1 Samuel 25

1 Samuel 25

Morgan - The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God.—1 Sam. 25.29. Thus Abigail gave expression to her understanding, of the place of David in the will and power of God. The first and simple meaning of the declaration was that the life of the man chosen of God to be king, was safe in His keeping. The truth was beautifully expressed. The phrase, "the bundle of life," described the sum total of things precious to God, and therefore held together in His preserving power. Very suggestive is the idea of close fellowship with God expressed in the statement that Jehovah God Himself is included in that bundle of life. The soul of David was bound up in that bundle with Jehovah God. How perfectly safe is any soul when it is thus bound up together with God Himself. The strength of that bundle of life is not that of bindings or tackling superimposed. It is that of the identification of God with all included in the bundle. In these words there flashes through, on the page of the Old Testament, that great conception of fellowship with God, which finds its full exposition in the New Testament. In Christ, God has identified Himself with man; in Christ, God has identified man with Himself. That is the meaning of eternal life. Those who have that life are indeed bound up in the bundle of life with God. They live one life with Him. In that is their safety. Because of that union, no bitterness in the heart of Saul, no churlishness in the attitude of Nabal, can harm those who are included; neither can any force of evil prevent such from coming ultimately to the realization of all that is in the will of God for them. (Borrow Life applications from every chapter of the Bible) 1 Samuel 25:30 "And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, BGT 1 Samuel 25:30 καὶ ἔσται ὅτι ποιήσει κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησεν ἀγαθὰ ἐπὶ σέ καὶ ἐντελεῖταί σοι κύριος εἰς ἡγούμενον ἐπὶ Ισραηλ LXE 1 Samuel 25:30 And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee to be ruler over Israel; KJV 1 Samuel 25:30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; NET 1 Samuel 25:30 The LORD will do for my lord everything that he promised you, and he will make you a leader over Israel. CSB 1 Samuel 25:30 When the LORD does for my lord all the good He promised and appoints you ruler over Israel, ESV 1 Samuel 25:30 And when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, NIV 1 Samuel 25:30 When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, NLT 1 Samuel 25:30 When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, NRS 1 Samuel 25:30 When the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, NJB 1 Samuel 25:30 Once Yahweh has done for you all the good things which he has said he will do for you, and made you ruler of Israel, NAB 1 Samuel 25:30 And when the LORD carries out for my lord the promise of success he has made concerning you, and appoints you as commander over Israel, YLT 1 Samuel 25:30 'And it hath been, when Jehovah doth to my lord according to all the good which He hath spoken concerning thee, and appointed thee for leader over Israel, GWN 1 Samuel 25:30 When the LORD does all the good he promised and makes you ruler of Israel, according: 1Sa 13:14 15:28 23:17 Ps 89:20 1 Samuel 25 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries ABIGAIL ACKNOWLEDGES YAHWEH WILL MAKE DAVID KING And when the LORD does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel - What Abigail speaks is true but how she knows this is not clear. Was she speaking by the Spirit? She acknowledges that (1) Yahweh has made prophetic promises to David and (2) one of which is that he would be king of Israel. 1 Samuel 25:31 this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant." BGT 1 Samuel 25:31 καὶ οὐκ ἔσται σοι τοῦτο βδελυγμὸς καὶ σκάνδαλον τῷ κυρίῳ μου ἐκχέαι αἷμα ἀθῷον δωρεὰν καὶ σῶσαι χεῖρα κυρίου μου αὐτῷ καὶ ἀγαθώσει κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου καὶ μνησθήσῃ τῆς δούλης σου ἀγαθῶσαι αὐτῇ LXE 1 Samuel 25:31 then this shall not be an abomination and offence to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou shalt remember thine handmaid to do her good. KJV 1 Samuel 25:31 That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid. NET 1 Samuel 25:31 Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the LORD has granted my lord success, please remember your servant." CSB 1 Samuel 25:31 there will not be remorse or a troubled conscience for my lord because of needless bloodshed or my lord's revenge. And when the LORD does good things for my lord, may you remember me your servant." ESV 1 Samuel 25:31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant." NIV 1 Samuel 25:31 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, remember your servant." NLT 1 Samuel 25:31 don't let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won't have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the LORD has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!" NRS 1 Samuel 25:31 my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant." NJB 1 Samuel 25:31 you must have no anxiety, my lord, no remorse, over having wantonly shed blood, over having taken a revenge. When Yahweh has done well by you, then remember your servant.' NAB 1 Samuel 25:31 you shall not have this as a qualm or burden on your conscience, my lord, for