What’s your favorite part of the story of Abigail in the Old Testament?
Last week I spent a fair amount of time studying the story of Abigail in the Old Testament when she brings food to David and his men.
You’re probably familiar with this bit of Old Testament history, but let me set the scene. You can read the whole story in 1 Samuel, Chapter 25.
The prophet Samuel, who had anointed David as King, has just died. Saul is still technically on the throne so David is roaming around the countryside gathering supporters. At this point, he has about 600 men who are with him.
Just imagine 600 men, out in the wilderness, trying to stay clear of King Saul, and not cause too much trouble. The fact they are loyal to David must have gone a long way to maintain some kind of order among them.
The logistics
But just think of the logistics. Keeping that many men on task, and having enough food to keep them going day after day.
When David and his men encountered the sheep shearers of Nabal, Abigail’s husband, they protected them and did not take anything from them, which they easily could have done. It’s kind of what soldiers did.
When David sent 10 of his men to ask Nabal, very politely, for some provisions, instead of responding in kind, Nabal flatly refused and arrogantly sent them back to David empty handed.
It’s not that Nabal didn’t have enough food to spare for David and his men. He was incredibly wealthy. He refused because he was selfish and didn’t want to share his abundance with strangers.
Nabal’s behavior goes completely against the sense of hospitality most people felt in that time period. When strangers came to you asking for assistance, it was often customary to welcome them and provide them with food and other necessities.
When the young men returned empty handed and reported to David the way Nabal had treated them, David was furious. He took about 400 of his men, armed and ready to retaliate against Nabal.
Abigail in the Old Testament
And here’s where Abigail comes to the rescue. When she finds out how her husband treated David’s men and refused to give them provisions, she knew something had to be done quickly.
In very short order she loaded up several donkeys with a huge amount of food for David and his men.
Now we don’t know how far these donkeys had to go, but however fast Abigail got them loaded with food, once they were on their way, it was not a very fast procession. Just think of 5 to 10 donkeys going at top donkey speed. It was a slow process.
All this time, David and his 400 men are marching as fast as they can to Nabal.
When Abigail meets David, she immediately jumps off her donkey, fell at David’s feet and explains her mission: to provide for David and his men and to prevent David from avenging himself.
Apparently, she is aware David has been anointed to be king and doesn’t want his reputation to be tainted by killing anyone or seeking revenge needlessly. She tells him,
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 NIV
Abigail was bold
When you stop for just a second to think about what Abigail said and let it sink in, you realize how bold she was.
David, even though he had been anointed by Samuel, was not yet officially king of Israel, but he already possessed a certain air of authority, power, and influence. Others in a similar position might have been offended by Abigail’s forthright efforts to stop him, but David responded with gratitude.
David said to Abigail, “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. Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.” 1 Samuel 25:32-34 NIV
David was planning to kill all the men and Abigail stopped it.
There are parts of the story I’ve left out for the sake of time, but I hope you’ll go back and read the whole narrative, and appreciate all the details of what happens. And most importantly, look at the kind of person Abigail is, how quickly she responds to an extreme situation, and the boldness which she comes with to David.
Abigail owned her power
This story of Abigail in the Old Testament is a classic example of a woman who understood her own power and ability to act, regardless of circumstances or the man she was married to.
Think about the kind of person she was based on her words and actions.
She didn’t lower herself to her husband’s attitudes or behavior, but maintained her own identity and agency to act freely according to her conscience.
She was principled, took initiative, and acted on her spiritual intuition that something needed to be done as quickly as possible.
She owned her abilities, authority, and influence.
The fact that one of her husband’s servants came to her explaining how David had treated them in the field and what Nabal said to David’s messengers, shows she had gained the trust of that servant, who must have believed she might be able to mitigate the situation in some way.
How do you think Abigail had treated this servant in the past for him to come to her in this way? This reveals another aspect of her character.
Some people make excuses because of circumstances, but Abigail did the right thing regardless of what those around her thought and did, especially hear husband.
Abigail did not let her husband dictate her actions
And speaking of her husband, she did not ask his permission to take food to David and his men. And she didn’t even tell him right away what she had done.
Here again, think of the way she could command all those servants to help her pack up those donkeys and go against what Nabal had done. These servants must have had a great deal of respect for her to defy her husband’s refusal to help David. Think how she must have treated them, probably for many years, for them to respond to her requests so willingly and quickly.
And it’s apparent that none of them or the other servants told Nabal what was going on.
Abigail was not just generous in what she took to David and his men, but she was incredibly insightful. She was wise enough to know how David might react to Nabal’s refusal to help. And she was right. David was on his way to kill Nabal and all his men, which would have included the very servants who were helping Abigail help David.
And of course, she was generous. She took a lot of food to David and his men. But it was more than just hospitality. Abigail had a bigger perspective and a long time view of what was going on. She knew David was destined to be king in Israel and was supportive of that future role.
Abigail was humble and bold
Another thing that stands out to me, especially in light of her owning her own power and authority, is her humility. When she meets David, she immediately jumps off her donkey, bows to him, and asks his pardon for interrupting him.
But with that humility came great boldness to speak truth to power. She did not hold anything back in explaining why she had come and how she wanted to prevent David from killing anyone needlessly or avenging himself.
More Christians need to follow Abigail
It’s fascinating to me how many Christians look to Abigail as a model of feminine virtues but some of these same Christians insist that wives should always obey their husbands, never go behind their backs, never do anything without their husbands’ permission, and certainly not do exactly the opposite of their husbands’ decisions.
