“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'”-King David, Psalm 14:1
Nabal seems to be an intelligent man. He runs a sizable business; he’s done very well for himself. Not to mention, he clearly knows a good woman when he see one. But for all his wealth and discerning eye, the Scriptures make it abundantly clear that Nabal is a fool through and through. There are many signs that give this away in the story. He is known to behave badly, he doesn’t listen, he’s unreasonable, he’s a drunkard, etc. But the clearest indication of his foolishness is this-he rejects the coming king. He doesn’t just say “no” to the soon-to-be-king’s request, no he goes even further in his foolishness and refuses to acknowledge who David is.
Now, that’s foolishness, rejecting the requests of the coming king and pretending he doesn’t even exist. Let’s not be foolish.
Well said, Danny.
Nabal is a classic example of those who inherited wealth but socially and politically were immature. In contrast to his wife, Abigail, who was humble and kind, Nabal acted irresponsibly and was disrespectful, in my view. For Nabal, it was all about his wealth and he used his wealth to benefit himself and to satisfy his own needs and pride. He was selfish and was ignorant! He saw himself bigger than any causes or anyone else.
There are consequences for bad behaviors or for disrespectful behaviors. I think Nabal
could be smart in business but was awkward socially and politically. I am sure some of us have seen people like Nabal in all cultures. After all, ignoring a request from the future leader is not smart politically; and pretending as not knowing the future leader is ignorant! Nabal probably was not a believer and probably believed that he could run his life on his own. I could imagine what would be like dealing with someone like Nabal in real life and in a social and organizational setting!