having shed innocent blood or for having avenged yourself personally. When the LORD confers this benefit on your lordship, remember your handmaid." YLT 1 Samuel 25:31 that this is not to thee for a stumbling-block, and for an offence of heart to my lord -- either to shed blood for nought, or my lord's restraining himself; and Jehovah hath done good to my lord, and thou hast remembered thy handmaid.' GWN 1 Samuel 25:31 you shouldn't have a troubled conscience because you spilled blood for no good reason and claimed your own victory. When the LORD has given you success, remember me." grief: Heb. staggering, or, stumbling, Pr 5:12,13 Ro 14:21 2Co 1:12 avenged: 1Sa 25:33 24:15 26:23 2Sa 22:48 Ps 94:1 Ro 12:19 remember: 1Sa 25:40 Ge 40:14 Lu 23:42 1 Samuel 25 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries ABIGAIL APPEALS TO DAVID TO MAINTAIN A CLEAR CONSCIENCE This will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord ('adon; Lxx = kurios) having avenged himself - Abigail appeals to David to keep clean hands and a pure heart (cf Ps 24:3, 4) by not shedding blood or taking personal vengeance, which would be like a stumbling block, something that makes one stagger by striking one's foot against an object. In this case the object would by his shedding blood and avenging himself, which would cause his conscience to stumble (so to speak). Dear Abby relates that restraint of revenge results in no regrets! Pulpit Commentary adds that "Abigail prays, therefore, that when David has become prince, and so has to administer justice, this violent and revengeful act which he was purposing might not prove a cause of stumbling and an offence of heart to himself, by his conscience reproaching him for having himself done that which he had to condemn in others. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant (amah; Lxx - doule) - Abigail closes her wise appeal with a request because she knows he is the future king. Her request is proves to be even wiser when her husband dies and then David can "legally" remember Abigail in offering her a proposal to be his wife! Pritchard - Abigail reminds David that one day he will be king and when that happens, little pipsqueaks like Nabal won’t matter. But what will matter is whether or not his hands are clean. It took enormous faith to say that because at the moment David was the leader of a rag-tag band of vagrants on the run from Saul. But she could see that David was God’s man and that one day he would reign over the nation. In light of David’s destiny, he can’t afford to give in to the temptation to get even. THOUGHT - Revenge feels good now but it will feel bad later. You simply can’t win by trying to get even. So many tragedies would be avoided, so many broken relationships would never happen, so many tears would never be shed, so many marriages could be healed, if only we would stop and think before we act or speak. Many of us have said or done things in anger and then wished a thousand times we could take them back. (Pritchard) David’s speech near the end shows he has discovered that patience and restraint are the path to Yahweh’s best plan (25:39), and Abigail’s speech explains that taking the long-term view is more beneficial than yielding to one’s immediate impulses (25:30–31). In terms of modern discipleship, we may speak of “delayed gratification”; as one scholar put it, Abigail explains “the long-term advantages of a clear conscience over any momentary gain from self indulgence.” This text gives us a glimpse of David on his way to becoming the ideal king. He is evolving from the young exile who acts impetuously out of fear and anger to becoming Yahweh’s anointed one, who is patient enough and faithful enough to wait out God’s timing. The encounter with Nabal is his test case. With Abigail’s speech to guide David (indeed, they appear to be a team even before their marriage), David navigates a course through the murky relationship with Nabal that is God’s choice for him. David learns not to seek revenge or seize power with his own hand, but rather to depend on God and on God’s timing. This is the lesson he learns from Abigail and the outcome of the Nabal conflict, and it is a lesson he will put to good use in the next chapter. David had been anointed king; according to ancient Near Eastern practices, it would not be out of the question for him to demand provisions from the wealthy Nabal. But he learns a different course of action. He learns that patience and personal restraint are a better way, a God-pleasing way of acting as king. Thus, he quickly changes his mind. Another theme in this text is David’s teachability. Before he is confronted by Abigail, his mind is made up, and he is determined to take violent action (25:21– 22). But after her persuasive plea, he not only changes his mind but also acknowledges that God is the source of her instruction (25:32). Though the Hebrew words for “repent” and “repentance” do not occur in this text, the message is similar. Upon hearing new instruction from God, David immediately changes his mind and takes a decidedly different course of action from that planned. He is capable of correction. He is flexible enough to learn new principles and to quickly put them into action. Unlike Nabal and Saul, David could hear an entirely unexpected word from God that corrected his understanding, and he could respond accordingly. F B