1 Samuel, Chapter 25

Chapter 25 of 1^st Samuel is a lesson in listening. We have another story of David and basically what he was doing before he became king of Israel. He is now in command of about 600 men, but he is still a kind commander. In this story he confronts a man that is less than pleasant to his men even though David’s men provided protection for his shepherds. This seems like a pretty innocuous story at first. David was wrong, so he sought vengeance on Nabal. The listening comes from Nabal’s wife.

While Nabal had a hard heart, his wife did not. Abigal spoke from her heart and showed gratitude. She knew that her gruff husband had spoken out of turn, so she approached David herself. This was an incredible feat simply because women of the day had very few rights. She was essentially overstepping her bounds, especially in speaking with another male. This paid off for both parties though. It ended up saving most of the men in Nabal’s household, and She ended up gaining David’s trust so much she became his wife.

32 David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. 33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. 34 Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak." – 1 Samuel 25:32-34

This is another insight into David’s character. He easily could have continued with his desire to exact revenge on Nabal, but he did not. Instead, he listened. God had another plan in mind other than vengeance. If David had enacted his plan, he would have missed out on a wife and on gaining everything her husband hand. Because he listened, God blessed David. This is a lesson we can all take to heart.