Samuel dies at the beginning of chapter 25, but that’s
not the last we hear from him. (For more on that, keep reading.) In the
meantime, we meet Nabal (“fool” in Hebrew) and his resourceful wife Abigail.
David asks Nabal for food for his men in exchange for their “protection,” but
Nabal refuses. He speaks of David as a servant breaking away from his master
(25:10) – presumably here, Saul. David says that Nabal has returned him evil
for good (not unlike Saul) and vow to destroy him, perhaps because destroying
Saul is not an option.
Abigail then intervenes to make peace. She flatters
David and tells him exactly what he wants to hear: “For the LORD will certainly
make my lord (David) a sure house, because my Lord is fighting the battles of
the LORD; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live” (25:28). She
goes on: “If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life
of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the
LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the
hollow of a sling. When the LORD…has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord
shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood
without cause or for having saved himself” (25:29-30). She then asks David to
remember her, and he does. After Nabal dies (something David sees as the LORD’s
doing), he marries her. He praises her for keeping him from bloodguilt and from
avenging himself on Nabal by his own hand.
In a brief note, we also learn that Saul has taken
Michal, his daughter, away from David and given her to a man named Palti to be
his wife instead. Can he do that? It seems so. It seems not to matter to Saul
that Michal loves David. By revoking David’s son-in-law status, Saul tries to
remove any claim David could make to the throne – on this basis at least.
Next is another wilderness encounter between David and
Saul. Joab’s brother Abishai (more on Joab to come) offers to kill Saul in his
sleep, but David refuses: “For who can raised his hand against the LORD’s
anointed and be guiltless?” (26:9) They take Saul’s spear and water jar as
proof that they could have killed him and didn’t. When confronted, Saul admits:
“I have been a fool, and have made a great mistake” (26:21). He then blesses
David: “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed
in them.” (26:25) These are Saul’s last words to David.
Nevertheless, David doesn’t believe Saul’s sudden change
of heart and flees to the land of the Philistines, out of Saul’s grasp. He and
his men stay with King Achish of Gath, for whom David had earlier feigned
madness. From there, David starts expanding his territory by fighting Israel’s
enemies – leaving neither man nor woman alive – but lies to Achish and says he’s
fighting Israel and its allies instead. What happened to his refusal to incur
bloodguilt? Apparently, that doesn’t apply to non-Israelites. The Philistines
then prepare to battle the Israelites and expect David to fight with them.
David’s response is typically cagey: “Very well, then you shall know what your
servant can do.” (28:2)
Meanwhile, Saul sees the Philistine army assembling
against him and is afraid. He inquires of the LORD, but the LORD does not
answer him. So he consults a medium (or witch) in the hopes of communicating
with a dead Samuel. He hopes that Samuel
will tell him what to do. What is so shocking in this passage is that the
medium’s intervention actually works. Samuel “returns” from Sheol (the pit of
the dead) and asks Saul: “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” (28:15)
Saul should have known better. Samuel has no good news for him. He tells Saul
that “the LORD has turned from you and become your enemy” (28:16). David will
receive his kingdom, and Israel will fall to the Philistines. Samuel ends by
warning Saul: “Tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me” (28:19). The medium
at least has compassion for Saul and insists on feeding him before he leaves.
What do you think of how “enemies” are designated here?
When does bloodguilt apply, and when should it? Click on “comments” and add
your thoughts!
OK, Nabal was bad-tempered and foolish, and did not respect David; David turns vengeful against him, but Nabal’s wife Abigail brings gifts and homage, and persuades David that it would be evil—an act against the Lord, and an act which would incur bloodguilt--to carry on his vengeance. Soon after, we are told that the Lord judged Nabal for insulting David, and struck him dead. Completing this complex scene (ch.25), David (who has lost Saul’s daughter Michal) takes two more wives (including Abigail). It seems that when David turned vengeful against Nabal, and appeared intent on judging Nabal rather than leaving Nabal to God’s judgment, Abigail intervened. Providential?
ReplyDeleteIn ch. 26 David has another chance to kill Saul but refuses to “raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed.” David, so far, has consistently avoided incurring guilt before the Lord. Did he show mercy toward Saul, or a respectful fear of God (who made sure that no one awakened while David was on this adventure. David challenges Saul’s expedition against him, and Saul relents in part because David has again spared his life.
But in ch. 27, David knew that he was not safe from Saul. He left Israel, accurately foreseeing that Saul would not pursue him beyond its borders. David conducted several severe raids while enjoying the hospitality of King Achish of Gath; their moral and strategic purposes seem obscure. Is he expanding the power of the Israel he will inherit? Or is he fighting Israel?
Now in ch.28 enter “the medium at Endor,” since the Lord was not speaking with Saul, and Saul desired guidance. The medium calls Samuel from the dead, and Saul is reminded that he has been cut off for disobedience. (28:18) Saul is told that tomorrow will be worse than today. Saul is terrified, but he does nothing to seek God’s will—to atone for his disobedience. It seems that Saul is incapable of repentance, only of sorrow for his punishment. We therefore never know whether the Lord, the Lord portrayed so far in the OT can accept repentance.
ReplyDeleteCompare Moses’ punishment: though the Lord esteemed him above all other men, for his disobedience he was not allowed to enter the promised land.
Nu 27:14* For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
De 32:51* Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
Most of all, compare David and Saul. David refuses to go against God, while Saul has a track record of going his own way and forgetting that he is constantly accountable.