Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Samuel 25:20-24
Abigail Averts Disaster (1 Samuel 25:20).
Abigail rides to meet David, takes all the guilt on herself, and begs him to show mercy, not only for her sake but for his own, so that he will not be guilty before YHWH of shedding innocent blood, thereby revealing that she has a more tender conscience than he. David then acknowledges that she is right and assures her that he will not harm Nabal's household for her sake. We have a reminder here of the One Who Himself bore our guilt on Himself in order that we too may escape destruction.
We also have a reminder of how even the greatest saints of God like David can so easily allow their pride and passion to persuade them into gross sin and error. It make clear that always we have to maintain a close watch over our hearts and our desires, lest we allow ourselves to slide into doing what is evil.
But we also once again have a reference to the certainty of David's future kingship. It had begun with Samuel's anointing (1 Samuel 16:1), had been acknowledged by Jonathan (1 Samuel 23:17), and then by Saul (1 Samuel 24:20), and is now confirmed by Abigail. Thus following his anointing we have now had a threefold recognition of David's future kingship.
Analysis.
a 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 (1 Samuel 25:20).
b Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him, and he has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertains to him by the morning light so much as one man-child” (1 Samuel 25:21).
c And when Abigail saw David, she hurriedly 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, “On me, my lord, on me be the iniquity, and let your handmaid, I pray you, speak in your ears, and hear you the words of your handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray you, 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 your handmaid did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. Now therefore, my lord, as YHWH lives, and as your soul lives, seeing YHWH has withheld you from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal” (1 Samuel 25:23).
d “And now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. Forgive, I pray you, the trespass of your handmaid, for YHWH will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of YHWH, and evil shall not be found in you all your days” (1 Samuel 25:27).
e “And though men be risen up to pursue you, and to seek your life, yet the life of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with YHWH your God, and the lives of your enemies, them will he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling” (1 Samuel 25:29).
d “And it will come about that when YHWH shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you prince over Israel, that this shall be no grief to you, nor offence of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. And when YHWH shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid” (1 Samuel 25:30).
c And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be YHWH, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who has kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand” (1 Samuel 25:32).
b “For in very deed, as YHWH, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from hurting you, except you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one man-child” (1 Samuel 25:34).
a So David received of her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house, see, I have listened to your voice, and have accepted your person” (1 Samuel 25:35).
Note that in ‘a' Abigail comes and meets David, and in the parallel he indicates that he has accepted her plea and her person. In ‘b' David swears that he will leave not a single male alive, and in the parallel he says that if Abigail had not come to him that is what he would have done. In ‘c' Abigail rejoices that YHWH has kept David from blood-guiltiness, and in the parallel David rejoices in that Abigail's intervention has kept him from blood-guiltiness. In ‘d' Abigail declares that David fights the battles of YHWH and that evil will not be found in him all his days, and in the parallel she declares that YHWH will appoint him as war-leader (nagid) over Israel, and rejoices that he will have no grief, nor offence of heart, nor have shed blood without cause. Centrally in ‘e' she declares that his life will be bound in the bundle of life with YHWH his God, while his enemies will be slung away like stones from a sling.
‘ 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.'
Moving as quickly as she could with all the good things that she was taking to David, and herself riding on her own ass, the normal beast of travel for wealthy people in Canaan, Abigail came into an isolated pass which was hidden from outside view. There she was suddenly faced with a large band of warriors coming in the other direction. It was David and his men. And they had vengeance in their hearts.
‘ Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him, and he has returned me evil for good.”
For David's response to Nabal's churlishness and inhospitableness had been instantaneous. He was angry that after all the generosity they had shown in not attacking the shepherds and stealing some of the sheep (which would have been a normal and regular experience for the shepherds to experience), all that he had received in return was insults, snubs and a refusal to show even basic hospitality.
While we may feel that David and his men had no right to expect to receive anything when they had not been actually contracted to provide a service, that would not have been the view of those days. Showing hospitality was considered to be of prime importance, especially at a time of feasting, and while it is true that there had been no specific contract, what David and his men had done was something regularly performed, without being asked, by tribal chieftains, and in the end they also expected reciprocation by sharing in the sheep-shearing festivities.
