Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling.
Parallel Translations
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Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling.
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Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.
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And though man be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 25:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
- Malachi 3:17 They shall be mine,” says Yahweh of Armies, “my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Matthew 10:29-30 “Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father’s will, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
- Psalms 116:15 Precious in Yahweh’s sight is the death of his saints.
- 1 Samuel 2:9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness; for no man will prevail by strength.
- Psalms 66:9 who preserves our life among the living, and doesn’t allow our feet to be moved.
- Jeremiah 10:18 For Yahweh says, “Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel it.”
- John 17:23 I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
- 1 Peter 1:5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Genesis 15:1 After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
- Deuteronomy 33:29 You are happy, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency? Your enemies will submit themselves to you. You will tread on their high places.”
- John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
- Colossians 3:3-4 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.
- John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain To wit, Saul.
To wit, Saul.
God shall preserve thee long in his service, and destroy thine enemies.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 25:29 Yet a man is risen to pursue…
1Sa 25:29 Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, [as out] of the middle of a sling.
Ver. 29. Shall be bound in the bundle of life.] Thy person shall be preciously preserved by God’s special care and providence. {Psa 116:15} A metaphor, say some, from binding up of plants that are to be removed, and laid in water, to preserve them till they shall be set in God’s paradise; or from the binding up of a book; so here. The saints are bound up together in the book of life.
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Them shall he sling out.] Here God tosseth wicked men’s souls with cares, fears, and griefs, rendering them restless, and at length hurleth them into hell, as far off him as is possible. Metophora a re praesenti, saith Junius, a metaphor from the slings and other arms of David and his men.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain A man, to wit, Saul, though no way injured…
A man, to wit, Saul, though no way injured nor justly provoked by thee.
To seek thy soul, i. e. to take away thy life. In the bundle of life, or, in the bundle, i.e. in the society or congregation of
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the living; out of which men are taken and cut off by death. The phrase is taken from the common usage of men, who bind those things in bundles which they are afraid to lose, because things that are solitary and unbound are soon lost. The meaning of the place is, God will preserve thy life; and therefore it becomes not thee unjustly and unnecessarily to take away the lives of any, especially the people of thy God and Saviour.
With the Lord thy God, i.e. in the hand and custody of God, who, by his watchful providence, preserves this bundle, and all that are in it; and time in a particular and singular manner, as being thy God in a peculiar way and special covenant. God himself will hide and keep thee in the secret of his presence, Psa 31:20, where no hand of violence can reach thee. And therefore all the attempts of Saul or others against thee are vain and ridiculous. For who can destroy whom God will keep?
Them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling; God himself will cut them off suddenly, violently, and irresistibly; and cast them far away, both from his presence, and from thy neighbourhood, and from all capacity of doing thee any hurt.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and…
Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul,.... His life, to take it away, meaning Saul, whom she chose not to name, because he was king:
but the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; should be dear unto the Lord, precious in his esteem, and be carefully preserved by him, among other his chosen ones, and should be safe with him, in his hands, and under his care and keeping; the Jews refer this to eternal life in the world to come, and the safety and security of his soul hereafter; so the Targum,"the soul of my lord shall be treasured up in the treasury of eternal life, before the Lord thy God:''hence they speak of the souls of the righteous being laid up under the throne of glory (e), in proof of which they produce this text; and so Maimonides (f) understands it of what should be after death, see Rev 6:9,
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and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling; that is, remove them swiftly and suddenly, and with force, out of the world, as a stone is slung out of the middle of a sling; see Jer 10:18.
