And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.
David's men come to a rich man named Nabal with a greeting, not a demand — a blessing spoken over the man, his household, and everything he owns. Who sends peace like that from the wilderness, and what does it cost a man to refuse it?
Peace offered by the one who owns everything
David is the anointed king living in exile, and he sends not a bill but a blessing. One writer sees the pattern of Christ here: the owner of all things asks men for food, and gives peace in exchange.
H. L. RossierIf, like the Lord when He was here on earth, he depends on man for some refreshment, he sends peace back in exchange. Everything belongs to him by rights, yet he brings this peace to the sinner, to Nabal, through his messengers: "Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have!" Did Nabal want this peace, after such obvious protection of his men and his flocks?
Two men, two positions
The greeting travels from scarcity to plenty. Each man's position came from who he was.
C. H. MackintoshDavid was in the wilderness; this was his place. Nabal was surrounded by all the comforts of life. The first owed all his sorrows and hardships to what he was. The second owed all his possessions and enjoyments to what he was.
Courtesy, not a claim
David asks for food, but he has no legal claim on Nabal. His men had guarded Nabal's shepherds, and the message only asks him to weigh that.
Leslie M. GrantOf course Nabal had no legal obligation to David. Yet without doubt he ought to have felt a moral one. David told the young men to show Nabal the fullest respect. They were to greet him with peace toward himself, his house and all that he had… The message was simple and respectful, and any right-minded man would have been considerate of them.
The cost of asking
To send this message at all was hard. The man God had chosen as king had to stand at a rich man's gate with his hat in his hand.
William KellyThis was no doubt a great trial to David. It takes much grace to ask a favour, above all from a man like Nabal. David may have been little known, and he knew well what some men in Israel were like. Even so, it was no small humiliation for the anointed of the Lord.
Blessing without envy
Notice what the message does not say. David never resents Nabal's wealth and never compares the two lives.
The Christian's FriendDavid was in need — here was another who was not in need… David did not grudge him his prosperity. He surely felt he would not have swapped his place for Nabal's. It was no hard message that he sent… David's heart was large enough to have rejoiced in anything that would have joined Nabal's place to his own. And so it always is. When a believer's heart is in a gracious state, there will be no grudging of those around, and no wish to say, "See what I am, and what you are not."
Why Nabal threw the greeting back
Nabal's reply asks who David is. One writer finds the cause of his rudeness in that question.
C. H. MackintoshHere was the secret of this worldly man's coldness of heart: he did not know him. Had he known him, it would have been a very different matter. But he knew neither who he was nor where he came from. He did not know that he was insulting the Lord's anointed. In his selfish folly he was throwing away the privilege of meeting the need of the future king of Israel.
The peace found another home
Nabal refused the peace. His wife Abigail went out to David herself.
H. L. RossierDavid sends her back to her house with the peace which Nabal had not wanted, and with the assurance of his favour (vv. 6, 35). There she will patiently wait for the message of the beloved one calling her to himself.
Summary
- Peace sent. The rejected king's first word to a rich stranger is a threefold blessing — on him, on his house, on all he owns. Grace moves from the wilderness toward the wealthy.
- Peace earned nothing. Nabal owed David no legal debt, only a moral one. The message was respectful, and any right-minded man would have honoured it.
- Peace costs the sender. It took much grace for the anointed of the Lord to ask a favour of such a man — no small humiliation.
- Peace without envy. David does not begrudge Nabal his wealth; a heart in a gracious state never says, "See what I am, and what you are not."
- Peace refused, peace received. Nabal's coldness came from not knowing who David was. The peace he threw away, Abigail carried home instead.