We must remember that they lived at a time when invading other territories for booty was looked on almost as a sport (see 2 Samuel 11:1). People would actually have expected that a group like David and his men would travel around seizing spoil, and therefore to refrain from doing so was an act of unlooked for generosity. It was therefore incumbent on the beneficiary to show hospitality towards them as ‘good neighbours'. Nabal would, in fact, only have refused it because he did actually have enmity towards ‘those outlaws'. It was because he considered that they were reprobates. And he also no doubt considered that they were not powerful enough to attack him and his sheep-shearers and other servants, for these in themselves would make up a formidable band. Thus it must have been when he discovered how strong David's band was, and how close they had come to disaster, he was so shocked that he had a stroke.
“ God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertains to him by the morning light so much as one man-child (literally ‘anyone who relieves himself against the wall').”
David's vengeance was to be swift and sure. Not one male who could stand on his own feet (expressed in terms of those who relieve themselves against a wall) would be left alive. This was because they would all have been seen as participating in the insult, and they would therefore all be dead before morning. The description is probably meant to exclude unweaned male children who would not yet have matured to an age when they relieved themselves against walls.
His oath was no doubt a regular form of oath which basically indicated that they would suffer in the same way as his enemies did, with the extra severity, which would not have normally been shown, being shown to his enemies if he failed to fulfil his oath. It was not, however, a serious oath in that it had to be fulfilled once made. It was rather David's way of expressing how strongly he felt.
It is unquestionable that David's response was impulsive and in the light of the teaching of Jesus Christ quite wrong. He should certainly have taken time to consider his action which would not only affect Nabal and those who greed with him, but also many innocent people. It would, however, at the time have appeared to most people to be quite reasonable considering the provocation, (although not to a godly person like Abigail), and we must remember that David was already under pressure through being continually hunted by Saul, through having lost his wife Michal whom Saul had given to another (1 Samuel 25:44), and through having received the terrible news that Samuel, his beloved mentor, probably the only man in Israel who could openly stand against Saul and survive, was dead (1 Samuel 25:1). What is to David's credit is that when Abigail drew his attention to what he was about to do he recognised his error and regretted it.
It is probably difficult for us to perceive how pivotal Abigail's action was for David. Up to this point, as far as we know, David and his men had only ever proved themselves to be friendly and protective towards Israelites. We are left to imagine then what might have been the effect of the spreading of a story of how he and his men had descended on a group of innocent Judean sheepshearers enjoying their festivities (the full facts would not necessarily be known) and had slaughtered them in cold blood, with the result that he had wiped out a prominent and noble family from Judah, and all for the sake of a few provisions. No one would have known who would be next.
‘ And when Abigail saw David, she hurriedly alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.'
When Abigail saw David and his men she did not hesitate. As quickly as she could she alighted from her ass and fell down and paid homage at a distance. She then followed this up by a further abasing of herself and by touching the ground with her head. Then finally she approached David and prostrated herself again before him. She was emphasising to David the deep respect that she had for him.
‘ And she fell at his feet, and said, “On me, my lord, on me be the iniquity, and let your handmaid, I pray you, speak in your ears, and hear you the words of your handmaid.”
Note the final stress that she fell at his feet before him. It was an act of total submission. Notice also the threefold, ‘fell before David --- bowed herself to the ground --- fell at his feet' emphasising the completeness of her submission. It was typical of the way in which an important ruler would be approached. She was trying to appease him. Then she begged that he would listen to her. It was not normal for a woman to approach a man like David, especially when he was on a warlike enterprise. So she firstly asked that her iniquity in daring to speak to him and delay him might be on her alone (he would not yet know who she was). No fault was to lie at his door, or at anyone else's. And then she begged that he would continue to listen to her. Again notice the threefoldness, ‘on me be the iniquity --- let me speak in your ears --- hear you my words'. It is typical of the flowery language and behaviour that was used by someone engaged in an urgent mission to a powerful ruler who had been offended.
Alternately she may be asking that the blame for her husband's unrighteous behaviour might fall on her, which is certainly something she does later. But in context the words are related to her appeal for him to listen to her which would suggest that she is seeking forgiveness that she as a woman has dared to approach him as a man so as to speak to him before others.