(e) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 152. 2. (f) Moreh Nevochim, par. 1. c. 41.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain A man - Saul though no way injured. Thy…
A man - Saul though no way injured. Thy soul - To take away thy life. Bundle of life - Or, in the bundle: that is, in the society, or congregation of the living; out of which, men are taken, and cut off by death. The phrase is taken from the common usage of men, who bind those things in bundles, which they are afraid to lose. The meaning is, God will preserve thy life; and therefore it becomes not thee, unnecessarily to take away the lives of any; especially of the people of thy God. With the Lord - That is, in the custody of God, who by his watchful providence, preserves this bundle, and all that are in it; and thee in a particular manner, as being thy God in a particular way, and special covenant. The Jews understand this. not only of the present life, but of that which is to come, even the happiness of departed souls, and therefore use it commonly, as an inscription on their grave-stones. "Here we have laid the body, trusting the soul is bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord." Sling out - God himself will cut them off suddenly, violently, and irresistibly; and cast them far away; both from his presence, and from thy neighbourhood, and from all capacity of doing thee hurt.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. Shall be bound in the bundle of…
Verse 29. Shall be bound in the bundle of life] Thy life shall be precious in the sight of the Lord: it shall be found in the bundle of life; it shall be supported by Him who is the Spring and Fountain of life, and ever be found united to those who are most favoured by the Almighty.
Them shall he sling out] Far from being bound and kept together in union with the Fountain of life, he will cast them off from himself as a stone is cast out from a sling. This betokens both force and violence.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 25:29. A man hath risen to pursue thee…
1Sa 25:29. A man hath risen to pursue thee — Saul, though no way injured. To seek thy soul — To take away thy life. Bundle of life — Or, in the bundle: that is, in the society, or congregation of the living; out of which men are taken, and cut off by death. The phrase is taken from the common usage of men, who bind those things in bundles which they are afraid to lose. The meaning is, God will preserve thy life; and therefore it becomes not thee, unnecessarily, to take away the lives of any; especially of the people of thy God. With the Lord — That is, in the custody of God, who, by his watchful providence, preserves this bundle, and all that are in it; and thee in a particular manner, as being thy God in a particular way, and special covenant. The Jews understand this, not only of the present life, but of that which is to come, even the happiness of separate souls; and therefore use it commonly as an inscription on their grave-stones. “Here we have laid the body, trusting the soul is bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord.” Them shall he sling out — God himself will cut them off suddenly, violently, and irresistibly; and cast them far away; both from his presence and from thy neighbourhood, and from all capacity of doing thee hurt.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain In the bundle - Rather, “the bag,” in which…
In the bundle - Rather, “the bag,” in which anything precious, or important to be preserved, was put, and the bag was then tied up (compare Gen 42:35).
The souls ... shall he sling out - The comparison is especially appropriate as addressed to David, whose feat with his sling was so celebrated 1Sa 17:49.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Bundle. Such things are more secure than those which…
Bundle. Such things are more secure than those which are loose. (Worthington) --- Of the living, or predestinate, over whom Providence watches in a particular manner. She seems to allude to the method of carrying pieces of silver in bundles, Proverbs vii. 20. Chaldean, "the soul of my lord shall be in the treasury of the lives of the age, before the Lord God." (Calmet) --- It shall be preserved for length of days, like something most precious, (Haydock) while the wicked shall be in continual danger and anxiety, like a stone in a sling, Zacharias ix. 15. By substituting c for b in Hebrew, the sense may be still more striking: "the soul of my lord shall be preserved like a living (precious, serviceable,) stone. But the soul of thy enemies shall be whirled in a sling." The Hebrews had a great esteem for slingers, so that this comparison would be sufficiently noble. A living stone is often mentioned both is sacred and in profane authors, 1 Peter ii. 4. (Virgil, Æneid i. 171.) Vivoque sedilia saxo.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the soul of my lord shall be bound in…
the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God--An Orientalism, expressing the perfect security of David's life from all the assaults of his enemies, under the protecting shield of Providence, who had destined him for high things.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 29. A man is risen to pursue thee —…
29. A man is risen to pursue thee — Saul. All David’s persecutions and his royal destiny, seem to have been fully known to Abigail. She may have learned them from some prophet during one of her journeys to the tabernacle. Shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord — “The metaphor is taken from the custom of binding up valuable things in a bundle, to prevent their being injured. The words do not refer primarily to eternal life with God in heaven, but only to the safe preservation of the righteous on this earth in the grace and fellowship of the Lord. But whosoever is so hidden in the gracious fellowship of the Lord in this life that no enemy can harm him or injure his life, the Lord will not allow to perish, even though temporal death should come, but will then receive him into eternal life.” — Keil.
