Abigail
1 Samuel 25
Before diving into our text today, let’s take a moment to set the narrative scene we are walking into.
The book of Samuel details Israel’s transition from a group of tribes ruled by Judges (think political leaders) to a unified nation ruled by a king. For the most part, Israel was being rebellious and morally corrupt during the time of the Judges. Unfortunately, the leaders who were supposed to point the nation back to God became corrupt themselves.
King Saul appeared to be a faithful solution to Israel’s corruption, but he, too, became a prideful leader who lacked integrity. As Saul falls from power, God begins raising up David, the humble shepherd, to take over leadership of Israel as the king. Samuel, a faithful prophet of God, often called Israel to repentance and advocated for David to become king. But he died before this happened.
It is here, towards the end of Saul’s reign and after Samuel’s death, that Abigail comes onto the scene.
At this time, David is still a shepherd, and it appears that he has worked with some of Nabal’s shepherds. David knows that Nabal is wealthy, and for this reason, he reaches out to Nabal for help.
Take a moment to skim the passage again - what words and phrases are used to describe Nabal? Compare those words to how Abigail is described. How does Nabal’s character compare to what you know about David’s character?
Abigail is quick to stand up for what is right in the eyes of God. God’s heart is to serve, give, and do justice. This is the character that Abigail reflects. It is important to remember that during this time, women were not socially equal to men. They were often viewed more like a commodity than a person. (This was not God’s design, but rather a reflection of Israel’s pride and rebellion.) Because of this, it would’ve been inappropriate for Abigail to go against the will of her husband.
Yet unlike most of Israel’s actions, Abigail’s actions of love and service towards David reflect God’s heart. She took a massive social risk to obey God’s leading in her life and reject the sin of her husband. Given Nabal’s drunkenness and anger issues, Abigail may have been risking her physical safety to help David as well. Despite these risks, Abigail boldly did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
It is hard to say what exactly caused Nabal to drop dead in the end. Was it shock that led to a heart episode? An abundance of Anger? Or was it God striking him dead because of his sin? Was this God’s way of freeing the faithful Abigail from her oppression? Whatever the causes, we see that Abigail’s actions produced life and Nabal’s actions produced *literal* death.
In a story filled with pride, Abigail is a shining light of humility and kindness. Her character reminds me of the fruits of the Spirit Paul writes about in Galatians 5:
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
In a time of social, political, and relational turmoil, Abigail boldy chooses to embody God’s love, goodness, and gentleness with her actions.
Take some time to consider your own circumstances. As in the story of Abigail, serving others can be costly or risky. Who around you has a need that God could be asking you to meet? What might be the cost or risk to you?
Pray about this question, and consider how the Spirit might be asking you to meet that need. May we be a people who embody love, gentleness, and kindness as Abigail did.
