1. I Samuel 25:19. What lesson do we learn from Abigail and her “betrayal” of a wicked man who happens to be her husband? What about the names she uses to describe her spouse?

So is it proper to be disrespectful in this way to a man who is so obviously obnoxious to you and all who know him? Is disrespect ever countenanced by God? Did Jesus disrespect evil people? Right away we think of the evil Pharisees. Do we follow him in railing against evil people? Actually, it seems this is not an area in which He is setting an example for us. He tells us to pray for those that persecute us. Who knows whether any of them will come to know Christ?

Spousal abuse is a serious issue. Any kind of abuse is serious. How far should we take it? From a mere insult to a physical beating, what is our calling in this matter?

For sure it is not vengeance. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. He will set the matter straight one day.

For sure it is not unforgiveness. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.

Is Abigail a good model for us? David certainly thought so. And he married her! What should a godly woman in our day do?

Remember here that Abigail knew that Nabal had not only come against some stranger in the neighborhood. He had affronted the one that Abigail knew to be the Lord’s anointed. And thus, he had come against the Lord.

When spouses come against us, they have touched the heart of God. They need to be prayed for and forgiven, and then approached by the spouse, a group of 2-3 from the church, the church itself. It is not sinful to seek protection in these cases, but the right spirit must prevail the entire time.

Love that sees a potential reclamation of this soul must lead. But self-preservation in the long run is not a sin or a shameful thing. To encourage the spouse’s abuse is to cause harm not only to the spouse involved, but to children and others. Sin must be confronted, never accepted, and the wisest way forward will be revealed to the one who seeks for it.

2. I Samuel 25:37. What does the text mean when it says Nabal “became as a stone”?

Nabal, now sober, was paralyzed as by a stroke when he either, 1, realized how sinful he had been, and how he had nearly brought evil on his whole family, or 2, had a fit of anger when he knew that his wife had betrayed him and sold out to David.

Ten days later, a real, or perhaps 2^nd, stroke which clearly came from the Lord.

3. I Samuel 26:1. Who were the Ziphites and why did they favor Saul?

The Ziphites appear several times in the story, and they always seem to be on the wrong side of things. Who were they? Biblicaltraining.org answers this question so concisely that it is best just to quote their short article:

“ZIPHITES (zÄ­f'Ä«ts, Heb. zîphî). The inhabitants of Ziph, whether the name designated the town or the wilderness surrounding it (1Sam.23.14-1Sam.23.23; 1Sam.26.1-1Sam.26.5). Twice, apparently, David hid in their vicinity when being pursued by King Saul. Each time the Ziphites, though of David’s tribe, told Saul of his location. They seemed to think it better to support the reigning king than to be kind to David, whom they considered a rebel.”

It is important to add that we are talking here about a portion of the tribe of Judah. These were Jews. They were of David’s tribe. But they were not yet aware that David was God’s choice for Israel’s King.

4. I Samuel 26:21. Was Saul’s sorrow real here? Is it fake? Or is Saul a sick man?

He seems to be confessing sin here. He invites David to come back and promises there will be no more harm. He even seems to see what God has been saying all along, that David will prevail in the end, and that he will lose. And so it all turns out in the ensuing chapters of the story. But if Saul’s life had been spared by the Philistines as it was spared by David, would he have returned to pursuing David? Think Pharaoh.

But think about our own nature, the human variety. The bottom of our life falls out. We cry to God, and He hears us. We prosper. Then our hearts and minds forget how bad it was, and wonder why we got so emotional about and committed to our God. We backslide. That’s not just the story of the book of Judges, where the Israelites followed that precise pattern. These stories are here to reflect us.

We have all been infected by sin, which is indeed a sickness. So whether Saul was mentally ill or not, is not the question. He was a sinner. Lifted up by pride, brought low by God, thrust on the mercy of the Lord.

So, I must conclude that his sorrow was real, for the moment. He genuinely realized his condition and stupidity for this fleeting time period. But the sickness of sin, in my opinion, would have caused him to return to jealousy, and his fruitless search for the destruction of his better. It was soon after this episode that we see Saul seeking out a fortune teller, who lets him know that the next day, judgment will fall on him.

5. I Samuel 27:3. Is this the same Achish before whom David drooled a few chapters ago?

There are two, some say three, kings of Gath called Achish, in the Scriptures. One lived during the reign of Solomon, but the one (or two) that we deal with here, touched David’s life.

Earlier in the story of David we see him going to the king of Gath, a Philistine stronghold, and then escaping when it was discovered that he might be a threat to the Philistines. His method of escape, you will recall, was the feigning of madness. No need really to escape, Achish booted him out.

In the text before us we see David once more hiding among the Philistines via a king of Gath also called Achish. It seems strange to me that the same king would want to allow the madman David, as was supposed, back into his ranks. Some have surmised that Achish was merely a family name or even a title of Philistine kings.