Sling out — Hurled away and scattered where they may not be found. Vivid contrast to being gathered and bound together in “the bundle of life.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. Yet a man, &c.] Better, And though men…
29. Yet a man, &c.] Better, And though men have arisen … yet the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of the living. The figure is taken from the practice of binding up valuables in a bag or bundle. Cp. Gen_42:35. Of course the immediate reference is only to the safe preservation of David’s temporal life.
shall he sling out, &c.] A vigorous metaphor to express total rejection. Cp. Jer_10:18.
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the middle of a sling] Lit. the pan or hollow in which the stone was placed. The marginal rendering “bought” means “the bowed or bent part of a sling on which the stone was placed.” See the Bible Word-Book, p. 73.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (29) A man is risen.—She here refers, of course,…
(29) A man is risen.—She here refers, of course, to Saul, but with exquisite courtesy and true loyalty refrains from mentioning in connection with evil the name of her king, the “Anointed of Jehovah.”
Shall be bound in the bundle of life.—This is one of the earliest and most definite expressions of a sure belief in an eternal future in the presence of God, and Hebrew tradition from the very earliest times down to our day has so regarded it. It is now a favourite and common inscription on Jewish gravestones. Keil beautifully paraphrases the words of the original. “The words,” he writes, “do not refer primarily to eternal life with God in heaven, but only to the safe preservation of the righteous on this earth in the grace and fellowship of the Lord. But whoever is so hidden in the gracious fellowship of the Lord in this life, that no enemy can harm him or injure his life, the Lord will not allow to perish, even though temporal death should come, but will then receive him into eternal life”—Keil.
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The image, as so often in Eastern teaching, is taken from common every-day life—from the habit, as Dean Payne Smith remarks, of packing up in a bundle articles of great value or of indispensable use, so that the owner may carry them about his person. In India the phrase is common. Thus, a just judge is said to be bound up in the bundle of righteousness; a lover in the bundle of love. Among the striking references in the Babylonian Talmud to this loved and cherished saying of the wife of Nabal, we find how, in one of the Treatises of Seder Moed, “Rabbi Ezra says, The souls of the righteous are hidden beneath God’s glorious throne: as it is said, The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God.”—Treatise Shabbath, fol. 152, col. 2.
What student of this verse of the Book of Samuel, and the beautiful Talmud comments on the far-reaching words, can fail to see in them the original of St. John’s well-known picture of the “souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held?” (Rev_6:9)—these souls of the righteous hidden beneath the glorious throne of God.
The thought is embodied in the following extract. “The angel of death came and stood before Moses. Give me thy soul, said he; but Moses rebuked him, and said, thou hast no permission to come where he (Moses) was; and he departed crest-fallen. Then the Holy One—blessed be He !—took the soul of Moses, and hid it under His throne of glory: as it is said (1Sa_25:29): ‘And the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life.’ But when He took it He took it by means of a kiss.”—Avoth. of Rabbi Nathan, 1 Samuel 12.
In the Seder Moed, again, in the same Treatise Shabbath, there is a remarkable parable, founded on this saying of Abigail: a parable that reminds us of the framework of one of the well-known pictures of the Redeemer. A king once distributed royal robes among his servants; those that were wise folded them up and laid them by in a coffer, and those that were foolish wore them on their working days. When the king demanded back his robes, those given to the wise were returned free from stains, whilst those of the foolish were soiled. The king, pleased with the wise servants, ordered their robes to be deposited in his treasury, and then that they should depart in peace. But he manifested his displeasure at the foolish servants; he sent their robes to be washed, and dispatched them to prison. So the bodies of the righteous “enter into peace, and rest in their beds” (Isa_57:2), and their souls are bound up in the bundle of life; but with reference to the bodies of the foolish there is no peace, saith the Lord, and the wicked (Isa_57:21) and their souls (quoting the next paragraph of this chapter of Samuel) are slung out, as out of the middle of a sling (1Sa_25:29).—Treatise Shabbath, fol. 152, col. 2.
