Is there a Child of Belial in your Life

November 14, 2025

Hello, family. I am Brother Bernard from the Mission House in Ghana. A couple of weeks ago while in adoration, I had the words "Abigail". In my spirit I understood it was Abigail in the Bible. Jesus wanted me to study her life & learn from her story. I have not been able to sit & read the Bible to avail myself to the Holy Spirit to teach me from the life of Abigail. One early morning several days later after my morning Adoration, I was prompted by the Spirit to sit down and read the Story of Abigail. I did so. Brothers & Sisters, remember what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:11, which states, "Now all these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."Let's read together the Story of Abigail at 1 Samuel 25:1-42 (KJV).

"And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail, and she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance, but the man was churlish and evil in his doings, and he was of the house of Caleb.And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds, which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing unto them all the while they were in Carmel.

Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes, for we come in a good day; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants and to thy son David. And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David and ceased. And Nabal answered David's servants and said, 'Who is David?' And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadaysthat break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be? So David's young men turned their way and went again and came and told him all those sayings. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword, and David also girded on his sword, and there went up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred abode by the stuff.

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master, and he railed on them.But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither did we miss anything, as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields:They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him. Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched corn, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs and laid them on asses. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she did not tell her husband, Nabal.And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her, and she met them.

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him, and he has requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertains to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. And when Abigail saw David, she hastened and alighted off the ass and fell before David on her face and bowed herself to the ground. And 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.

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

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

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me.: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

So David received of her hand that which she had brought him and said unto her, 'Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice and have accepted thy person.'And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.And it came to pass about ten days after that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail to take her to him as wife.

And when the servants of David came to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke unto her, saying, 'David sent us unto thee to take thee to him as wife.'And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth and said, 'Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.'And Abigail hastened and arose and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.

What a story. A movie should be made on the life of Abigail.There is a word that is used twice in this passage that we must take notice of before we dig into the story. The word is "Belial"; it is used twice in this chapter.

In verse 17, "1 Samuel 25:17 (KJV) Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him.

Secondly, in verse 251 Samuel 25:25 (KJV) Let 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.

What does this word mean?'Belial' is a Hebrew word. I Googled for the meaning of this word, 'belial', and this is how Google explains it.

The Hebrew word 'belial' (בְּלִיַּעַל) fundamentally means 'worthlessness' or 'lawlessness'. It is a compound word, likely derived from beli ("without") and ya'al ("worth" or "profit"), to describe something or someone lacking value or defying authority. In the Old Testament, it is used to describe corrupt or rebellious people.

The lord led me to look into a bible commentary online, and this is what it stated about "Belial":

"In scripture Belial isn’t just a demon. The Hebrew word literally means 'worthless', 'lawless', or 'without yoke' – someone who is completely rebellious, corrupt & morally depraved. In the Old Testament it is presented as a symbol of total corruption. Sons of Belial are violent, manipulative, godless men. It represents chaos without conscience. In the New Testament, Belial becomes more clearly defined as a demonic force, the direct opposite of Christ, leading people into destruction through seduction, lies and moral decay."

In the Bible the word 'belial' is mentioned 16 times. 15 of 16 verses within the Bible with the word 'Belial' are found within the Old Testament. The word 'Belial' is found once within the New Testament.

The word 'Belial' is used as follows in scripture:1] Children of BelialDeuteronomy 13:13 (KJV) Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known';

2] Sons of Belial1 Samuel 2:12 (KJV) Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.

3] Daughter of Belial1 Samuel 1:16 (KJV) Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

4] Man of Belial1 Samuel 25:25 Let 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. (KJV DBY WBS)The title of this message is "IS YOUR SPOUSE A CHILD OF BELIAL?" Let us extend this and ask, is there "a Man, a Daughter, a Son or a Child of Belial" in your life?

How did Abigail end up being yoked with "a man of Belial"? We must ask this because of the manner the Bible describes Abigail in 1 Samuel 25:3 (KJV): "Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail, and she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance…"

The NLT Bible version describes Abigail as a "sensible woman".The NIV describes her as an "intelligent woman".The ESV describes her as a "discerning woman".What happened? Many marriages in ancient Israel were arranged by parents, so was this the case? Let's not forget also that the sovereignty of the Lord "permitted" this to happen.What kind of person was Nabal, her husband? The word of God states that "he was surly and mean" [NLT]. By the way, "surly" means "bad-tempered and unfriendly".In NIV he is described as "mean and crude in all his dealings".In ESV it is described as "harsh & badly behaved".

