Abigail – Anyone know someone named Abigail or Abby/ie? Guessing that you probably do. That is a name that has remained relatively popular throughout the years – even reaching the 6th most popular baby’s name in the year 2006. Yes, there are quite a few Abigail’s or Abby’s around. But I wonder how many of them and their parents realize that’s the name of a woman in the Bible? And how many of them know the story Abigail that we just heard a few minutes ago? I’m guessing probably not too many. This morning we turn our attention to the story of Abigail in 1 Samuel 25 to see a wonderful example of Godly wisdom. But along the way, there is also something from us to learn from those two men connected to Abigail. This morning, there are three quotations that I would like you to consider that might help you to remember this account. 1) “Who do you think you are?” 2) “I’ll show you!” 3) “Stop! Think! Trust!” Can you connect the quote with the person?
Last week, we focused on one of the greatest leaders of the nation of Israel in Old Testament history, a man by the name of Samuel. The account of Abigail that we heard of this morning was shortly after the prophet Samuel had died. It was around 1000 BC and the first king of Israel, a man by the name Saul, was ruling Israel. Saul’s reign had started off pretty well. He certainly looked the part of a king – tall, dark and handsome. But he soon began to drift away from the Lord, more concerned about what others thought of him than about what the Lord wanted for him. Finally, the Lord told Saul that the kingship would not continue in his family. Saul’s son would NOT become the next king of Israel. Instead, God had selected a shepherd boy named David to become the next king. Well, Saul wasn’t too happy about God’s choice. Saul tried to hunt down and kill David at every opportunity he had even while David continued to serve in Israel’s army, defending and protecting the nation of Israel. Even when threatened by Saul, David trusted that the Lord would deal with Saul at his own time and his own way. David patiently waited for the time when Saul would die and he would become the next king of Israel.
On one of the occasions when David was on the run from Saul, David and about 600 of his soldiers ended up in an area called Carmel, close to the Mediterranean Sea straight west of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. It was there that they met a man by the name of Nabal. Nabal was a very wealth man. How rich? “He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep which he was shearing in Carmel” (1 Samuel 25:2). While he may have had a lot of money, he didn’t have a real good reputation. We’re told that he was, “…surly and mean in his dealings…” (1 Samuel 25:3). The word for “mean” indicates that he was unethical. In other words, Nabal was one of the guys that you dealt with only when you had to, and you better watch your back when you do.
David ran into Nabal’s shepherds while living in Carmel, but made sure that he did not take anything that did not belong to him. In fact, David’s men went beyond what you might expect. Later in this account we hear one of Nabal’s shepherds say about David’s men, “These men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us… Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them” (1 Samuel 25:15,16). David and his men had gotten to know Nabal’s men and so you can understand why David made the request he did. When the time for shearing Nabal’s sheep came, David asked Nabal for some provisions for himself and his soldiers. It was not an unreasonable request at all, especially considering what David had done for Nabal. But Nabal lived up to his reputation and name of “Fool.” Nabal says, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” (1 Samuel 25:10,11). In other words Nabal was saying to David, “Who do you think you are?” Talk about foolish! Arrogant! Greedy!
How does David respond? We’re told, “David said to his men, ‘Each of you strap on your sword… He has paid back evil for good. May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!’” (1 Samuel 25:13). This seems a little uncharacteristic of David. David had been willing to let Saul live multiple times even when Saul had tried to kill him. Why? Because David trusted that the Lord would take care of it at his own time and his own way. On one occasion David said to Saul, “May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you” (1 Samuel 24:12). But for whatever reason, when it came to Nabal, David was going to take things into his own hands. David was ready to kill Nabal and everyone that belonged to Nabal. David in essence was saying “I’ll show you!”
I can understand David’s reaction all too well, can’t you? Isn’t the natural reaction of our sinful flesh whenever someone hurts us or someone we care about? We get passed over for a promotion at work and we think about our employer, “I’ll show you. I’m not going to work as hard. I might just take a few of these home with me today for what I SHOULD be getting paid.” Or maybe someone says something insulting and we think, “I’ll show you. I just won’t happen to see you standing in the hallway anymore or say, ‘Hello’ or, ‘Good morning.’ I’ll show you.”
You know, God looked at you and said, “I’ll show you” but not in vengeance or retribution, but in love and mercy. In Romans 5:8 we read, “But God demonstrates [shows!] his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God shows his love for us at one of the most unlikely and unloving places – at the cross. Jesus willing sacrifices his life in our place, for people who do not love him perfectly or love one another perfectly. There Jesus demonstrated the loving heart of God the Father, delivering to us what we could never deserve, what we could never earn. God has rescued us from sin’s eternal punishment and rewarded us with the perfect life and the payment of sins of Jesus. Through faith, we have seen this amazing show of God’s love for us.
Just the opposite of Nabal is his wife Abigail who is described as, “…an intelligent and beautiful woman” (1 Samuel 25:3). When Abigail discovered what her husband had done she immediately recognized his foolishness and the potentially life-threatening situation he had placed himself in. So what does she do? “Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys” (1 Samuel 25:18). She goes to meet David and we’re told, “She fell at his feet and said, ‘Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name – his name means Fool, and folly goes with him” (1 Samuel 25:24,25a). Now just think about that. Abigail is pleading for her husband’s life! She knew what he was like. She lived with him! You might expect that she might silently stand by thinking, “Finally, I’ll get rid of my terrible husband. Good riddance!” Instead she shows her love for her husband even while disagreeing with him. She trusted that the Lord would deal with her husband at his own time and in his own way, but personal vengeance what not God’s way.
But her Godly wisdom does not stop there! She continues, “Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live… When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself” (1 Samuel 25:28,30,31). Abigail recognize that David was God’s selection to be the next king of Israel. She also recognized that what David was planning to do was sinful and wrong, done out of personal vengeance. She was saying to David, “Stop! Think! Trust!” She recognized what David had recognized so many times before – that the Lord would deal with Nabal’s sin in his way and at his time, but personal vengeance and “needless bloodshed” was not the Lord’s way.
How does David respond? “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands… Go home in peace” (1 Samuel 25:32,33,35). David praises Abigail for her wisdom, the wisdom that he had not shown. She recognized the sin of her husband, the potential sin of David’s actions, and she humbly addressed them both. What a wonderful example for us to follow and wisdom for us to pray for: a wisdom that recognizes what is right and wrong, the love and humility to confront one another, the faith to trust God’s promises, and the patience to wait upon God’s plans.
Whatever happened to Nabal and Abigail? Well, the Lord dealt with Nabal at his own time and way. When Abigail told Nabal what she had done, he had a heart attack and died10 days later. And Abigail? She became the wise wife of the next king of Israel, a man by the name of King David. Amen.
