Audio readings: Psalm 68:21-27 John 19:1-27 1 Samuel 26, 1 Samuel 27, 1 Samuel 28
1 SAMUEL 25, 26 and 27
Samuel died and, with that, David lost a great friend and ally. As a result, he moved into the desert regions for greater security, but that meant that food was scarce. Hospitality is seen as an absolute responsibility of every household in Middle Eastern societies; to withhold it is the ultimate insult. So Nabal, whose name means ‘Fool’ acted in character and denied David and his men the basic courtesies that a host would normally extend without thinking. The knowledge that David had guarded Nabal’s shepherds and his sheep as an act of kindness, did nothing to change the fool’s mind and he sent David’s messengers packing! David seemed to be naturally quick-tempered and only became gentler in spirit as God had influence in his life; on this occasion, he tooled up his warriors and they thundered down to Nabal’s territory.
The one thing that Nabal had in his favour was a beautiful, intelligent, and wise wife (don’t we all, guys!) who acted quickly on this occasion to spare her husband’s life and the household complete shame. Greeting David and his men properly – at last! – she placated them with a wonderful spread of food and asked for forgiveness on behalf of her family. Prophetically (or even just flatteringly) she foretold that David would triumph over all his enemies; and she praised God that he had kept David from bloodlust and vengeance, which would have tainted his conscience forever. The key verse that probably struck home to David was (25:28): “The Lord you God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the LORD’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live”. As long as we live for the sake of his Kingdom, he will meet our needs and preserve our inheritance. (See also Matthew 6:33.)
Vengeance is the Lord’s not ours; and as we wait for his justice to descend to Earth, he will count us as faithful servants (Romans 12:17-21). We see in David’s case that very quickly, Nabal was dealt with by the Lord himself – and that David gained a wonderful wife in the process. God always gives us more than we expect or deserve.
For the second time in quick succession, David also refused to exact vengeance upon Saul, despite the king falling into his hands again. Saul and his bodyguard were sleeping, and God put them into a still-deeper sleep. David again denied himself the opportunity to kill his master, and as a result demonstrated again that he was a man after God’s heart – exercising faith in the capability of the Lord rather than in human agency. Faith always takes the long-term course of action, whereas ‘sight’ takes what is expedient in the short term. We need to act as people who will live forever – which we will – and adjust our decision-making to be consistent with an eternal perspective. In the Kingdom of God, the horizon is the least distance you should be viewing, and faith takes you beyond human vision altogether.
So David spared Saul and made fun of his bodyguard, Abner, who was in reality a good and loyal servant.
David emphasised his own innocence against the accusations of treachery by Saul’s supporters. His complaint of being unfairly treated as an outcast contains an interesting phrase: They have driven me today from my share in the LORD’s inheritance and have said, ‘Go, serve other gods’. 20 Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD (1 Samuel 26:19-20). Under the terms of the Old Covenant, only the lands of Israel were considered to benefit from the Lord’s presence, blessing, and protection, whereas the remainder of the world was (since Genesis 11) delegated to other ‘gods’ – powerful supernatural princes who ruled the lands for their own benefits (e.g. the Prince of Persia). By being banished from Israel, David was technically being required to serve other gods, although, of course, he refused to.
Saul was, as usual, penitent for a short while. Nevertheless, David was wiser than to return home, and he actively sought shelter outside Israel in the company of the Philistines. Every day he raided peoples and territories beyond Israel, whilst pretending to be attacking Israelite towns instead. Of course, to keep his secret, he needed to completely destroy all the people in his path. Furthermore, this fulfilled the command of God to Joshua so many years previously – another way in which David was a man after God’s heart! As a result of David’s activities, the Philistine kings trusted David to stay on their side against the Israelites in the future.
The Big Picture 