And the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.—The simile was one Abigail had with all probability heard from one or other of the prophets or their pupils. It was not unlikely originally suggested by the ever memorable encounter between David and Goliath: as in the case of the souls of the righteous, in the passage just discussed, the reference in the first instance was to the fate of the enemies of God in this life; but Hebrew theologians in all times have understood it in a deeper and more solemn sense, as a reference to the doom after death reserved for all unrighteous. (See, for instance, above in the passage quoted from the Talmud, Treatise Shabbath.) In the same most ancient writing–which, most probably, contains the teaching of the great Jewish schools before the Christian era—we read: “The souls of the wicked are incessantly thrown by angels, as with a sling, from one end of the world to the other, as it is said: ‘The souls of thine enemies shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling;’ and what, asks Ravah of Rav. Nachman (this is a later comment), is the lot of those who are neither righteous nor wicked? They, as well as the wicked, are handed over to ‘Dumah’—silence (see Psa_115:17)—an angel who has charge of disembodied spirits. The former, the neither righteous nor wicked, have rest; the latter, the wicked, have none.”—Treatise Shabbath, fol. 152, col. 2.
The strange wild statement, as it seems to us, is no doubt a cryptograph; and the great rabbis of old days in their famous schools would now and again unrol its meaning. With that, for the present, we have not to concern ourselves. But the bare text, as we copy it from the Talmud, conveys to us this important fact,—that men and women in the Canaan of Samuel and Saul—people who lived remote, as it would seem, from any famous centre of civilisation, in the midst of shepherds and herdsmen in the lone sheep farms of Judah and Benjamin—believed in the glories of the life eternal with God, and looked on to a future state of rewards and punishments, instead of limiting their hopes and fears to the sitting in quiet peace under the vine and the fig tree of their own loved land of promise.
The knowledge of a future state of existence was ever the blessed heritage of the chosen race—but the spread of that knowledge and the re-awakening of that belief we ascribe to the beneficial influence of one man. The Divine record, if we read between its lines, and the mighty wealth of Hebrew tradition, if we take sufficient pains to make it our own, tell us one story—how Samuel, whom, when he was a child, the God of Israel loved: with whom, during his long and blameless life, He used to speak face to face—now by a vision, now by the echo of a voice—tell us how Samuel was the founder of those great Prophetic Schools where the lamp of the knowledge of God was re-lit, and then kept burning with a steady flame through his time and for centuries after: the one bright light during the long, sad record of Israel.
Hero-kings like David, prophets like Gad and Nathan, the great psalm writers and musicians of the Temple of Solomon, were the more prominent results of the peculiar teaching and spirit of these “schools;” but their noblest work, after all, was the high and beneficial influence they exercised over the people of the land—an influence exemplified in such characters as that of Abigail, the sheep-master of Carmel’s wife, a page of whose life story we have just been considering.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 29-31. Yet a man is risen. Rather, "And…
Vers. 29-31. Yet a man is risen. Rather, "And should any one arise to pursue thee," etc. The reference is of course to Saul, but put with due reserve, and also made general, so as to include all possible injury attempted against David. Bound in the bundle of life. Hebrew, "of the living." The metaphor is taken from the habit of packing up in a bundle articles of great value or of indispensable use, so that the owner may carry them about his person. In India the phrase is common; thus, a just judge is said to be bound up in the bundle of righteousness; a lover in the bundle of love. Abigail prays, therefore, that David may, with others whose life is precious in God"s sight, be securely kept under Jehovah"s personal care and protection. In modern times the two words signifying "in the bundle of the living" form a common inscription on Jewish gravestones, the phrase having been interpreted in the Talmud, as also by Abravanel and other Jewish authorities, of a future life. Shall he sling out, etc. In forcible contrast with this careful preservation of David"s life, she prays that his enemies may be cast away as violently and to as great a distance as a stone is cast out of a sling. The middle is the hollow in which the stone was placed. Ruler. i.e. prince. It is the word rendered captain in 1Sa_9:16 1Sa_10:1, but its meaning is more correctly given here. Grief. The word really means much the same as stumbling block, something which makes a person stagger by his striking against it unawares. Abigail prays, therefore, that when David has become prince, and so has to administer justice, this violent and revengeful act which he was purposing might not prove a cause of stumbling and an offence of heart to himself, by his conscience reproaching him for having himself done that which he had to condemn in others.
