Neville Goddard on 1 Samuel 25:23-31 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 1 Samuel 25 in context

Scripture Focus

23And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,

24And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.

25Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

26Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

27And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

28I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

29Yet 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.

30And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;

31That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.

1 Samuel 25:23-31

Biblical Context

Abigail pleads with David to spare bloodshed, acknowledging Nabal's folly while inviting mercy and trust in the Lord’s protection.

Neville's Inner Vision

Abigail's meeting with David is the inner drama of your own soul. The David you are becomes a king in whom passion would spill blood, and Abigail--your higher self--drops from the symbolic ass, bows before the I AM within, and speaks as the voice of mercy. She places the burden of blame on 'this man of Belial,' not as a judgment upon the self, but as a recognition that the outer impulse is a misalignment with your true nature. Her plea--'forgive the trespass'--is a revision of guilt, a turning away from vengeance toward the Lord's battles. When the Lord withholds bloodshed, your inner David is reminded that the soul is bound in the bundle of life with God; enemies are, in effect, slinged away by the steadfastness of divine presence. The prophecy of blessing--'the Lord will surely make thy lord a sure house'--rules your imagining, not as future anxiety but as now-already realized. Accept the inner covenant, and you will not shed blood causelessly; remember the handmaid when the Lord has dealt well with you and established you.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Close your eyes and assume you are David, already blessed with a sure house; revise the urge to strike into a merciful action and feel it real. Visualize your fears and enemies being slinged away by the inner God, as the soul is bound to life with the Lord.