Abigail

Introduction

Food and holidays go together. Since the end of November, food is abundantly seen in our culture. Holiday parties showcase a wide variety of foods. The association of food and a holiday have been a part of our world almost since time began. Food is a sign not only of celebration but of hospitality and fellowship. In the eating together of food, we learn the communal aspect of life. That was why the Passover was initiated with food and why the Lord’s Supper was instituted in the context of a meal. The sharing of food in which the participants are of common mind and goal is one of the ways in which fellowship is built.

In 1 Samuel 25, David is a man without a country. He is on the run. He and his 600 men manage to exist through mercenary means. They are men for hire to fight battles and to provide security in a land where the law is the power of one’s will and army. It is sheep shearing time. It is a time of great joy and celebration. It is a holiday. David and his men want to share in this good time. They believe that they deserve some type of payment. Throughout the year, they have provided protection for Nabal’s men and his sheep. So David sends 10 men to retrieve a portion of the food and profits from Nabal. It is to be a form of paying him for work already done.

But Nabal will not pay David and his men. In fact, he is insulting to David calling him a runaway slave and an unknown. As Nabal’s name implies he is a foolish man. What transpires is a story of intrigue. The hero of this story is Nabal’s wife, Abigail. She becomes the one who saves Nabal’s life and helps David maintain his focus for the future. Let’s continue our thinking about food, celebration, and fellowship. Let’s center our minds on the sacrifice of Jesus and the hospitality that he brings by serving as host this morning during our communal meal.

The Story

David’s men return and give him Nabal’s reply. David’s response is quick and decisive—“put on your swords. We are going to teach Nabal a lesson.” In fact according to verses 21–22, David intends to kill every male member of Nabal’s household. While David is getting his answer, the servants are telling Abigail all that has happened. The very servants that David said would tell the truth about their working together, the very servants that Nabal refused to talk to, these same servants are trying to avert disaster by going to Abigail. Abigail acts swiftly. She prepares a great quantity of food and drink for David and his men. She intends to present it all to David and hopefully relieve the tension.

Just a word about Nabal. Part of what makes Nabal a foolish man is his arrogance. He is a vicious, materialistic and egocentric misfit. He thinks only about himself and his personal gain. From the outset, the author tells this story so that when we read Nabal’s name we hiss. From verse 3, we see the complete contrast between this husband and wife. He is villainous. She is almost princess like. They are a complete mismatch. One of the interesting things about this passage is the assessment of the servant’s considering Nabal in verse 17. “He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”

Perhaps this is the height of foolishness. A person who will not listen to others because he or she thinks they have it all together is foolish. None of us likes to hear criticism. None of us likes to be rebuked. None of us likes to be told that we are wrong. None of us particularly likes confrontation. But the foolish person is the one who refuses to listen to such talk and believes that they are the only ones who are right. Nabal’s servants knew that it was useless to try to talk with Nabal. It is sinful for a leader not to listen. It is equally sinful for a person to arrogantly act as if they have all the answers. Nabal acted as if he was beyond reproach. He believed himself to be above others. Such arrogance kept him from the truth.

Abigail meets David and asks for David not to kill her husband. She takes the role of mediator and servant. David relents. He is persuaded to leave Nabal alone. Abigail gets back to her husband only to find him drunk from a party. She waits until the next morning and tells him everything that happened. Nabal has a heart attack or a stroke. Ten days later he dies. David hears of Nabal’s death and sends for Abigail. She becomes David’s wife.

Lessons

Abigail demonstrates great courage in this story. There are two things she does to defuse the situation and to mediate the conflict. First, in verse 24 she assumes responsibility for what happened. When we read this story we recognize that she is not at fault. She was even present when David’s men came to Nabal. Why then would she assume responsibility? She is trying to bring peace.

Abigail does for Nabal what Jesus did for us all. She takes Nabal’s place so that Nabal doesn’t have to suffer for his own arrogance. Jesus is our Abigail. He took our place so that we didn’t have to suffer the penalty of eternal death. He opened the way for us to be in relationship with the Father. He made things right.

When we see Jesus on the cross, we cannot possibly deny the importance of taking responsibility to make peace. Jesus made peace for us. Too many times we are like Nabal refusing to hear the truth; refusing to take advantage of Jesus’ sacrifice; believing in our arrogance that we can take care of ourselves. Notice verse 36. Nabal holds a banquet like that of a king. The man who fancied himself to be a king had snubbed the anointed king of God.

That is the reality of our arrogance. Jesus came to take our place. We may act as if we are king, but in order to be in relationship with God we must bow the knee to the true king—the anointed one of God—Jesus.

Second, in verse 26–30, Abigail tells David the truth even though the truth was not what David was after. David was on his way to right an obvious wrong. He probably felt justified in his approach. Nabal had demonstrated a lack of hospitality and appreciation. He needed to be corrected. Abigail tells the truth. David is not out to correct an injustice; he is out for revenge. Nabal is foolish, but David is vengeful. Abigail carefully reminds David that his life is not defined in revenge.

Abigail reminds David that he is under God’s care and that God will take care of matters. It is difficult for us to trust God to deal with life. We want to reach in and handle matters on our own. All of us have been dealt injustices. All of us have been mistreated. Abigail’s words remind us as well that God sees and will act in his own time.

Too often we think our lives are meant to be lived for our own satisfaction and contentment. But we need to hear the truth. David’s life was not meant for revenge and our lives are not meant for the meaningless pursuit of our own desires. We have been called to greater things. We need to see the bigger picture. Life is to be lived for God’s glory and God’s truth not for ourselves.

What David wanted more than anything else was justice to be done. But he wanted it done on his terms. Abigail intervenes. She calls David to a higher level of thinking and action. We all need others who will intervene on our behalf and help us to see things differently. We need people who will tell us the truth even when it hurts us. And then we need to be like David who listens to the truth. Some are so convinced about what they think is accurate that they don’t want to be bothered with the facts. Such arrogance makes us no better than the fool, Nabal.

Abigail brings peace and puts things into perspective that David is under God’s care. Jesus is our Abigail and his death puts things into perspective.

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