David
and his men had protected the flocks and herds of rich man Nabal. When David and
his men needed food, David sent some of his men to Nabal to ask for food.
David was very shocked and angry that Nabal refused to help them. He was ready for revenge. David had not learned lessons on patience and forgiveness yet.
A concerned servant of Nabal ran to Abigail and told her how her husband was acting. Abigail was a good and devoted wife. She quickly packed up a large amount of food supplies including cooked animals. There was so little time to get ready because David was already coming. She must have gathered some of the food planned for Nabal's big party. Quickly she loaded the supplies on donkeys.
When she found David on the war path, she fell on the ground and asked him to forgive her husband. She made it plain to David that her husband had not planned to make David angry. She explained that it was just an outburst of an unhappy and selfish nature.
David was pleased with all the groceries. He admired Abigail and her sweet generosity. She had such a good attitude. She is an example of what women should be like. She was asking forgiveness for her mean selfish husband.
Nabal illustrates what a man is like who lets Satan control him. He paid a big penalty for his selfishness. When Abigail got home, she told him what had happened. He got so upset that he got very sick and died.
When David heard about the death of Nabal, he gave thanks that God had taken vengeance into His own hands. He had been stopped from evil. God returned Nabal's mean wickedness back onto his own head.
David learned about forgiveness. He learned to put his concerns into God's hands and wait for God to punish those who hurt him.
1 Samuel 25
Can you imagine relatives threatening to kill you with rocks because you invited them to believe in God? Read how two men handle such a threat, demonstrating forgiveness. Caleb & Joshua