judgment and goodwill…Amen!
I hope you were blessed today, Kindly leave a comment below! You can also send me a mail too! God bless you! (Smiles).
