Conflict
Reports, meanwhile, continued to reach us of the conflict in our nation. Samuel, the great prophet, priest, and judge, had died in a good old age, and all Israel had mourned for him… just as he had mourned for Israel and her king. David, it seems, was constantly on the move, pursued by a king who seemed quite out of his mind. David’s band of followers was now quite sizeable, making it harder to move quickly or to hide effectively. One of our servants told me that, in more recent times, David and his company were nearby, with our own shepherds.
David’s closeness to our property and to our very lives was brought vividly to mind one day when a trusted servant came running to me. He was obviously very upset, and his words came tumbling out:
“David sent messengers from the desert to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them: ‘Who is this David?’ my master said. ‘Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?’
“Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. Night and day they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them. Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”
I was in shock. Had Nabal really been so ungrateful? Yes, I knew he could be selfish, cruel, and much more. Now the old uneasy feeling seemed to come flooding over me again. Nabal with his mean, uncaring ways could be the cause of many deaths. It was altogether possible that David was on his way to our home to settle with Nabal. Now, out of desperation, I felt charged with strength and resolve. I was the one who must act. I had to do something… I would get the provisions David had begged for… and I would deliver them to David and his men myself.
My servants responded quickly to my orders. Soon two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five bushels of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs were loaded on donkeys. I hastily mounted one of the little creatures and told my servants to go ahead with the gift and that I would follow.
I had told Nabal nothing… nothing at all. I knew I would have to deal with him and his anger later, but for the moment I could only see disaster looming ahead if food was not made available for David and his people. We had an abundance of food… there was no need to deny a meal to any who asked for it. I must hurry.
Meanwhile, apparently, David was trying to cope with his anger. As he strode with four hundred men towards our home, he was heard to mutter:
“It’s been useless… all my watching over this fellow’s property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!”
And, as I’ve learned since, David meant it. His men were anxious to seek vengeance on Nabal. Indeed, these men, wearied by months and years of being chased by Saul, were now about to seek a prey in Nabal and his household.
What would I say when I met this giant killer, this warrior, this fugitive, David? I did not even know what he looked like… although according to reports he was very handsome. Perhaps my servants would recognize him. I prayed that God would hear my voice and grant me safety and mercy in this situation. And I prayed for words… the right words, words of truth and wisdom, to turn David’s heart from evil.
David
Then as I turned a curve in the rough path, I saw that my servants had come to a sudden stop. There, blocking the narrow way was a band of men… and one angry man was at their head, arguing with my servant. I left my donkey and hastened to this man, for this, I instinctively knew, must be David. I bowed with my face to the ground and offered a quick prayer that my words might be wise and firm:
“My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name… his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent.
“Now since the Lord has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you. Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the Lord’s battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live.
“Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. When the Lord has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him, and has appointed him leader over Israel, my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord has brought my master success, then I beg you… remember your servant.”
There… I had said it all… and then I stood there in stunned silence. God had answered my prayers. He alone had put the words into my mind and mouth. I was aware of the awkward, tense silence, broken only by the sound of a shuffled foot, or by a nervous cough and by my loudly beating heart. Then David spoke to me… to me, Abigail, wife of Nabal:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.”
And then he accepted my gift and dismissed me with these words:
“Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.”
The trip home was over the same pathway, but now there was no urgency. Mistress and servants alike were lost in thought and prayer. But the elation of the successful meeting, even David’s handsome face, quickly faded as I remembered Nabal. Likely by now, someone had told him what I had done. There were a few of his servants who were always seeking some little way in which they could please their master — poor creatures! So, now my thoughts and prayers were for myself and Nabal. How would I deal with him? I quickly lost myself in prayer… for therein was my only help, I knew.
There are those who have told me that I should have let David kill Nabal… this was what he deserved. There are those also who hold me responsible for Nabal’s death. Had I not acted so rashly, so totally without my husband’s permission, he might have overwhelmed David and his men. Possibly, I’ve been told, just possibly, Nabal might have changed his mind and given the required food. In any case, I’ve been told, the knowledge of my actions undoubtedly brought upon my husband the… but I must pause, for my thoughts will rush ahead of the story.
It was nightfall when I entered our main gates and courtyard. The din from the house was unmistakable. He was doing it again. I dismissed my weary servants and started for my rooms. My household servants greeted me, anxiously, as I entered the house. The sounds of much feasting and drinking also greeted me. Nabal was holding another of his wine-filled feasts, like a grotesque version of a king’s banquet.