I have a friend from high school who married a man who, probably wasn’t as bad as Nabal, but he was abusive to her. They were members of a Christian church which insisted the husband was in charge of everything and that a wife was subservient to the husband. She put up with this abuse for years. I don’t know what happened to her. I’ve lost touch and no one else seems to know where she is now.
The so-called Christian culture that allows a husband to treat his wife like this is light years away from what it actually means to follow Christ. It breaks my heart every time I hear of a situation where one spouse is abusive of the other, all in the name of Christian values.
My friend would have been better off is she had been a little bit more like Abigail and owned her own power and abilities and agency.
We all can learn from Abigail in the Old Testament
There’s a lot we can learn from Abigail, whether you’re a man or a woman. What are some of the qualities she had and lived in her life that you need in your life?
Do you ever catch yourself blaming your spouse for not being able to be yourself? Do you ever think of yourself as a victim of circumstances? Do you ever wish you could do something different but don’t have enough courage or have been subject to abuse in the past when you tried?
Then Abigail’s experience can speak to you.
I’ve always wondered how someone like Abigail ended up married to someone like Nabal. It might have been an arranged marriage. Or Nabal could have changed and become more and more disagreeable over the years.
And we don’t know if Abigail always had kept her independent spirit or had grown into it as the years went by. But we do know she was strong and followed her high sense of right, compassion, and generosity.
How to be more like Abigail
How can you and I be more like Abigail in the Old Testament? How can you own your power and abilities, and be your own person regardless of circumstances? How can you be more generous when others are not?
Think of ways you can act more quickly when there’s an urgent need that others are unaware of, ignore, or refuse to respond to?
The person you help will not be the next king of Israel like David, but you never know what will become of the person you help. And of course, it doesn’t matter if they ever come into a position of power or influence. You do freely what’s right to the degree you can under the circumstances.
It doesn’t mean you help every single person who has a problem. But you trust God to show you who to help, when, and how.
Abigail’s request
There’s one very telling request Abigail makes to David at the very end of her explanations of why she’s bringing all that food. She says simply,
…And when the LORD your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant. 1 Samuel 25:31 NIV
Abigail wanted to be remembered for what she had done. This could be an admission that she’s in an abusive relationship and wants to be remembered for her kindness. I know, that could be me imposing 21st century thinking on an event from 3,000 years ago. But I do thinking it’s a bit revealing that Abigail wants to be remembered by David once he is king.
That’s an honest desire. That means it’s okay for you and me to want to be remembered for who we are instead of the circumstances we’re caught up in.
When you take seriously and learn the lessons of life from Abigail in the Old Testament, it may not always be easy. You may not be able to be, or think you’re capable of being like Abigail, at this point in your life. It may need to come step by step as you grow into being more like Abigail. That’s okay.
Or you may already be at the point of being true to yourself. You refuse to wallow in a victim mentality or be the football of circumstance, kicked around by others.
Being like Abigail doesn’t just apply in a marriage situation. There might be circumstances at work, at school, or even at church, where you need to, and can, be like Abigail in the Old Testament, owning your own power and influence, being generous and kind, principled and purposeful, quick on your feet, and full of humility and respect.
Abigail in the Old Testament is a role model for us today
When you embrace the qualities of Abigail, you’ll garner respect the way her servants respected her. You’ll be able to do what God directs you to do. You’ll be resourceful in finding solutions to the problem at hand and you’ll use wisely the resources you have. It could be time, money, food, mentoring someone, so many possibilities. There’s no limit to how the spirit of Abigail might appear in your life.
Abigail was blessed immeasurably because of the way she responded to the situation with David and his men.
As it turns out, when Abigail returned home after giving all that food to David, her husband was drunk. The next morning, she told him what she had done.
Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. 1 Samuel 25:37 NIV
Ten days later he died. When David heard about this, he did remember Abigail and asked her to be his wife.
I can’t promise what will happen to you when adopt Abigail’s approach to things, but I do know you will be blessed.
It’s really the law of the harvest. If you plant carrots, you will harvest carrots. When you plant kindness and all the other Abigail qualities, that’s what you’ll harvest in your life.
Similarities between Abigail in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament
Now you may be thinking: Hey James, you always say The Bible Speaks to You Podcast is about how to think, pray, and love like Jesus. You haven’t really mentioned Jesus at all in this episode.
Okay, you’re right. So let’s talk about that. Jesus expressed many of the same qualities Abigail did. He owned his power and authority. He did not adopt a victim mentality when the Pharisees opposed him and tried to discredit him, not even when he was crucified. He went about his Father’s business regardless of circumstances.
When the religious authorities said he shouldn’t heal on the Sabbath, he did it anyway. When there was a need, he acted quickly. He knew he had the spiritual resources to help people and he did. He knew what he was capable of and he did it.
As a very specific example, Abigail fed a crowd, only about 600, in the wilderness, with her personal resources. Jesus fed crowds of 5,000 and then 4,000 in the wilderness with his resources.
There are a lot of parallels between Abigail and Jesus.
I encourage you to read and ponder deeply the story of Abigail in the Old Testament in light of Christ’s nature. Look at the ways she embraced Christlike qualities and attributes. And then use those qualities as a model for your own life.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
1 Samuel 25:28, 30, 31 NIV
28 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.
30 When the LORD has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel,
31 my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself.
1 Samuel 25:32-34 NIV
32 David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me.
33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.
34 Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.”
1 Samuel 25:31 NIV
31 …And when the LORD your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.
1 Samuel 25:37 NIV
37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.
