Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Have you ever been playing hide and seek and you’re in the hiding part. You’ve found the PERFECT spot, you hide, and then someone else comes and hides almost exactly where you are, but don’t realise it? If you say anything to get them to move, they might argue with you and get you caught. You might get caught when they get discovered. It’s an odd situation. That’s what Saul and David were doing in the Wilderness of En Gedi.

Saul dealt with the Philistine incursion and on his way back, was told where David was. Saul chose three thousand men from his forces and went to find David among the rocks. David had six hundred men. That’s 5 to 1 odds for Saul. They get down there, and Saul’s tired. So are his men. They’ve just been campaigning and without any respite here they are – after all, Saul reasoned that David will be after his life. Saul spots a cave, it’s hot, and he goes to take a nap. He hides himself there and snoozes. David and his men are hiding in the SAME cave. David’s men think this is great. There’s the king asleep and here they are with sharp weapons. In the ancient world kingly succession often occurred when the king-to-be killed the old king and took his place (that’s Saul’s reasoning for David’s ‘rebellion’). David’s men are encouraging David to go just that because who could have put these circumstances before David but God? It’s a sign of divine favour, right?

David was being unjustly chased and hounded by Saul. Saul had taken David’s wife away and given her to another man – recorded in the next chapter as having already happened (1 Samuel 25:44). Saul was NOT a nice king (1 Samuel 2:22) and not above murderous actions (1 Samuel 22:6-23). For a long time David was the favourite of the people (1 Samuel 18:16). David could have justified this killing, but he didn’t. David sought God’s heart and will. Not perfectly, but none of us do it perfectly and none of us ever have (except Jesus). David had previously set his heart on God (Psalm 57:7) and did not change. He prepared his heart in advance and it paid off here. Good lesson. If we don’t prepare ourselves in advance, there’s no faith there when we need it (1 Chronicles 12:14). Temptation comes on us based on what we expose our minds to. If we choose to harden our hearts against sin and seek the Lord (being sensitive to His Will and Word and Correction), it is so much easier to overcome temptation and stand on the Word (James 4:7; 1 Corinthians 10:13). Preparation is NEVER wasted time or energy.

Instead of killing Saul, David snuck up and cut off a corner of his robe. Saul HAD to be asleep, or otherwise he would have noticed this. But after he had done it, David felt guilty. His conscience weighed on him. He had done something that was merciful – not killed Saul and restrained his men from doing anything either; but he had also done something that might have brought mockery to Saul – cut off part of his robe. David’s heart said that he should not do ANYTHING to the Lord’s anointed that would in ANY WAY harm him. David wasn’t looking at Saul with human eyes. David was looking at Saul based on the anointing. With God’s eyes. He was respecting the office that Saul inhabited, not Saul as a man. Yes, the anointing itself had passed to David, but Saul was still in the office of the anointing. David was giving mercy like God would, not the judgment he deserved as a person. This is a good example of how David was a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).

When Saul had left the cave and was a little distance away, David called out to him. When Saul turned, David bowed with his face to the ground. Saul could have charged him. He could have come up and done David an injury. David was submitting to his king. David asked Saul why he would believe anyone who said David was seeking to harm or kill the king? David showed him the piece of his robe and said that Saul’s life had been in David’s hands, but David spared him because David would NOT move against the man God put into the office of king. David would NOT lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed (whether the anointing had stayed with him or not). David set God as judge between Saul and David. David called on God to avenge Saul if David had done him wrong. David declared his hand would NOT be against Saul and he would submit to ANY judgement of the Lord if he had done ANY wrong against the king. This is David totally trusting in the Lord.

Saul asks if that is really David, calling him ‘my son’. This is a totally different Saul. This is a Saul who is repentant in actions. He admits David is right, that David is more godly than he is. That he is humbled by David’s mercy. He declares that now he knows David will indeed be the next king and that Israel will be established under David’s hand. He asks one thing: that David not destroy his family and blot his name out of the genealogies. David swears to not destroy Saul’s family. Saul then returns to his home, but David and his men stayed in the desert in defensive places – he was trusting in God, not in Saul’s promises of peace.

