Responding to God: 1 Samuel 25:32-38
God is deeply concerned with how we handle ourselves amidst our sinfulness. Nobody is perfect. Fortunately, our lack of perfection doesn’t define us. Our character defines us. Our character is on display when we are confronted by our mistakes.
David experiences Abigail’s action and is instantly humbled. People who deserve our respect in life deal with the humility of others by giving humility back. If someone who errs comes to another person and is genuinely contrite about their mistake, the respectable person understands the situation and forgives. That doesn’t imply there are no consequences; reasonable consequences are evidence of love and grace! The point is respectable people always receive genuine repentance.
Not only does David receive Abigail’s repentance, but he follows it up with his own confession. Confession in return is not required because the offended person doesn’t always have guilt. In this case, David knows his guilt. Abigail can see his armed party coming for Nabal. Abigail knows David was planning harm for her community. David confesses his plan to take matters into his own hand.
This story demonstrates David’s flawed character. He is far from perfect. Fortunately, the Bible has no interest in claiming David’s perfection. The Bible is brutally honest about David’s sinfulness!
The Bible’s focus is on David after his sin. When David sees Abigail coming with a train of goods and then humbling herself before him, David recognizes God in her actions. His posture immediately changes. His words say everything. David confesses taking salvation into his own hands. David was responding to a situation without considering God’s will. When David sees his sin, he doesn’t justify it away. David confesses his sin, receives Abigail, and changes. David lets Abigail go in peace, sparing her entire household – including Nabal.
Abigail finds Nabal holding a feast of his own, demonstrating his greed. Abigail took a significant amount of supplies with her for David, but that did not impact Nabal’s ability to immediately hold another feast. Recognizing his drunkenness, Abigail does him a favor and doesn’t tell him about her action. In his drunken state, she would be sure to get an emotional and irrational response. Abigail wants Nabal to have the best opportunity as possible to respond to his sinfulness.
When Abigail confronts him, he does not respond. He becomes still as stone. Whether this is a literal description or a figurative description, the point is he doesn’t respond. Nabal doesn’t recognize God. He doesn’t see an opportunity for confession. He doesn’t have any desire to confess his sins. In his greed and lack of desire to confess, God lets him die a slow death, wasting away for more than a week.
David and Nabal both get an opportunity to see their action next to God’s response through Abigail. One is contrite, the other is not. This story cannot be more clear. God knows our sinfulness will rear its ugly head. God is deeply concerned with how we handle ourselves amidst our sinfulness.
