1 Samuel 25:1

1 Samuel 25:1 says, And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.  At this time, Samuel died, and all of Israel mourned.  Samuel was a great prophet of God who told God's truth to the people of Israel, even Saul concerning his loss of the kingship.  Still, his last few years had been lived in relative obscurity, and he had feared Saul might kill him.  After Samuel was buried, David went to the wilderness of Paran.  Matthew Henry says this may have been to mourn or because having lost a faithful friend who was also a prophet and the one who had ordained him king, David feared for his life even more.  Verse two adds,  And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.  Verse three adds, Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.  We have an account of a man named Nabol, one of the descendants of Caleb, who had been a faithful and fearless man of God. Nabol was rich and married to a beautiful wife, but was said to have been churlish and evil in his dealings with other people.  Just because one's parents, or grandparents even, have been faithful Christians does mean that their children and grandchildren will be.  All that we can do as Christian parents is to lead them to a knowledge of Jesus Christ.   We cannot accept Him as Savior and Lord for them.  Verse four states, And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.  Verse five adds, And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:  When David heard Nabol was having his sheep sheared, he sent some young men to appeal to Nabol for help.  Matthew Henry says that Nabol might not have been the best person to appeal to because of his character, but at this time he also could not have claimed he had no ability to help.  If we go to people of the world for help in times of trouble, we need to realize that it might be better to go to our fellow Christians.  If we go to our fellow Christians and they have the ability to help and don't, then there is probably something wrong.  Verse six continues, And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.  David told the young men to wish Nabol peace and prosperity.  We should also never wish anyone harm today as followers of Christ, but should reach out to them with the gospel.  I don't believe God ever expects us to wish evil for others, not even if they are our enemies.  Verse seven says, And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.  David told the young men to remind Nabol of the time David and his men had camped with his shepherds, and they had neither harmed them nor allowed harm to come to them.  David had acted in Nabol's best interest at that time, and I believe that we as Christians should always act in a way that is at least in the spiritual best interest of others.  Verse eight adds, Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.  David then told Nabol to ask his shepherds if what he said was true and then asked for him to provide them with whatever help he could.  We as followers of Christ should always be able to say that we have acted in a way that puts others first, especially if they are fellow Christians.  Nabol was after all a part of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.  Verse nine continues, And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.  The young men went to Nabol and told him what David had said.  All we can do as Christians is to faithfully share the message of the gospel that Jesus Christ has sent us to share.  Then, as with Nabol and David’s request, it is upto them how they answer.