Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 3, No. 43
“Please think this over and decide what to do. This could be disastrous for our master and all his family. He is so mean that he won’t listen to anybody!” (1Sam 25:17GNT)
The above remark was made by one of Nabal’s servants, who was quick enough to sense that disaster was coming for his master’s house and that if something reasonable wasn’t urgently done about it, they would all be doomed. But who was Nabal? Nabal, as the bible tells us, was one of the wealthy men in Israel during the reign of King Saul. And what made his servant make such a sharp and unkind remark about him? It was because his wickedness and bad manner were going to endanger the lives of everyone with him. So, his servant had to use very strong words that would make his wife appreciate the nature of disaster that was hovering over them and act fast for their safety.
But what led to all this? It was the fact that David had sent men to Nabal because he was having a celebration and had humbly requested that he would send something to him and his men to support them. And why would he do that? What relationship did he have with the man that would make him make that kind of request? Well, though he had no direct relationship Nabal, he did have a relationship with some of his men. (Cf. 1Sam 25:4-9&14-16)
As the account goes, while David and his men were wandering from place to place because of King Saul’s persecution, they had met certain servants of Nabal at Camel and had treated them very kindly, forming a wall of protection around them the whole time they were together. That, of course, was very unlike mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, which David and his men had become. They are usually known to be brutal and lawless, looting, raping and forcefully taking things that they are not given. But because David, who was the captain of these men, feared God, he would not allow them to maltreat Nabal’s servants, men who were merely doing their job, or steal from them. Instead, they treated them kindly and protected them.
Now naturally, if someone treated your workers, servants, children, parents, siblings or spouse well, you should hear about it, so that you can thank or appreciate them in whatever way you can. And you may, in fact, get angry with those involved, if you did not get to hear about such acts of kindness done to them on time. Unfortunately, that was not the case with Nabal. His servants did not even bother to say anything to him about the kindness of David and his men to them, even though it was the right and appropriate thing for them to do. Why? It was because he was a wicked and unreasonable man, one that would not listen to anybody but himself.
In any case, when David sent men sent men to him to give them something from what he had prepared for his feast, he would not answer them. Instead, he spoke harshly to them. And what was his excuse? It was that he had never heard about anyone called David. But did he find out from any of his men, if they knew anyone called David or if what those messengers of David had said was true at all? No! He did not even think about the matter. And that was because he was just being Nabal, a fool. (Cf. 1Sam 25:10-11)
Therefore, when David heard about the shameful way this man had conducted himself, he decided that he was going to wipe him and his household out for good and show them that he was not someone to be ignored or taken lightly. And if one of Nabal’s servants had not acted fast by telling his wife about the disaster coming on them, they all would have perished. (Cf. 1Sam 25:12-35)
Now think about it. Even when Nabal’s servants realised that none of them would be safe because of his bad manner, they did not approach him to say anything to him, good or bad. Instead, it was his wife that they approached. Also, when his wife heard of what was going on, she did not go to reason with him. Instead, she went straight to talk to David and persuade him not to act rashly and like a wicked man. And did David listen or not? He listened and repented of the evil he had wanted to do. In fact, he acknowledged the fact that it was God that sent that woman, Abigail, to prevent him from becoming a murderer.
But that was not the case with Nabal. Nobody, not even his wife, could talk to him or reason with him. And if what happened on that occasion had not happened, he probably would never have known how close he was to destruction, all along, because of his stubbornness and pride. But then, it was even too late for him, for God Himself would not tolerate his nonsense anymore and so took his life ten days later (1Sam 25:36-38).
What, then, is the point of all this? It is simple: don’t be another Nabal. Don’t be someone that nobody can talk to or counsel or reason with. Otherwise you may someday perish without remedy. Yes, it is good that we are firm and decisive in dealing with matters of our lives. However, none of us has what it takes to be absolutely correct or flawless all the time. Only God does. And that is why He often uses those around us to set us right and make us see the blind spots of our lives and be kept out of trouble.
This, of course, does not mean that we have to adopt every suggestion or counsel people bring to us. Rather, it means we are to have listening ears and be willing to see things through other people’s eyes. But if we turn ourselves into individuals nobody can approach or counsel, if we bring ourselves up to people that listen to no other person but ourselves, a day may come when, like Nabal, we will get into trouble and perish without remedy. And only God knows how many people, even His children, that have perished because they listened to nobody but themselves. So, watch yourself.
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