Day 1225: The bundle of the living. - 1 Samuel 25 vs 18 - 31

18-20 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down towards her, and she met them.

21-22 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.” 23-25 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.

26-27 Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28-29 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord 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. If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.

30-31 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, my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord taking vengeance himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.” 1 Samuel 25:18-31 English Standard Version

What a wonderful kindness of God in sending Abigail to intervene in David's intentions. (vs 21-22) And what a gracious women was Abigail! She had been married to a worthless man, as his very name implied. Wisely, she didn't tell him of her mission, but, recognizing that time was of the essence, made great haste to reach the fuming David before he reached her husband. And how did she approach God's servant? (vs 23-25)

It was with great humility. She interceded for her husbands folly, even to the point of taking his guilt upon herself. She brought her gift so that David would not be guilty of Nabal's blood. She then offers a petition which is as wise as we will read anywhere in the Bible. She says that David was 'fighting the Lord's battles,' but adds, 'and evil shall not be found in you as long as you live.' How true that is for all who seek to serve the Lord. We ought to live in such a way that ‘no evil is found in us’. That is true for all who love Jesus, not just preachers.

She also says that, when attacked, David would be 'bound in the bundle of the living!' That applies to everyone who serve Jesus. He has promised eternal life, even though the enemy should slay us. By hearing her plea, David 'would have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord taking vengeance himself.'

The apostle Paul also speaks of the comfort of a clear conscience. “I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience.” As he approached his life's end he could say: “I'm already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.” (2 Timothy 1:3 & 4:6-8) Those are words which we can take for ourselves. May we be people who call on the Lord out of a pure heart, and be found in the bundle of the living!