Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life.

In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. Can I be honest with you? Sometimes it feels

like a part-time job telling my kids to stop calling each other names. So maybe I should pray

that they never read 1 Samuel 25,

because in this little passage, it has more than a little bit of savage name calling. And the

question is whether the name calling in this passage is a joke or if it's a real name or if it's

something else entirely. So let's just pick it up in verse two. A certain man and

Mayan who had property there at Carmel was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three

thousand sheep which he was shearing at Carmel. His name was Nabel and his wife's name was Abigail.

She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings. He was

a Calebite. While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabel was shearing sheep, and so he sent

10 young men and said to them, go up to Nabel at Carmel and greet him in my name, say to him,

long life to you, good health to you and your household, and good health

to all that are yours. Now, I hear it that it is sheep-shearing time, and when your shepherds were with us,

we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel, nothing of theirs was missing.

Ask your own servants, and they will tell you, therefore, be favorable toward my men since we

came at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.

When David's men arrived, they gave Nable this message in David's name. Then they waited.

Navel 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 my water and the meat

I have slaughtered for my shears and give it to men coming from who knows where? David's men turned

back around and went back and and when they arrived, they reported

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