Abigail
The story of Abigail is one that is often overlooked, but in continuing to understand the personality of a Christian woman her story needs to be addressed. Abigail is described as “an intelligent and beautiful woman” 1 Samuel 25:3, and is the exact opposite of her husband Nabal, whose name means “fool” and was a man who was “surly and mean in his dealings” 1 Samuel 25:3. Through the story of Abigail, we can learn a great deal about what is means to have a discerning heart and how to apply a spirit of gentleness in a difficult situation.
The full story of Abigail can be found in 1 Samuel 25, but I will give a brief background on her as well. As already mentioned, Abigail was married to Nabal who had a place of business in Carmel. David, who had not become King yet, and his men had moved into the Desert of Maon and while there had protected Nabal’s shepherds. Upon hearing that Nabal was in the area, David sent some of his men to ask Nabal to “be favorable toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.” 1 Samuel 25:8
Nabal’s answer was true to his name, he denied any knowledge of David and the agreement they had for the protection of his shepherds. This response angered David who began to plan an attack on Nabal and his household. However, a servant of Nabal’s found Abigail and reported to her what her husband had said, but also what David’s men had done for them. Abigail without hesitation grabs compensation and set out to meet with David. When she found him, Abigail bowed down before David and asked that the blame be put on her, she begs David to ignore her husband since “his name is Fool, and folly goes with him” 1 Samuel 25:25, she states that had she seen David’s servants and heard the request they would have received compensation, Abigail then asks that David rethink his attack. She states that “Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. 27 Now let this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany my lord. 28 Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days. 29 Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, 31 this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.” 1 Samuel 25:26-31.
David accepts Abigail’s compensation and tells her to “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.” 1 Samuel 25:35. When Abigail returns to her husband, she finds him feasting like a king and very drunk. She wisely waits to tell him of what she had done until the morning when Nabal was not in the middle of his gluttony. When Nabal heard what had been done “his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. 38 About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.” 1 Samuel 25:37-38. Upon hearing of Nabal’s demise, David praised God for dealing with Nabal and keeping David from wrongdoing. David then extends to Abigail an invitation to be his wife, which she accepts.
Through this story we can see that we are called to have a discerning heart and to deal graciously with trouble. This story could have turned out differently if Abigail had chosen to hesitate upon hearing the news that her husband was going to deny David payment for his protection. Not only would David have participated in needless bloodshed and would have later regretted his actions of killing many innocent people due to the actions of one man. Or if Abigail had acted harshly it would have led to the same bloodshed. Abigail’s reaction to the servant’s news always recalls Proverbs 14:6, “A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.” It is no doubt that Nabal is acting as a scoffer, seeking his own wisdom but missing God’s. Abigail however, understands what must be done and this understanding makes the decision easy to make. She knew that neglecting those who had helped them would only bring trouble to her family. The only way to stop this was to confront the situation.
Now we see through Abigail’s actions that confrontation does not necessarily mean harsh words. She approached David with the spirit of humbleness, she brought herself to the place of a servant in order to deal with her husband’s actions. She begged for forgiveness and even took the blame upon herself even though she was not the one who saw the original messengers. She approached the situation as someone from Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”. Her words spoken in a tone of gentleness and respect, got through to the angry David. His response to her perfectly sums up how a gentle answer can turn away anger. “Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,” 1 Samuel 25:32. David recognized that it was the Lord who had sent Abigail to him to turn him away from actions that he would have regretted.
The angry future King had been pacified and Abigail must now return home to her husband. Nabal, unaware of the threat that his wife had stopped, was feasting and drinking. Here is another example of how having discernment can only help those who belong to God. Imagine if Abigail had told her drunk husband what had happened. Do you think he would have seen the errors in his way? Or do you think it more likely that he would have acted, like his namesake, foolishly. I believe this is the most likely occurrence from seeing the characteristic of Nabal from early on in this chapter. It is likely that had he heard that David was planning an attack, Nabal would have decided to attack as well, and the needless bloodshed that Abigail was trying to prevent would have taken place. Abigail once again acted wisely and waited until after Nabal was sober to tell him the news. The resulting death of Nabal shows that in His own time, God will deal with the enemies of his people. Nabal’s fate is a perfect example of Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling”. Nabal had thought that he had gotten away with not paying David, hosted a feast, and later meet his demise.
Now hearing the story of Abigail, it brings to mind Proverbs 2:11, “Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you”. Through her discretion and understanding of the situation Abigail guarded herself and those around her. Abigail is a great example of what to do when we are faced with a situation that we know we can have an impact on. Abigail should be accredited with not only having discernment but for being courageous, for without her many innocent people would have died. When discernment is used correctly, we can be resolute in our need to not sit and let a situation pass us by, there are times we need to confront the situation head on and times we should allow events to play out. Abigail knew when to go to David to fix the issue before needless blood was shed, but also knew when to wait to tell Nabal. Abagail even shows her discernment to know what is outside of her control when her husband is taken from her, she wisely waits upon the Lord who graciously gives her a better man. No matter if the situation requires a direct approach or not, confronting difficulty with a spirit of humbleness will often get a better response.
Seek the Truth and encourage one another,
Alex