If we are unwilling to allow God to intervene on our behalf when we are wronged, it will open the door for us to partner with the very evil that initially came against us. Seeking revenge will create a series of paybacks that will lead us into an ever-increasing cycle of wrongs, which will not honor the Lord.

There was a man named Nabal who was very wealthy. Nabal had a wife named Abigail, who was “a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings.” (I Samuel 25:3).

David’s men had to stay among Nabal’s sheep shearers during the time of sheep shearing. David’s men stole nothing from Nabal’s men and lived honorably among them. David sent messengers to Nabal asking if Nabal would share some of his provisions with David’s men.

When Nabal received David’s request, he replied, “Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered at the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?” (vs. 10-11).

David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. ‘Get your swords!’ was David’s reply as he strapped on his own” (vs. 12-13). David was getting ready to punish Nabal for what he had done to his men.

One of Nabal’s servants went to Abigail and told her what happened. He said, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed insults at them” (vs. 14). The servant also told Abigail that the men of David were good to them, never stealing anything or acting dishonorably. The servant also said David’s men were like a wall of protection around them day and night.

Abigail wasted no time. She had donkeys loaded with food and supplies and sent them off to meet David and his approaching army as a peace offering.

When Abigail approached David, she bowed down before him and said, “I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests” (vs. 25). The name Nabal in Hebrew means foolish and stupid.

Abigail then said something wise and sensible to David, “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” (vs. 31. David realized the mistake he was about to make and told Abigail to go home in peace, and he would not kill her husband.

When Abigail arrived home, Nabal had thrown a large party and gotten drunk. She waited until the next morning to tell him what she had done when he was sober. When Nabal heard what Abigail had done, “He had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone” (vs. 37-38). A few days later, he died.

When Nabal died, David said, “Praise the Lord, who has avenged the insult I received from Nabal and has kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” (vs. 39). As a result of what happened, David would later ask Abigail to become his wife, and she accepted.

David had the evidence he needed to support a natural response for the wrong done to him and his men, but initially, he lacked spiritual insight to avoid his act of vengeance. Only when we allow God to handle a payback will our conscience remain unsullied by acts of vengeance. What was true for David is also true for us today when we are held captive by an offense and take payback into our hands.