Ver. 29. (CARMEL.)
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The bundle of life.
1. The bundle of life, or the living (the word bundle, tseror, being used once before of the bag or purse of money which each of Joseph"s brethren found in his sack of corn, (Gen_42:35) signifies the society or congregation of the living out of which men are taken and cut off by death (Barrett, "Synopsis of Criticisms"). It contains those who possess life, continued and prosperous life, in the present world in the midst of the dangers to which they are exposed, and by which others are taken away from "the land of the living". (Isa_4:3) Life is a gift of God, and its continuance is presumptive of his favour.
2. What is here desired and predicted concerning them is based upon their moral distinction from other men. They are, like David, servants of God, and differ from others, as David from Saul and Nabal, in their character and conduct. They constitute the community of the godly in "this present evil world," and "their names are written in heaven.
3. They are of inestimable worth in the sight of God. He values all men because of their capacity for goodness, but much more some on account of their actual possession of it. Their worth surpasses all earthly possessions and distinctions. "The whole system of bodies (the firmament, the stars, the earth, and the kingdoms of it) and spirits together is unequal to the least emotion of charity" (Pascal).
4. They are his special possession; belong to him in a peculiar manner, because of what he had done for them "above all people," and their own voluntary devotion to him. "Know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself." "The Lord taketh pleasure in his people," and calls them "my jewels". (Mal_3:17)
5 . They live in intimate communion with him. "A people near unto him"; (Psa_148:14) "bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God.
1. They are preserved safely from the malicious designs of their enemies, and from all evil. "Should a man arise to pursue thee and seek thy soul," etc. The expression is derived from the common usage of men, who put valuable things together and keep them near their persons to prevent their being lost or injured. "Your life is hid with Christ in God". (Col_3:3)
2. They have a common participation in the strength and blessedness afforded by his presence and favour. Their life is of the highest kind life in the truest, fullest sense, directly derived from him who is "the Fountain of life," and involving all real good. "In thy presence," etc. (Psa_16:11) The life of others is but "a race to death," and they are "dead while they hive.
3. They are designed for useful service; not merely to be looked upon and admired, but employed according to the will of the owner. It is for this that they are preserved.
4. They have "the promise of eternal life. Their spiritual fellowship with God and with each other in this life is an earnest of its continuance and perfection in the life to come. "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." The pious Jew dies with the words of the text upon his lips, and has them inscribed upon his tomb. "Whosoever is so hidden in the gracious fellowship of the Lord in this life that no enemy can harm him or injure his life, the Lord will not allow to perish, even though temporal death should come, but will then receive him into eternal life" (Keil). "And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
5. Their destiny (like their character) is the opposite of that of the ungodly. "Concerning the bodies of the righteous it is said, "He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds"; (Isa_57:21) and of their souls it is said, "And the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God." But concerning the bodies of the wicked it is said, "There is no peace, saith God, to the wicked." And of their souls it is said, "And the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling (Talmud, quoted by Hurwitz). D.
