A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite.
While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. So he sent ten young men and said to them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!
“‘Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’”
When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David’s name. Then they waited. 1 Samuel 25:2-9
“Maon lay close to Hebron in the part of the promised land that had been given to Caleb. In this area, there lived a very wealthy man named Nabal, which means ‘Fool’ (25:2). His name seems to have fitted him. Nabal was called a fool daily by his parents and colleagues, and even his wife said, ‘He is just like his name – his name is Fool and folly goes with him.’
Nabal was a descendant of Caleb, a man who had wholeheartedly followed the Lord. But Nabal was nothing like his ancestor. He was rich in cattle and goats, but not in grace and faith (25:2-3).By contrast, his wife, Abigail was an intelligent and beautiful woman…
News reached David that Nabal was shearing his sheep (25:4). David had been a shepherd, and he knew that this would be a time of feasting and celebration at which Nabal would be expected to share food with his neighbours. So he sent ten of his men to go and greet Nabal in David’s name (25:5-6)….
The young men were then instructed to remind Nabal of the services David and his men had provided for his shepherds. The shepherds could confirm that David and his men had not raided their flocks or harassed them in any way. Moreover, they had protected them from attack by others, so that nothing of theirs was missing (25:7-8).
Given the size of his band, David could simply have helped himself to what he wanted, but he had not. However, he was not too proud to ask Nabal for a gift of good for his men. He did not specify how large this gift should be, but left that to Nabal’s sense of goodwill.”
Nupanga Weanzana in “1 Samuel” in <em>Africa Bible Commentary</em> (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 368-369.
As I continue my exploration of sharing through the Scriptures from an African perspective, I see something I had not located before. I did not realize how the story of Nabal foreshadows the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21.
His name means fool. He is wealthy and fails to share when given the opportunity. Shortly after he fails to distribute his abundance and throws a party instead of sharing, he is struck down dead by the Lord.
What’s the lesson for us who want to grow in generosity? If God blesses us with abundance, keeping it for ourselves and not sharing it with our neighbors is not only foolish, it may have fatal consequences.
We can think of many examples of rich people whose material wealth actually became the determining factor for their destruction. Don’t let it be you. Enjoy and share God’s blessings, especially with God’s servants.