2 Samuel 25:36-42

"WHO KILLS HUMPERDINCK?"

Observation: In yesterday's text, Abigail talks King David down from taking violent revenge upon Nabal, her husband, for insulting David's men. In today's text, Nabal dies ten days after overindulging in alcohol at a feast. David sees this as divine punishment on his behalf. He is grateful to God that he did not avenge himself, but rather that God settled the score.

Application: Yikes. Let me just first own that this, and many other parts of King David's story, makes me uncomfortable. I guess I'm glad that David didn't respond the way most kings would have, and slaughter all the men in Nabal's camp...but we have Abigail to thank for that, because without her apology and gift, that's exactly what David would have done. And the "moral" of the story seems to be that David was rewarded for restraining himself, by God intervening and striking down Nabal. "Let God do your dirty work," I guess?

There's a lot in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, about God settling scores: punishing the wicked and rewarding the righteous. That's a central aspect of the idea of a final judgment. We in the Western world have latched onto the Eastern concept of karma--though most of us don't fully understand it--as the idea that "what goes around comes around." But of course, the whole idea of grace is that God gives us blessings we don't deserve. And mercy means God refrains from giving us punishments we do deserve. So, if we really believe that on the cross God is reconciling all things to God's self, then we have to ask the question: is divine justice a deal-breaker? Would we be okay with a God who sets things right in the end, but who doesn't necessarily let everything that goes around, come around?

Prayer: God, thank you for your grace. Thank you that I don't get what I deserve. Help me reflect that same grace and mercy in my way of being in the world. Amen.