1 Samuel 25:2-8
Verse 3 His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite.
David and his men had returned to the wilderness area they had been in when God had been hiding them from Saul and his men. This region was part of the allotment of land to the tribe of Judah. Carmel was also the place where Saul had erected a monument for his own honor (1 Samuel 15:12) following the defeat of the Amalekites in which he didn’t obey God’s command to kill everything. It was this battle that caused God to reject Saul and we can see from the king building something that glorified himself as he disobeyed God that he had stepped over the line.
The idea that opposites attract is a widely held understanding that we may all be willing to admit is true more often than not. The couple we meet in today’s reading are a ready example of why God may have set us to be attracted to friends and spouses who are quite different from ourselves. While our differences can cause us frustration in our relationships, God knew that we needed these opposing temperaments to help us grow and keep each other in a balance of life.
First we meet the husband, Nabal. Names were not given simply for their sound as they often are in our society, but were rather given to speak of the person’s character and that is why throughout Scripture there are times when a person is given a name change. We don’t know if Nabal, which means fool, was the name that this man was born with or if it was one that came later in life, but we can know that his name fit him as we will see as we read their story. He was quite rich but was known for his surly nature and his mean dealings. Not the kind of man most women would want to marry.
Though we aren’t told what her husband looks like, the writer of this book is quick to point out a few things about Abigail, she was intelligent and she was beautiful. The author of 1 Samuel doesn’t mention her character in the description of her but we can surmise that she was of more gracious character than her husband. With such loveliness and ugliness of character living together we can imagine the issues that would arise from time to time. We will look at one such situation that involved David in the next few days and learn how to be wiser about our own character.
Making It Personal
If you were to assess your own character how would you define it? How do you think your friends would describe you? Would your family agree with your assessment?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you think you are nice or mean? Would your friends say the same? Would your mom, dad and siblings say you are nice or mean?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for knowing we need others that aren’t like us to help us grow into better people. Help us be aware of our character and if it reflects You and Your work in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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