a Rich Man’s Churlishness 1Sa 25:2-17 This Carmel was a city in the mountains of Judah, ten miles south of Hebron. See Jos 15:55 . Though a descendant of Caleb, Nabal had none of that hero’s spirit. He had great wealth, but little wit. Today the Arab tribe which guards the shepherd or caravan, or restrains itself from plundering, expects some acknowledgment. It was unfair that the rich sheep-master should take all the advantage and make no return, and altogether too bad to cap injustice with a coarse jest. Nabal’s shepherds were quite explicit in their testimony to the benefits they had received, 1Sa 25:7 ; 1Sa 25:15-16 . His jibes and churlishness justified the general estimate entertained by those who knew him best. For David to take the sword to avenge the insult stands out in striking contrast to Him who, “when He was reviled, reviled not again.” Revenge for an insult where one has personally suffered has no place in Christ’s teaching, and is separated by a whole heaven from the magisterial use of the sword referred to in Rom 13:4 . In after-years, David must have been very thankful for the interposition, through Abigail, of God’s grace that arrested his hand. See Rom 12:17 .