Abigail~The Peacemaker

1 Samuel 25

The first thing we see about Abigail is the striking difference between her and her husband, Nabal. (v.33) Even the meanings of their names represent their characters. Abigail: her Father’s joy, Nabal: fool.

How would a virtuous woman conduct herself when married to an irreverent and disrespectful man such as her husband? A man who was so utterly selfish and hateful that he responded to those in need without any compassion. (v.3, 14) How many years had she lived with this man who was so blatantly evil to those around him? How many times had she ‘made amends’ for his behavior, taking on the righteous responsibilities herself? How many times had she put herself in jeopardy, seeing that she lived in a time when women were the possessions of their husbands, and risked divorce or death if she was found going against his authority?

Even though she had no authority as the wife, the servant came to tell Abigail about her husband’s actions toward David’s men. He knew she would do SOMETHING to correct the situation. He recognized Nabal as a ‘son of Belial’—that is, a man who follows another god. (v.14-17) Abigail used the ‘good understanding’ attributed to her (v.3) to put together a bountiful amount of food for David and his men. Unlike her husband, she recognized David as God’s favored, not the man sitting on the throne-Saul. (v.10)

She spoke to David prophetically, not only about the current situation, but about the future concerning him and Israel. (v.28-30) She also spoke prophetically concerning her husband, (v.31) knowing that the Lord would punish him in His own time. She asked David to remember her when that had taken place. At this point we can see that David and Abigail were actually of the same character: they were both fighting for the Lord while under the subjection of a higher earthly authority. Neither were afraid to take the risks necessary to do the right thing in the name of the Lord. David recognized this in her, and blessed her for coming to him. (v.32-35)

Upon returning home, she found Nabal too drunk to speak to, having a feast ‘like the feast of a king.’ When she tells him the next morning how close he and the household came to dying by David’s hand, his heart ‘died within him, and became as a stone.’ Ten days later, the Lord ‘smote’ him ‘that he died.’ (v.36-38) What kind of thoughts went through his head in the ten days that he lived? Did he have any regrets? Did he yearn to go back so he could treat people differently?

At that moment, Abigail was no longer trapped in an ungodly marriage to an ungodly man. As a reward for her support and righteous thinking, David married her, (v.39-42) and she saw him become king of Judah, then Israel, as she had prophesied .

So, based on these characters, are you an Abigail? Are you the delight of your heavenly Father? Do you do what’s right as determined by God, even if it flies in the face of tradition or the current authority? Are you in a place, spiritually, where the Holy Spirit can give you prophecies and reveal to you things not acknowledged by others? Or are you a Nabal? Do you deal foolishly and harshly with others, not recognizing God’s chosen?

As an Abigail, you will reap blessings, have evil removed, and be rewarded with something that you could never attain on your own. As a Nabal, you will wake up to find out how narrowly you escaped with your life, your heart will stop beating, and you’ll die a slow, miserable death, either spiritually or literally.