1 Samuel 25:9-18 – When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David’s name.  Then they waited.  Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David?  Who is this son of Jesse?  Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.  Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” . . .  Abigail lost no time.  She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys…”

Nabal was a wealthy man in Israel.  He was harsh and self-centered.  His name is the Hebrew word for “fool,” (nabal) and he belonged to the clan of “Calebites,” which in the Hebrew was the same word for “dogs.” (See also Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15).  This story happened while David was in the wilderness, hiding from his persecutors.  David and his men had helped guard Nabal’s shepherds and farm workers and treated them well for a period of some weeks.  All this occurred in an area called Carmel, which means “vineyard” in Hebrew, which reminds us of the abundant blessings we have through the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  When David needed some provisions for his men, he sent messengers asking Nabal for help.  Nabal refused, insulting David and his men, showing ingratitude for all they had done for him.

…David had already been anointed as king (in 1 Samuel 16), but here was helping the shepherds.  He provides a prophetic illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ, our King and Good Shepherd.  Jesus is the one who protects us daily.  None of us deserves this protection, but the Lord has great mercy on everyone (see Matthew 5:45).  Jesus deserves all thanks and honor for what he has done for us – we should give our lives to him completely.

Abigail, the “intelligent” and “beautiful” woman who later becomes David’s wife after Nabal’s death, symbolizes the Bride of Christ, the faithful church.  We depend on His mercies.  Her name means, “my father is joy” or “source of joy.”  We know God is the true source of our joy.  One other person in the Bible has this name – David’s sister.  The faithful church has spiritual roles both as the Bride of Christ and as children of God.  (See also Song of Songs 4:9-12; 5:1).

Nabal – a prophetic symbol of those who accept the Lord’s blessings but reject His requirements or call.  They have no appreciation of the source of all their prosperity.  There are many who want Jesus only as their Savior, not as their Lord or Master, in spite of all He has done for them.  They are ungrateful and do not fear God.

“Who is David?” –  David was the best-known warrior in Israel in those days, so Nabal’s question is rather strange.  It was a way of saying that he refused to recognize David or his accomplishments.  Today, everyone can know who Jesus is.  Yet many religious “scholars” write books exploring the question of “Who was the historical Jesus?”  In asking the question, they are rejecting the Bible’s clear statements that Jesus is our Lord and God (John 20:28).

Two Hundred Loaves of Bread – Two is the biblical number of fellowship in the Body, and 100 is the biblical number for Eternity.  Abigail’s loaves are a prophetic foreshadowing of those servants who live eternally, integrated into Christ’s Body.

Two Skins Of Wine – The blessing of the Holy Spirit.  The faithful church has this experience as well.

Five Dressed Sheep – Dressed sheep were already slain, and this points prophetically to Jesus as the Lamb of God.  The faithful church understands and lives the doctrine of the sacrifice of Jesus, pleading the blood on all occasions.  We plead the blood of Jesus in prayer and receive many spiritual benefits.

Five Seahs of Roasted Grain – Roasted grain speaks of the REVEALED WORD (Jeremiah 23:28).  “Roasted” refers to the revelation of the Holy Spirit about the meaning beyond the letter (2 Corinthians 3:6).

A Hundred Cakes of Raisins – This speaks of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (it comes from the grapes, a prophetic symbol for the operation of the Holy Spirit).  Faithful servants have this wonderful experience in the life of the Church.

Two Hundred Cakes of Pressed Figs – The Bible says Jesus was “crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5), and the “pressed Figs” points prophetically to this.  In Middle Eastern culture, pressed and dried figs are useful because they last indefinitely, like the blessings of the atonement, and they get sweeter as time goes by.