Abigail for the Win: 1 Samuel 25:14-31

Godly people deal with the world by reflecting God.  Our nature wants to follow our heart.  Sometimes that’s good, but sometimes it isn’t.  We can occasionally get caught doing unto others as they do unto us rather than doing unto others as God does to us.  God wants us to imitate Him, not the world, especially in tough situations.

One of the shepherds hears Nabal’s conversation with David’s men and runs to Abigail, Nabal’s wife.  Abigail lives with Nabal.  She’s been married to him.  She understands his greed.  She understands how he defines hospitality.  She rushes out to try and fix what Nabal’s greed has surely broken.

The text gives an idea of the food reserves Nabal’s estate had on hand.  Without much effort – keeping in mind that as soon as David’s men returned to him, he called for an armed response and came for Nabal – Abigail musters two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, a hundred clusters of raisins, five already slaughtered sheep, two hundred fig cakes, and some grain.  Nabal’s estate was significant; Abigail knows they had plenty of food in reserve to share.

Abigail can imagine David’s irritation at Nabal.  She married a person God saw fit to bless, but he was unwilling to bless those around him.  Through years of marriage to him, she understood how people reacted to his version of hospitality.  She comes before David and immediately humbles herself.  She confesses the greed within Nabal’s heart.  She begs for David’s forgiveness and asks him to overlook her husband’s short-sighted nature.  She then pronounces her belief that God will make David king one day.

Nabal was greedy.  David was rash.  Neither put themselves in a good position to be obedient to God’s calling.  Abigail did.  She is the clear heroine of this story.

Abigail knew from experience how to handle men busied by thinking with their bravado instead of thinking with their brains.  Abigail understands how to handle people caught in irrational decisions.  Abigail is a skilled negotiator.

The first thing Abigail does is attempt to fix the situation.  She cannot fix the offense Nabal made, but she can still offer hospitality to David and his men.  She can portray a godly character.

The next thing Abigail does is acknowledge the truth.  Her husband is an idiot and has trouble with greed.  She acknowledges reality, proving to David her ability to grasp the situation rather than automatically jumping to defend her family.

Then, Abigail asks for forgiveness.  She demonstrated change in behavior, even if it wasn’t her fault.  She’s shown comprehension of the mistake.  David has every reason to forgive.

Finally, she elevates the offended person.  She flatters David, but the flattery is genuine.  She is not a sycophant; she genuinely lifts David up and acknowledges his position.

Abigail demonstrates how to deal with the world.  Godly people don’t deal with the world by reflecting the world.  Godly people deal with the world by reflecting God.