47 Virtuous Abigail

After Nabal rebuffed David’s men, when (representing David) they requested a small number of provisions so that they might appear at an upcoming feast in Carmel, them men returned to David and told him what Nabal said.

1 David’s Reaction

1 Samuel 25:12-13

David reacted in (for him) what was a very unexpected way, as he became so incensed, that he gathered 400 of his men to go against Nabal. David’s intent was to wipeout Nabal and all males in his household.

This overreaction, was much like that, when Saul found out David was hiding in the wilderness of En Gedi, and the king amassed a battalion of 3,000 men to go against David and his 600 men.

But most importantly, David’s reaction was contrary to how God’s Word instructs us.

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Rather than returning evil for evil, we are to turn the other cheek:

Matthew 5:39

This was especially true, because Nabal had neither attacked nor threatened David, but had only disparaged him verbally.

The irony is that David had shown Saul mercy, even though Saul had attempted to kill him on several occasions. However, simply hearing that Nabal had disrespected him, was enough for David to attempt killing him.

This pictures how sinful each of our hearts are. But the great news is that the Lord was about to enact His plan to keep David from following through with his.

2 Abigail’s Reaction

One of Nabal’s servants advised Nabal’s wife Abigail of everything which had occurred, from the protection Nabal’s shepherds received from David’s men, to how Nabal summarily rejected David’s request for a small amount of items for his men to offer as a sacrifice, finally to David’s reaction, which was that he was planning to attack Nabal and all the males in his household:

1 Samuel 25:14-19

Whereas both Nabal and the David acted irrationally, Abigail was very composed and intentional in her decisions and actions:

• She received the information
• She accessed the immediate problem
• She determined a course of action
• She put her plan into action

All these are considered necessary components for modern management and business leadership.

But Nabal’s servant also acted wisely by informing Abigail of everything, since he knew she would have immediately understood that her husband was at fault because he was acting “in character” – as the servant described Nabal as “a scoundrel”.

As the wife of an extremely wealthy man, Abigail was responsible for managing the household and the servants, while Nabal attended to business outside of the home. In his case, most of his business would have taken place in the larger nearby town of Carmel.

Thus, Abigail had a great deal of independence regarding household matters, which was an important factor, as she quickly enacted her plan to prevent Nabal’s death, and at the same time, David’s sin.

Verse 18 states that she “made haste” since time was of the essence. In a short amount of time, she was able to have five sheep dressed, other foods cooked and enough bread baked, to feed David and his men, in addition to provide offerings for them to make at the feast.

The fact that Abigail had these things accomplished, shows that her husband could have had the same thing done if he had been so inclined.

Abigail’s actions and character recall the virtuous woman described in the last chapter of Proverbs:

Proverbs 31:10

After the food was prepared, Abigail and her servants headed to the wilderness area where David and his men had encamped.

The text states that she didn’t tell Nabal. She knew he wouldn’t have agreed to her plan, since he believed he was right. He also didn’t want to offend Saul by appearing to help David.

Yet, through it all, and even though she was unaware, Abigail was being used by the Lord, to save many lives, and to prevent David from sinning greatly.