Abigail

Who is Abigail?

Abigail, which means "my Father is joyful" in Hebrew was an important figure in the Bible. Abigail is mentioned in the Old Testament mainly in 1 Samuel. She is known for her wisdom, beauty, and good understanding. She was married to Nabal, a churlish and evil man, who was of the house of Caleb. Abigail is known for saving her household from the wrath of David. After the death of Nabal, Abigail married King David and became his third wife after Ahinoam and Michal, the daughter of Saul. Abigail bore King David his second son, Chileab.

Story of Abigail

The story of Abigail starts when David sends 10 of his men to Nabal for food. David and his men had protected his shepherds. Nabal reviles the men. The men went back to David and David was ready to destroy Nabal and his household. One of the young men told Abigail what was happening and she didn't hesitate in trying to save her family from David's wrath.

Abigail put together some food and with her servants went to meet the future King David and his small army on her donkey. When she saw David, she humbly bowed before him and asked him not to destroy her family and household because of the actions of her husband Nabal. She pleads with him not to seek bloodshed or revenge. David blesses her, takes the food, and leaves.

Abigail goes home and decides to tell her husband what she had done the next morning because of the party. When Nabal hears what Abigail has done his heart becomes like a stone and he dies ten days later. David marries Abigail she becomes his third wife.

Lessons We Learn From Abigail

1). Sometimes we need to act quickly and decisively.

Sometimes in our lives, we must act quickly in some cases it could mean life or death. When Abigail had heard how Nabal had reviled David's men, she could have done nothing in which case it would mean death for her and her household but in a moment she made a quick and decisive decision.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them. 15 But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a scoundrele]" that one cannot speak to him.” 18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her servants, “Go on before me; see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. (1 Samuel 25:14-19, NKJ).

By acting quickly Abigail not only saved her household but those of David and his men. She knew that he would regret the bloodshed if he had gone through with it. If she had waited for Nabal to change his mind or if she had not gone at all, she and her family would might be dead at least all the males would have died.

2) Be humble.

Abigail teaches us that we need to be humble even if we are not at fault. She humbled herself in front of David and his men on behalf of her husband even when she was not in the wrong. We can see that in I Samuel 25:23-24, Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. 24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. 25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. That must have taken courage to do especially with David and his men with their swords and horses.

3) Be loyal and faithful.

Abigail didn’t think of herself when she went to David but of her husband and household. She showed loyalty and faith in God not knowing if she would save her family or die trying. We need to think of others before we think about ourselves. We need to be loyal and faithful to God as he is to us.

4) Be discreet.

After she left David, she went to Nabal but didn’t tell him until the morning. “Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone” (!Samuel 25:36,37, NKJV). She could have told him at the feast with everyone present but she waited until the morning. Nabal might have felt embarrassed or humiliated if she had done that.

5). Respect Your Husband

Abigail was an obedient and loyal wife to Nabal even when he was evil. She respected her husband by telling him what she did when he was sober and most likely by himself. She could have told him at the feast but that wouldn’t be respectful to Nabal. Do we show respect to our husbands? Husbands demand our respect because they are the head of the house.

Conclusion

Abigail is a great example of a wife being loyal and faithful to a husband who is not nice. She had wisdom in her dealings with David. She was a peacemaker between her husband (even if he didn’t know it) and David. If she had not gone, her family and household would be dead, especially all the males. God watched out for Abigail like he does with all his children.