HOMILIES BY D. FRASER
Ver. 29.
The bundle of life and the sling.
The appeal of Abigail had all the more persuasiveness that she avowed her sympathy with David"s cause, and her faith in the Divine purpose to make him king. Such a conviction was by this time widely diffused in the land among those who feared Jehovah and honoured the prophet Samuel. We have seen that it was confessed by Saul himself, and by Jonathan it was cherished with generous pleasure. But Nabal would not have it mentioned in his presence. In his eyes David was a mere runaway servant of the king who had turned freebooter. His wife showed the vigour of her mind, the clearness of her judgment, and the strength of her faith in not fearing the displeasure of Nabal or the wrath of King Saul, but declaring her confident belief that the Lord would raise David to be ruler over Israel. On this ground she entreated him not to burden his conscience or sully his name with a hasty deed of blood. What a power of figurative expression those Eastern believers had; and not least those devout women whose spirits were stirred by urgent occasions to ardent utterance Deborah in her triumph, Hannah in her song, Abigail in her appeal!
I THE FIGURE OF SAFETY. A soul bound up in the bundle of life with Jehovah. What could a Nabal"s churlishness, or even a Saul"s pursuit, avail against a man whose life God guarded by night and day? If we use Abigail"s phrase we extend its meaning. The question with her was of David"s preservation to fill the throne of Israel; but it is not for us under the New Testament to set our hearts on earthly rank. Our treasure is in heaven. Our inheritance is reserved for us till our Lord"s return. Our days are few and uncertain. But we have an eternal life, freely given to us in Christ Jesus; and the bundle of life means for us the unity of all the living ones in Christ, the totality of the life which "is hid with Christ in God." They who are bound up therein have been taken out of the bundles of sin and death, extricated from what is evil and therefore doomed to destruction, and have been by the power of the Holy Ghost joined to Christ and the Church. Happy day that sees this done! Strong security that follows! Who is he that can harm us if we are Christ"s, bound up in the bundle of life with God our Saviour?
II THE FIGURE OF REJECTION. Abigail made no further reference to Nabal. He was her husband, and in no case could he be formidable to David. All she asked was that the son of Jesse would magnanimously overlook his churlishness. But the whole country rang with reports of the angry pursuit of David by the king", and Abigail predicted that his enemies would have discomfiture and rejection from the Lord his God. With rare felicity of allusion she spoke of their souls as flung away, as a stone is cast "out of the middle of a sling." The very mention of the weapon with which David had gained his first great success must have stirred his faith and courage. The figure, as the history shows, was remarkably appropriate to the career of David"s chief enemy, Saul. "As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool". (Pro_26:8) Now honour had been given to Saul. He was anointed and exalted to the throne, and yet was at heart unwise and disobedient. So was the stone laid in the pan of a sling. After a while we see the stone whirled round in the sling, i.e. we see Saul troubled and tossed wayward, disturbed, passionate, insanely jealous. The end was now drawing near, and the stone was about to be east out of the sling in despair and death on Mount Gilboa.
On vers. 32, 33 Dr. South has left us a sermon entitled, "Prevention of sin an invaluable blessing." In the "application" of it the preacher shows that a much higher satisfaction is to be found from a conquered than from a conquering passion. "Revenge is certainly the most luxurious morsel that the devil can put into a sinner"s mouth. But do we think that David could have found half the pleasure in the execution of his revenge that he expresses here upon the disappointment of it? Possibly it might have pleased him in the present heat and hurry of his rage, but must have displeased him infinitely more in the cool, sedate reflections of his mind." Another point which South enforces is that the temper with which we receive providential prevention of sin is a criterion of the gracious or ungracious condition of our hearts. "Whosoever has anything of David"s piety will be perpetually plying the throne of grace with such like acknowledgments as Blessed be that Providence which delivered me from such a lewd company or such a vicious acquaintance! And blessed be that God who cast stops and hindrances in my way when I was attempting the commission of such and such a sin; who took me out of such a course of life, such a place, or such an employment, which was a continual snare and temptation to me! And blessed be such a preacher and such a friend whom God made use of to speak a word in season to my wicked heart, and so turned me out of the paths of death and destruction, and saved me in spite of the world, the devil, and myself! F.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The soul of my Lord shall be bound in…
1Sa_25:29
The soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of life.
