ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Tokonaki Tisema 25, 2021 

KILISIMASI FIEFIA ‘I HE ‘EIKI

 

1 Samiuela 25 (1 Samuel 25)

(v. 2-3) Pea na‘e ai ha tangata ‘i Maoni na‘e tu‘u ‘i Kāmeli ‘ene potu ngāue, pea ko e tangata lahi ‘aupito he na‘e toko tolu afe ‘ene fanga sipi, pea afe ‘ene fanga kosi: pea na‘e fai ‘ene kosi sipi ‘i Kāmeli. Pea ko Nāpale ‘a e hingoa ‘o e matāpule; pea ko hono uaifi ko ‘Apikale: pea ko e fefine loto matala ia, pea hōihoifua: ka ko e tangata na‘e faingata‘a, pea kovi ‘ene ngaahi tō‘onga; pea ne kau ki he fale ‘o Kēlepi.

(v. 2-3) Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.

 

David Guzik :: Study Guide for 1 Samuel 25

Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. And he was of the house of Caleb.

And the man was very rich: The first thing we learn about this man is where he lived (Maon, with his business in Carmel), and that he was a very rich man (three thousand sheep and a thousand goats).

There are four kinds of riches. There are riches in what you have, riches in what you do, riches in what you know, and riches in what you are – riches of character. Nabal was a very rich man, but only rich in what he had. He had the lowest kind of riches.

And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel: This was the “harvest time” for a sheep rancher. Because it was like “harvest time” sheep shearing was a time of lavish hospitality towards others. “Sheep-shearing was traditionally celebrated by feasting, with enough and to spare.” (Baldwin)

The name of the man was Nabal: This is another indication of his character, because the name Nabal means fool. In ancient Israel names were often connected with a person’s character. We don’t know if Nabal was given this name or he earned it but he certainly lived up to it.

The fact that he was of the house of Caleb may also be a bad description of Nabal, because Caleb means dog, and to be of the house of a dog was no compliment. “As the word caleb signifies a dog, the Septuagint have understood it as implying a man of a canine disposition, and translate it thus... he was a doggish man. It is understood in the same way by the Syriac and Arabic.” (Clarke)

Abigail... a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance: Nabal’s wife was both beautiful and wise, in contrast to Nabal himself. The Bible gives Abigail great praise when it says she was of beautiful appearance, because the only other women who have this Hebrew phrase applied to them are Rachel (Genesis 29:17) and Esther (Esther 2:7).

How did a woman like this ever get matched up with a man like Nabal? We can understand it in that day of arranged marriages. But there are many Abigails today who are in that place not because the marriage was arranged but because they chose it. “It is remarkable how many Abigails get married to Nabals. God-fearing women, tender and gentle in the sensibilities, high-minded and noble in their ideals, become tied in an indissoluble union with men for whom they can have no true affinity, even if they have not an unconquerable repugnance.” (Meyer)

“May I say to you lovingly, but firmly, if such a circumstance has befallen you, that is no reason for you to invoke the law of the country to get out of the entanglement. Perhaps God knew that you needed the fiery trial to humble you and make you a testimony to your partner. The Bible says you must stay as you are. Maybe there will come to you one day, as there came to Abigail, a new opportunity; but until then, it is for you to prove the grace and power of the Lord in your heart to strengthen you and keep you pure.” (Redpath)