Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 25
Many people do not like to confess when they have done wrong things. One of David’s best qualities was that he did not hesitate to confess such matters. He was guilty of several actions that were seriously wrong during his life. Each time, he confessed the matter as soon as he was aware of it.
On this particular occasion, Abigail managed to stop David before he actually did anything wrong. David had no wrong deeds to confess; so he confessed that his plans were wrong. He was coming to kill every man who worked for Nabal. However, many of those men were innocent. David had made a cruel decision because Nabal had offended him by his insults. It was wrong for David to make that decision.
People may confess their wrong deeds, but refuse to change their attitudes. That was how Saul behaved in 1 Samuel 15:24-25. Such people should not imagine that God will forgive them. David acted properly: he changed his attitudes at once.
David expressed his thanks both to God and to Abigail that she had stopped his wrong plan. Clearly, he was very grateful that she had interrupted his progress. He recognised that it would have been very wrong for him to act cruelly towards Nabal and his servants. David did not want to be guilty of an evil deed; he only wanted to do what God considered to be right.
Nabal had refused to pay David’s men for their work as guards. Abigail considered herself guilty because she had not dealt with the matter (25:23-25). So now she had brought a gift for the men, and she wanted David to forgive her.
Of course, David gladly forgave her if she did anything wrong. He accepted the gift and he promised not to attack Nabal’s servants. The trouble between himself and Nabal’s family had ended.
Next part: The death of Nabal (1 Samuel 25:36-39)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.