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The bundle of life
The imagery, of course, is Oriental. It is very true that the life of man is bounded up with the Divine; bound up in the bundle of life, how expressive it is--tied to Him. The soul and life of man is in the bundle with the life of God.
1. This is the beginning of human history. There is but one life in the world, and that life pours itself out and becomes the life of man. And mans life is like the life of God, and it is, in its measure, the life of God. This life is very realistically described as being breathed out from the lips of the Almighty into the muscles of man.
2. Now this is something that gives us not only a very exalted idea of God, but a very exalted idea of man. I do not know of anything that needs to be more impressed upon us today than the dignity of human nature--let me change the word--the divinity of human nature. Nothing can exalt a man above the greatness of his nature, the greatness that is his because his life is a Divine life, his life is in the bundle of life with God. Let us remember this, that whatever happens, we are made of Gods will, that God wanted us to be made, that He wanted us to be here. There is something we can do that nobody else could do, and that Gods wealth in the world is the wealth of men and women who can meet Him, answering love with love, answering with wisdom and confidence and obedience.
3. It is very easy to see what comes out of this. There comes out of it on the one side Gods great delight in us. The Lords portion is His people. As long as God is rich, we are rich, as long as God is happy we can be happy if we want to be. As long as God is wise we are wise if we want to be. We are in the bundle with Him. You are bound up in the bundle of life, whatever happens to you happens to Him, and if you choose to have it so, whatever happens to Him, according to the measure of your day, will happen to you. And God likes this trust, this confidence. The more we trust Him the more He is delighted in us. God depends upon us. We are in the bundle of life, and when we drop out of the bundle of life and leave God alone--well, did you ever have a child go out of your house and leave you? That is a little bit of the feeling that God has when we get out of the bundle of life, when we seek after pleasures which he has forbidden, when there is anything in our business that He does not approve. It is so ordained that while we are in the bundle of life with God we are free perfectly. We are not compelled to be there. You can get out of the bundle of life any time you want to. We find a great deal going on in the world that does not seem to be consistent with the bundle of God. How can there be all this misery if London is in the bundle with God? But all London is not in the bundle with God. It ought to be, it can be, but it has slipped away. Yet it is pretty plain that a good many of us have got outside the bundle of God. How does God regard it? How do you regard it? I would like to ask what would happen to God if you get out of the bundle. What would happen if your boy, whom you love a hundred times more than you love Him, got out of your bundle? From the first of Genesis we find how man slipped out of Gods bundle. One day they came to Christ and found fault with Him because they said He ate and drank with publicans and sinners, and He turned and said, You do just the same. Oh, no, they said, we never do such a thing. Do you not? You have a hundred sheep and lose one--what do you do? I go after it to bring it back. Why do you do that? Why do you not send someone else after it? Because it is my sheep. Precisely. That publican, he is not a publican; he is My publican, My sinner, My boy. God is trying to get you back into the bundle. Every man who is unhappy, every man who does not love Christ and confess Him has dropped out of the bundle. Christ is trying to get him back into the bundle. (A. Mckenzie, D. D.)