“But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today, there are many servants breaking away from the presence of their masters.” (1 Samuel 25:10)

Samuel, now around a hundred, dies and the country mourns him. He is buried in Ramah, at his home. David moved from where Saul knew he was to the Wilderness of Paran – which was entirely Transjordan, east of the Arabah Valley, and located south and east of Kadesh Barnea (the Wilderness of Zin is located north and east of Kadesh Barnea). David went on the move because of Samuel’s death. Samuel was a restraining force in the land. Now that he was gone, David wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

Maon and Carmel were over a hundred and forty (140) kilometers from where David was. But David had spent extensive time in Maon. Also, the areas near there (Ziph, for example) were much lusher than where David was. So when David heard Nabal, a prosperous man from Maon, was shearing his sheep in Carmel, David saw this as a great blessing. Here was someone rich enough to help him (David didn’t take from the poor), and someone that he had helped when they had lived up there – out of the generosity and kindness of his heart. David hadn’t asked for payment then, and wasn’t now, but he was looking for a return of a favour now that HE had a need since he had helped when NABAL had had a need. Also, Nabal was wealthy enough to afford sharing. David was sure he had an in there.

However, when David sent his men to ask for help Nabal said no. Well, Nabal COULD have said no. Who knows what would have happened then? Instead of that, Nabal insulted David, mocked his life, and suggested that he was just another bandit on a shakedown. These were VERY insulting words. Nabal had answered in the worst way he could, instead of just saying no – which was well within his rights, although would have been ungrateful. David did not respond well to this.

Let’s look at it through Nabal’s wife’s eyes. Abigail was a good looking woman AND she was smart. Her husband may or may not have been good looking, but he was NOT smart. He’s lucky he had a woman who understood things. One of the young men of Nabal’s household came and found her. He told her about David’s men coming. Of the favour they had asked. He confirmed that David’s men had been with them in the wilderness pastures. That David’s men had never caused trouble and helped them with anything they needed – kept bandits and beasts away. David’s men never stole a single sheep for any reason. He also told her how Nabal had answered.

Abigail sprang into action. Two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine (30-40 litres each), five prepared (dressed) sheep, five seahs (11 litres each) of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She put them on donkeys and sent them ahead of her. She got another donkey for herself, keeping all of this from her husband, and hurried after them. They met David and his men descending on them. Everyone halted. She jumped off the donkey and fell on her face in front of David. She begged his forgiveness. She hadn’t known of the request. She begged pardon for her husband’s words. She said his name meant ‘oaf’ and he lived up to it. She asked him before the Lord not to stain his sword. Not to take offense. Not to do something he knew in his heart was wrong. But to consider her words, accept her gift, and go in peace leaving God to work it out with Nabal. She blessed him, his line, and his future kingship – requesting that he not forget her when he came into his own.

David thought about it and laughed. She had done him a favour in stopping him. He had forgotten that he had chosen to let God judge his enemies. Truthfully, if you look bad David had taken serious offense to Nabal’s words, armed his men, and come with the intention of killing every man old enough to stand against a wall to pee. It was wrong to kill in vengeance or to avenge yourself. She had spared David from sinning. He took her words to be God’s thoughts on the matter and that they cancelled out his oath. He thanked her, blessed her, and returned to the wilderness while Abigail went home.

Nabal, meanwhile, was drinking and carousing with his men. He was VERY drunk. She told him nothing that night, but waited until morning when he was sober to tell him of the near death experience he had had because of his words. It says his heart died within him. Ten days later, he expired. David heard of it and praised God that it had been left for God to deal with instead of him taking justice into his own hands. He sent a message for Abigail and invited her to come and be his wife. She agreed, took five handmaids with her, and went to David. They wed. Saul had given David’s wife away, so this was fine. But David took another wife – Ahinoam of Jezreel – making it two current wives.

Deuteronomy 17:14-17 clearly states that the King of Israel was NOT to have many wives. That it would be a snare and a problem for him. It certainly ended that way for David. And his son Solomon. Multiple spouses is NEVER a good idea. It is ALWAYS outside the will of God (Matthew 19:2-9). David had now set his foot onto slippery ground. It wasn’t going to end well for him. It never does when we dabble in sin.

Summary

Key Players: God, David, Saul, Nabal, Abigail

Key Themes: Kingship, Anointing, Favours, Good Conduct

Key Verse(s): 1 Samuel 24:3-6, 16-18; 25:1, 10-11, 26-27, 36-38, 42-44