BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Have you ever thought you were doing the right thing but later learned you had it wrong? Today’s reading features several characters stuck in that kind of problem, obliviously doing the wrong thing. As you’ll see in the video, “sin” describes a failure to love God and others. Sometimes, we don’t even realize we’re doing it.

Take the wealthy rancher Nabal, whose name means “fool.” When David asks if his men might join Nabal for the traditional feast celebrated after shearing livestock, Nabal sneers. From Nabal’s perspective, his wealth belongs to him, and he has a right to keep it all.

Nabal can’t see that it also comes from the hard labor of men who daily protect and shepherd his livestock. He brushes them off, oblivious to the long-term harm his greed causes and underestimating the immediate consequence of infuriating David’s hungry band of warriors.

Thankfully, Nabal’s wife, Abigail, shows up with some wisdom. While Nabal gets blind drunk, she gathers a caravan of provisions to give to David and his men. This wards off the warrior’s anger and saves the whole household from David. Notice, she’s also saving David from himself.

In today’s reading, David and Saul look uncomfortably similar. Both delusional with pride, they believe murder is the right thing to do. Then, they each experience things through other people that startle them back to reality. Each story comes to a peaceful resolution, for now. What will happen the next time we see each king’s dark side?

Reflection Questions

• Meditate on some of the other stories about sin you’ve encountered in the Bible. Where else have you seen someone failing when they thought they were succeeding?
• In the Hebrew Bible, “fool” refers to someone who not only fails to do the smart thing but also fails to do the right thing. Where do you see Nabal fitting into both of these categories? What happens in his life as a result?