Samuel dieth: David goeth to the wilderness of Paran, 1. Nabal’s riches, 2. His and his wife Abigail’s nature and condition, 3. David requesteth of Nabal some relief for his camp: he entreateth David’s messengers scornfully. David is provoked, and mindeth to destroy him, 4-13. Abigail understands it, 14-17; taketh a present, 18-22; and by her wisdom, 23-31, pacifieth David, 32-35. Nabal hearing of this, dieth, 36-38. David taketh Abigail and Ahinoam to be his wives, 39-43; Saul having given Michal to Phalti, 44.
Archibald Hall's Gospel Worship: 'Men should only promise upon oath to do things that are lawful and honest. It is the most aggravated impiety, to convert the most sacred obligation into a bond of iniquity. The forty Jews who bound themselves with an oath to kill Paul, Acts 23:12-14, made the oath of God an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin. The case is not much better, where an oath is taken binding men to that which has a manifest tendency to an evil end, or which prevents their doing the good they ought: of which kind were those oaths, which the Jewish doctors allowed, but our Saviour condemned, for alienating even from parents what should be employed for their benefit…
Jonathan Edwards' "Christian Charity": 'Some may object concerning a particular person, that they do not certainly know whether he be an object of charity or not. They are not perfectly acquainted with his circumstances; neither do they know what sort of man he is. They know not whether he be in want as he pretends. Or if they know this, they know not how he came to be in want; whether it were not by his own idleness, or prodigality. Thus they argue that they cannot be obliged, till they certainly know these things.悠 reply,
1. This is Nabal's objection, for which he is greatly condemned in Scripture; see 1 Samuel 25. David in his exiled state came and begged…
Thomas Boston's "Anger Not to Be Sinfully Indulged": 'The degree of holy anger is proportioned to the fault. Thus God himself is angry at all sins, yet there are some sins to which he reserves the fierceness of wrath. When the anger then in respect of degrees, exceeds the measure of the offence, and men are carried so far beside themselves, as to turn about the cart wheel on the cummin that might be beat out with the rod, then it is sinful anger; and therefore good Jacob, when a-dying, curses the wrath of the brethren of iniquity, against the Shechemites, because it was cruel, destroying a whole city for one's fault. Such was David's anger against Nabal, 1 Samue…
Thomas Boston's Doctrines of the Christian Religion: 'Now the husband as the head of the wife owes her...Provision, 1 Timothy 5:8. The husband ought to provide for his wife, and cheerfully furnish her with what is needful and convenient according to his station and ability; and lay out himself by all lawful means for her comfortable through-bearing. And this he should have an eye to, not only for the time of his life, but even after his decease.
And on the other hand, the wife ought to be helpful to her husband by her frugal management, Proverbs 31:27. And God's word and frequent experiments plainly shew, that a man's thriving or not thriving has a great dependence on his wife's…
Matthew Henry: 'We have here some intermission of David's troubles by Saul. Providence favoured him with a breathing time, and yet this chapter gives us instances of the troubles of David. If one vexation seems to be over, we must not be secure; a storm may arise from some other point, as here to David. I. Tidings of the death of Samuel could not but trouble him, verse 1. But, II. The abuse he received from Nabal is more largely recorded in this chapter. 1. The character of Nabal, verses 2-3. 2. The humble request sent to him, verses 4-9. 3. His churlish answer, verses 10-12. 4. David's angry resentment of it, verses 13,21-22. 5. Abigail's prudent care to preven…