The bundle of life
It is a very beautiful expression, especially when you consider what the word bundle would mean in those times. Nowadays we do not usually associate anything precious with a bundle. It is rather the other way. If a household were removing, for instance, it would be the odds and ends, the things of little value, that would likely be put into a bundle for convenience of removal. The precious things of the household would be secured in some safer way than by being simply huddled together in a bundle. A commercial traveller, in journeying by rail, would have his big bundles in the van, but anything particularly valuable would be carried by himself in pocket book or hand bag securely fastened. But in those primitive days they had not such elaborate means of securing safety. In shifting their tents to pastures new, any things of special value would simply be bound up in a bundle, and the husband or wife would see to it that that bundle was well looked after on the journey. It would be with them on their camel, or somewhere where they could always see it. Note, however, in passing, that other metaphor Abigail makes use of with regard to the enemies of David: The souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. It is a very forcible way of putting it. It just means emphatically the opposite of the care and attention connected with the bundle. What could be thought more lightly of than the stone slung out of a sling? So, the bundle implies that which is particularly valuable, whereas the stone slung out of a sling suggests that which is worthless, not worth taking any trouble or concern about. But let us direct our attention to the other wish that Abigail expresses regarding David. It is a beautiful thought, the thought of being bound in Gods bundle of life.
1. Does it not, for one thing, imply, very specially, safety? They are safe who are bound in Gods bundle of life. It is a great word in the Bible sense--safety--greater than we shall ever comprehend here. Gods desire is to save men from themselves, from their sins, from their spiritual foes.
2. Another thought implied in the phrase, the bundle of life, is that of preciousness. So, in the bundle of life, we have to consider not mans but Gods estimate of values. The neediest are, in a sense, the dearest. Look at the publicans of old as compared with the self-righteous Pharisees.
3. But one thing more also is suggested by the bundle, viz., that it will not always be a bundle. After all, the bundle is but a temporary arrangement. Only for the time being, when a household would be removing, would the valuables be packed up in a bundle, with little regard to arrangement and order. But in the new home the bundle would be opened, and each article put carefully in a place of its own. And so with Gods opening and rearranging of the bundle of life. The words of Abigail, in connection with David, seem to refer to the present life, to Davids safety here from the foes that were assailing him. I am aware that the Jews, nowadays are in the habit of using the phrase in reference to the life beyond. But is it not more in harmony with the idea of a bundle to apply the phrase to the present life? It is here, not hereafter, that things are not as they should be, not as we would wish them to be; it is here that there is the medley and confusion of a bundle. The best and the worst are often in strange positions, and juxtapositions, in this world. And look, too, how those dear to us often get separated, far and wide in life. But the time will come when there shall be separation no more, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. May that be our prayer and trust for us all, that, when all is over, so far as this world is concerned, it will not be for us a being slung out as out of the middle of a sling, but only the opening of the bundle, and the rearrangement and final settlement in the eternal home. But remember, too, that while here, just as the contents of the good wifes bundle, though mixed together for the time being, would still be precious, and still safe, amid all the temporary disorder, so, even here, where things are oft inexplicably mixed, and many things are hard to understand, and harder still to bear, they are nevertheless safe and precious, now and evermore, in His sight, who are bound in Gods bundle of life. (J. S. Maver, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 chase and try to catch
pursue
chase and try to catch
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the life of my master will be bound in the bundle of the living by Yahweh your God
Abigail speaks of David's life as if it were a long and thin object that a person could put with other long and thin objects and then tie together into a bundle with a rope. This can be translated in active form. AT: "Yahweh your God will bind the life of my master in the bundle of the living" or "Yahweh your God will keep you alive with those who are alive" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
the life of my master
Abigail speaks of herself and David as if they are two different people to show that she respects David. AT: "your life" (See: Pronouns)
he will sling away the lives of your enemies, as from the pocket of a sling
Abigail speaks of David's enemies' lives as if they were small objects like a stone that could be put in a sling and shot a long distance. AT: "he will kill your enemies as easily as a man slings a stone a long distance" (See: Metaphor)
a sling
a piece of animal skin with long cords at both ends in which a person can put a stone or other small, hard object and throw it a long distance
translationWords
raise
life
lord
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 25:29 The phrase like stones shot from a sling…
25:29 The phrase like stones shot from a sling is a fitting metaphor for David, considering his defeat of Goliath with a sling (17:32-51).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.