In 1 Samuel 24, David refuses to take vengeance into his own hands against his enemy Saul. Rather, he uses his opportunity to make peace with Saul. In contrast, David moves in chapter 25 to take his own vengeance on Nabal who refuses to provide food for David’s men who had been protecting him.  When David heard how Nabal spoke to his men and belittled David, David said “Every man strap on his sword.” They rode out, with David in the lead to exact vengeance on this fool. (The name Nabal means fool!)

Nabal’s wife Abigail, being a woman of wisdom and discretion interceded. Many think she interceded for the sake of her husband, but she interceded for David. She expressed her belief that God would make David King over all Israel. When that would come to pass, she says that she wants David “to have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for …taking vengeance himself.”

David hears her and Praises God for interceding and preventing him from taking the matters of vengeance into his own hands.

Max Lucado writes, “Some of you are in the courtroom. The courtroom of complaint. Some of you are rehashing the same hurt every chance you get with anyone who will listen. For you, I have this question: Who made you God? I don’t mean to be cocky, but why are you doing his work for him? “Vengeance is Mine,” God declared. “I will repay” (Heb. 10:30 NKJV). Judgment is God’s job. To assume otherwise is to assume God can’t do it. Revenge is irreverent.… To forgive someone is to display reverence. Forgiveness is not saying the one who hurt you was right. Forgiveness is stating that God is faithful and he will do what is right.”

Chuck
“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. …For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” Galatians 2:16