Matthew Henry Commentary 1 Samuel 25
Matthew Henry Commentary
1 Samuel 25
Matthew Henry Commentary
1 Samuel 25
"And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran." — 1 Samuel 25:1 (ASV)
All Israel lamented Samuel, and they had reason. He prayed daily for them. Those have hard hearts, who can bury faithful ministers without grief, and who do not feel their loss of those who have prayed for them and taught them the way of the Lord.
"And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: and thus shall ye say to him that liveth [in prosperity], Peace be unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: thy shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee: wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David. And when David`s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. And Nabal answered David`s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?" — 1 Samuel 25:2-11 (ASV)
We should not have heard of Nabal if nothing had passed between him and David. Observe his name, Nabal, which means "a fool." Riches make men look great in the eyes of the world; but to one who has a proper perspective, Nabal looked very mean. He had no honor or honesty; he was churlish, cross, and ill-humored; evil in his actions, hard and oppressive; a man who did not care what fraud and violence he used in getting and saving.
What little reason have we to value the wealth of this world, when such a rude and mean-spirited person as Nabal has so much, while so good a man as David is in need! David cited the kindness Nabal's shepherds had received. Considering that David's men were in distress, in debt, and discontented, and the scarcity of provisions, it was by good management that they were kept from plundering. Nabal flew into a rage, as covetous people are prone to do when asked for anything, thus thinking to cover one sin with another and, by abusing the poor, to excuse themselves from relieving them.
But God will not thus be mocked. Let this help us to bear reproaches and misrepresentations with patience and cheerfulness, and remain at peace when facing them; this has often been the lot of the excellent ones of the earth. Nabal greatly emphasizes his ownership of the provisions from his table. May he not do what he will with his own?
We are mistaken if we think we are absolute lords of what we have and may do as we please with it. No; we are only stewards and must use it as we are directed, remembering it is not our own but His who entrusted us with it.
"So David`s young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal`s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed at them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields: they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house: for he is such a worthless fellow, that one cannot speak to him." — 1 Samuel 25:12-17 (ASV)
God is kind to the evil and unthankful, and why may we not be so? David determined to destroy Nabal, and all that belonged to him. Is this your voice, O David? Has he been so long in the school of affliction, where he should have learned patience, and yet is so passionate? He at other times was calm and considerate, but becomes so heated by a few hard words that he seeks to destroy a whole family. What are the best of men, when God leaves them to themselves, so that they may know what is in their hearts? What need there is to pray, Lord, lead us not into temptation!
"Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good. God do so unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one man-child. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. And she fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah hath withholden thee from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. And now this present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord. Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days. And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel, that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid." — 1 Samuel 25:18-31 (ASV)
By a gift, Abigail atoned for Nabal's denial of David's request. Her behaviour was very submissive. Yielding pacifies great offences. She puts herself in the place of a penitent and of a petitioner. She could not excuse her husband's conduct.
She does not depend upon her own reasonings, but on God's grace, to soften David, and expects that grace would work powerfully. She says that it was beneath him to take vengeance on so weak and despicable an enemy as Nabal, who, just as he would do him no kindness, could likewise do him no hurt. She foretells the glorious end of David's present troubles.
God will preserve your life; therefore, it does not befit you to unjustly and unnecessarily take away the lives of any, especially of the people of your God and Saviour. Abigail keeps this argument for last, as it was very powerful with such a good man: that the less he indulged his passion, the more he considered his peace and the repose of his own conscience. Many have done things in the heat of the moment that they have a thousand times wished undone.
The sweetness of revenge is soon turned into bitterness. When tempted to sin, we should consider how it will appear when we reflect on it afterwards.
"And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me: and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. For in very deed, as Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, who hath withholden me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one man-child. So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said unto her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person. And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal`s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that Jehovah smote Nabal, so that he died. And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back his servant from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal hath Jehovah returned upon his own head. And David sent and spake concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife." — 1 Samuel 25:32-39 (ASV)
David gives God thanks for sending him this welcome check from a sinful course. When anyone meets us with counsel, direction, comfort, caution, or timely reproof, we must recognize God as sending them. We ought to be very thankful for those blessed providences which are the means of preventing us from sinning. Most people think it is enough if they take reproof patiently; but few will take it thankfully, praise those who give it, and accept it as a kindness.
The nearer we are to committing sin, the greater is the mercy of a timely restraint. Sinners are often most secure when most in danger. He was very drunk—a sign that he was Nabal, a fool, who could not use abundance without abusing it, and who could not be pleasant with his friends without making a beast of himself. There is no surer sign that a man has little wisdom, nor a surer way to destroy what little he has, than drinking to excess.
Next morning, how he was changed! His heart, merry with wine overnight, was next morning heavy as a stone; so deceitful are carnal pleasures, so soon passes the laughter of the fool; the end of that mirth is heaviness. Drunkards are sad when they reflect upon their own folly. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
David blessed God that he had been kept from killing Nabal. Worldly sorrow, mortified pride, and a frightened conscience sometimes end the joys of the sensualist, and separate the covetous man from his wealth; but, whatever the weapon, the Lord strikes men with death when He pleases.
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