1 Samuel 25:33

New International Version (NIV)

May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.

For Meditation

I don’t get it. Maybe you can explain something to me, because it doesn’t make sense. David would not touch the man who wanted his life, even when he had the opportunity to kill him. However, he would readily obliterate an entire family for turning down his request for favor. Yes, David and his men had freely provided cover for this man’s flock. It is true; Nabal’s words were very caustic and suffocating.

1. But, were Nabal’s insults worse than King Saul’s pursuit after David to kill him?
2. Where was the self-restraint David had exhibited to that point (1 Sam. 24:5-7)? Do you see the power of a bruised ego (25:21-22)?
3. What happened to the wisdom David exhibited when he told Saul, “May the Lord be our judge and decide between us” (15)? Was it applicable only to the king?
4. Do you see what happens when we see people through different lenses? Do you realize how it affects the way we react or treat them (Ja. 2:1-4)?
5. Are you not thankful for the goodness of God? Is that not what David affirms in his response to Abigail? “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me” (32). Do you see how timely God’s intervention is (1 Cor. 10:13)?

I pray we recognize our vulnerability to the treachery of pride (Prov. 16:18) and how dangerous it is to our walk with Christ Jesus our Lord.

So: May God intervene where you are determined to avenge yourself (1 Sam. 25:33); and may you humbly walk through His door of escape when He sends an Abigail your way.

  The Abigails in our lives are God’s timely interventions to save us from our senseless decisions that ruin grace.

Shalom