This marriage and this home were a major contradiction. But the scriptures further give a description of who this Nabal really is. In this one passage Nabal has a peculiar description as a "son of Belial" & "man of Belial". 1 Samuel 25:17 (KJV) Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him.1 Samuel 25:25 (KJV) Let 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. It's clear that Nabal belonged to "Belial". What does this even mean?

To understand this better, let us turn to 2 Corinthians 6:15 (KJV); it states, "And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?"Let us compare with NLT 2 Corinthians 6:15. What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? Belial is Satan, the Devil. Now the servant calls Nabal "Son of Belial", meaning spiritually a son of the devil. Abigail herself calls her "Man of Belial"; in simple terms, she meant he belongs to the devil. He is the devil's man in town, doing the bidding of the devil in the Mount Carmel region. In Abigail's conversation with David, we can identify what probably led Nabal to such a depraved state. Let us look at 1 Sam 25:24.

"And she fell at his feet, and she said, 'May this iniquity be upon me, my lord. I beg you, let your handmaid speak to your ears, and listen to the words of your servant."

Abigail told David, 'Let this iniquity be on me.' She was requesting of David that she should be blamed for the consequences of the iniquity of Nabal.

What is iniquity?I will quote Pastor Kawalya on this."Iniquity is uncleanliness in the blood that distorts, corrupts and twists the genes and infiltrates our thoughts, behaviours and even bones.A bloodline iniquity is not just sin but a spiritual substance that makes a person prone to a certain sin or weakness.Bloodline iniquities are weaknesses and infirmities that are deep-seated and lingering disorders and afflictions transferred at conception.Bloodline iniquities are not punishments from God because of our ancestors' sins but defects and consequences of rebellion in the spirit of man."We once were interceding for a soul, and the Lord revealed to us that ancestral bloodline iniquities are triggering sinful behaviour in the soul. Do we know the iniquities that are limiting us, bringing upon us disgrace, confusion, chaos & dysfunctional lives? We must seek to know & repent of bloodline iniquities.

At least once a week a soul must spend time in repentance for bloodline iniquities.Returning to Abigail, apparently she had discerned her husband was depraved because of iniquity in his life. Is this why she persevered in this marriage?What does the Bible say about iniquities?Deut 5:9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,Jer 32:18You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts.Scripture confirms that iniquity moves in bloodlines, causing bondages.Does God forgive iniquities? Let scripture give us the answers.

Jeremiah 31:34: "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”Hebrews 8:12: "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

Another issue the Holy Spirit has put in my heart as I read this passage was the level of honour Abigail gave to her husband, Nabal, in spite of his conduct. She honoured this "son of Belial" and also showed deep commitment to her marriage covenant with Nabal. How? She went to meet David for one reason only: to protect Nabal from death. She even suggested that the consequences of her husband's bad conduct be placed on her. She was willing to pay for the sins of her husband.

She was a woman of rare wisdom and tact. She even knew when to talk to her husband. Remember when she came back from her "rescue mission", she found her husband drunk, so she avoided conversation with him because he was not in the right mental state to appreciate what she was telling him.

Abigail was in alignment with the workings of God in the life of David; she apparently acknowledged that David was going to be ruler over Israel and even "prophesied" that the Lord would build an enduring dynasty for David, which we know came to pass. She counselled David to avoid shedding vengeful blood because it will defile his kingship.Abigail shows the depth of her humility; remember, she had become a "wealthy" woman after the death of her husband. When David proposed to her, listen to her response. Her response exposes my pride. She said I read from verse 41, "She bowed low to the ground and responded, “I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!”

She submitted herself to David's men, declaring herself to be their servant, willing even to wash their feet.

As an intercessor, I could not miss verse 28, May what she says encourage intercessors to persevere in spiritual battle for the Kingdom. Verse 28, "For the Lord will surely make for you, my lord, a faithful house, because you, my lord, fight the battles of the Lord. Therefore, let no evil be found in you all the days of your life."Brothers & Sisters Meditate on these things. In part two of this story, by God's grace, we will get insights from the throne of Grace about Abigail & Nabal and how this story applies to us who in our lives have "children of Belial" and how this story should enrich our relationships and especially marriages.

Until next time may the spirit of repentance come upon us and our loved ones, and may we walk in true humility.