1 Samuel 24-25

1 Sam 24

Saul returns from fighting the Philistines (that was fast) to pursue David some more. David is hiding in a cave when Saul enters the same cave to go to bathroom. David's men encourage him to kill Saul, but instead he sneaks up and cuts off a piece of Saul's robe. David reasons that because God anointed Saul king, David does not have the right to kill Saul.

When Saul has left, David shouts down to him that he spared his life. Saul breaks down and cries and begs for mercy on his family when David becomes king.

This is a human moment for Saul. The man who governs by his wrath and jealousy cannot handle this bit of gentleness and mercy. Rather, it makes him break down and cry. But it also makes you wonder - when is Saul going to stop trying to kill David and move on with his life?

In the next chapter, we see a contrasting human moment from David.

Chapter 25

Samuel has died, we still have an entire book of Samuel to read through. The last of the "Judges" has now died.

Meanwhile, David is hiding out in the wilderness and approaches a local wealthy man named Nabal for provisions. David's men protected Nabal's flocks and servants before. So, David is calling in a favor, although Nabal really owes David nothing.

Nabal is mean and responds with insults. The text makes it seem like he was more concerned with his own wealth, but I am a bit sympathetic to Nabal. The nation is in the midst of a civil war and Nabal is deciding not to side with David. I think that is a legitimate perspective for him. Plus, people who help David end up getting killed by Saul. If this were Nabal's motivation, he could certainly have dealt with it better, or at least explained to David that he was afraid of repercussions by Saul.

Nabal handles it poorly and David feels insulted. David now wants revenge. He leads 400 of his 600 soldiers to attack Nabal and his household. In fact, David is planning to kill Nabal's entire household. This act of vengeance is more characteristic of Saul.

Fortunately, Nabal's hot wife Abigail meets David on the road and gives him a ton of provisions and she says her husband is an idiot. David realizes he was about to commit "murder" and this stops him.

Abigail returns home and her husband is drunk at his own party. She tells him the next day she helped David and becomes paralyzed. Ten days later, God struck him dead. David marries Abigail.

We also learn that David has another wife, Ahinoam, and that his first wife, Michal, was given to another man. Giving Michal to another man reminds me of what happened to Samson.

I assume that David and his men are meeting other females in the countryside. Abigail brings a few servant girls when she marries David. But the story with Abigail comes across as if she is the only woman that they come across after years of being in the wilderness. It sounds like she's the only woman on a pirate ship. So, of course the leader of the band David marries her.