What a contrast, I thought… what a contrast to the glimpse I had had this day of the life of David, the one, some said, who was Israel’s next king. I wondered where David, his men, and their families were dwelling this night, and if the food I had taken was enough for them all. One thing I knew for certain, David was not feasting as Nabal was. Nabal was in high spirits, as were his friends… and all were very drunk.
I slipped quietly through the hallways and up the stairs of our house. My servants followed in attendance, glancing nervously over their shoulders lest their master should somehow see them. I would tell Nabal nothing tonight… maybe I would tell him nothing at all.
Wearily I ate my meal and prepared for sleep. The sounds of Nabal’s coarse and loud friends drifted across the otherwise quiet night air and assaulted even the far walls of my rooms. I sank to my knees in a prayer of thanksgiving for the deliverance the Lord had brought today… and I prayed for help in the days to come in this house. As the coolness of the night and the weariness of the day settled over me, I slept. I slept a deep and easy sleep, for I knew, as I had known as a child, that the angel of the Lord encamped around me.
I awakened to another golden dawn, the quiet stillness of which was broken occasionally by a dove’s soft cooing in a nearby tree. As my practice was from a child, I started my day with prayer, then dressed and descended the stairs to assume the daily supervision of the household.
Our servants were already busily cleaning the banquet rooms. The pattern of the previous night’s events and their duties were well known in this household. They greeted me respectfully and somewhat nervously, I thought. Then, once again, I saw him. My husband was pacing back and forth in a nearby garden area. He was sober and very, very angry. I wondered who or what had caused such a reaction in him, so early in the day. He bellowed my name as he approached, and the abuses, verbal and physical, followed. I knew that one of his trusted servants had told him of my actions the previous day.
Death of Nabal
I would not lie. I told him everything. And, then, in his rage, he lunged for me again, but stopped abruptly. Gasping for air, hands clutching his chest, he stumbled across the room and collapsed in a heap at the doorway. Never once did he call for help. Never again did he even speak my name. The nearby servants hurried to their master and carried him to his rooms. I stood trembling and frightened at what had just happened.
One of my maidservants helped me to Nabal’s rooms, where his servants had just finished laying him on his bed. I went to his side and spoke to him, expecting to see some of the old temperament, but there was no answer. Nothing. He was breathing, but there were no responses to any of us or to anything. We took turns talking to him, bathing him, sitting through the nights, trying to feed him, trying to reach him in some way. But there was no answer.
One day slipped into the second, and that into the third… then four days… and by the time the ninth day arrived we were beginning to feel that it was hopeless. He seemed to be slipping further away. It was no surprise to me when early on the tenth day, Nabal’s servant awoke me with the news that his master had died, without ever saying a word.
As I looked upon his lifeless body, my heart was filled with such pity and sadness for both of us… but, especially for him. What a wasted life! He had had everything, and yet he had nothing. All of his riches meant nothing now… nor did his plans and schemes for additional work and wealth. Thus our pathetic excuse for a marriage came to an end.
As I’ve told you, some blamed me for bringing this end upon Nabal. Word spread rapidly through the region about the events at our home. I had to deal with the pity, the criticism, and the gossip about a secret relationship with the fugitive David, in addition to making all the usual arrangements.
Meanwhile, what would I do? Where would I go? Should I leave? I could not, in all honesty, play the part of the sad, grieving widow. I would be suitably attired in widow’s clothing for a reasonable time, but not for years. There would be no paid mourners, as was the custom, at this funeral. Had I not sought release and relief from God? There was no real marriage to mourn… no loving moments to cherish and share over and over with friends… no deep love to grieve for… just an unhappy, selfish, foolish man to return to the earth. The simplest procedures were best… and that’s what I did for Nabal, rich man of Maon and Carmel.
Nabal had never wanted his family near him, and over time his family decided they didn’t really need him. So the emotional distance had become a physical distance, a self-imposed isolation from family. Nabal wanted no one… and in the end no one wanted Nabal… no brothers, no sisters, no children, no one.
And then I left. I left all that was his… the late but scarcely lamented Nabal. And, yes, I went with David’s servants, to David, to be his wife.
A New Life
And so it was that David and I filled Nabal’s houses and property with those most needy. There were some of David’s men, fugitives, who with wives and children needed a home, a settled place, a refuge. They would reap the full benefit from Nabal’s wealth: lands and flocks and vineyards would provide richly for many in want. The walls of Nabal’s elaborate rooms would echo with the sound of little feet and the laughter of many happy children.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One