Abigail: Women In The Bible Week 8

.

.

.

"And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich: he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved." 

"When David's young men came they said all David told them to Nabal, and then waited. Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of David?" So David's men turned away and came back and told him all what had happened." 

"But one of the men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "Behold David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master and he railed at them. Yet the men were very good to us and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. Now know this and consider what you shall do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him." "

"Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and one hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs and laid them on donkeys. And she said to her young men"Go before me, behold I come after you." But she didn't tell her husband Nabal." 

"When Abigail saw David she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell at his feet and said. "On me alone, my Lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears and hear the words of your servant. Let not my Lord regard this worthless fellow Nabal, as for his name is so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. "

"And David said to Abigail "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand!"  And he said to her "Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition." In the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things and his heart died within him, and he became as stone. And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died. When David heard this he sent and spoke to Abigail to take her as his wife." 

.

.

.

Abigail was gifted with beauty and intelligence but suffered because she had a fool for a husband, the mean Nabal. 1 Samuel 25v3 says "The woman was discerning and beautiful but the man was harsh and badly behaved." Nabal's actions meant that Abigail was trying to prevent serious disaster on her household, from David and his men.

Now Abigail intervened although she didn't fight the battle by using her beauty, wit or an actual weapon, she used her most powerful tool- her voice, her words, not harsh, mean words, but up lifting words, powerful words and life affirming words. She became a speaker of truth for David, by letting God use her to speak to David's heart- which we discover was a real turning point in him becoming the man God wanted him to be.

Abigail took action on behalf of her husband, who frankly probably didn't deserve it, she took all his blame on herself and made an appeal to David with nothing but food and wine. Abigail was a key to unlocking God's will and preventing destruction. We are called to be like Abigail to speak life to people, encourage, be truthful and life affirming, not to cause un needed destruction and guilt. To bring out the truth and will of God in each and every persons life who we meet. 

.

.

.