Yesterday we saw how David trusted in God and kept himself from sin (the murder of Saul). Today we have a story of how God, through a faithful woman, kept David from sin. This story is an important contrast to an infamous episode from later in David’s life, that is, when David murdered his faithful officer Uriah the Hittite so he could marry Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, after he had committed adultery with her (2 Samuel 11). In this present case, David, in a hot-headed moment was set to kill Nabal for his insult against him. He was stopped, however, by Nabal’s beautiful wife Abigail who credits God with this intervention saying: “The Lord has kept you from bloodshed” (25:26). So, David relents and, in the end, God himself brings about Nabal’s death. Moreover, David ends up marrying Abigail. It is an interesting contrast that demonstrates the futility of taking things into our own hands. David had done well not to take the situation with Saul into his own hands by murdering Saul when he had the chance. But here, David was about to take Nabal’s life into his own hands. Thanks to God he did not. In the later situation with Bathsheba there were numerous moments when David could have come to his senses as he did here. But in that occasion, he strode determinedly into sin. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “when you are tempted, God will also provide a way out”. This was David’s way out. The corridor towards sin is lined with many exits. You should take the first one you see.
Ask God to deliver you from evil.
Read 1 Samuel 25
