Abigail: A Heart Of Wisdom

Children’s Bible Page 334

I appreciated Mez McConnell preaching for us last week, as we grow our connection with Scotland and the ministry there.

I was thankful for the reminder of the spiritual war that we find ourselves in the midst of and the call to be about the mission of following Jesus and helping others along as they follow Jesus.

Today, we continue our series on different women in the Bible, and we are going to consider an event where a woman named Abigail is featured prominently.

And we meet Abigail in the midst of a revenge story.

Have you ever experienced a great thirst for revenge?

No doubt, we all have to one degree or another.

The easiest way to describe revenge is when you have been hurt or offended by someone, so you desire to hurt or offend them in return.

At the end of the book of 1 Samuel, David is being hunted by King Saul for no fault of his own.

Saul was the first king God had appointed over his people Israel, when they had asked God for a king.

Yet, over and over again, events in Saul’s kingship proved that King Saul did not have a heart to follow after God and to rule in a God honoring way.

So, by chapter 15 of the book, God prophesied through the prophet Samuel that God would give the kingdom to someone better than Saul.

And in chapter 16, we learn that God’s next choice of king to rule over His people was David.

And God anoints David the next king, and God wins a great victory through David when he kills Goliath.

Yet, all the while, King Saul does not step down from being king immediately.

Although God had already planned and appointed the next king, scholars tell us that Saul lived and continued to rule for about another twelve years before his death.

And while at first, Saul appointed David to lead his army, this honor did not last long as Saul’s jealousy toward David causes David to have to spend a decade fleeing for his life.

And the account we come to today occurs sometime during those long years of King Saul hunting David in order to take his life.

We will first review the story than make application with points after.

1 Samuel 25:1–8 ESV

1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”

David and the other men with him were living in a wilderness while hiding from Saul.

The wilderness was close to the land of a man who was very rich in business named Nabal, which literally means “foolish.”

It is tough to imagine his parents originally named him foolish, but this is the name he was known by and it certainly described him accurately.

In Israelite culture, the time for shearing sheep was a time of festival and feasts that were supposed to be characterized by generosity and hospitality.

So, it would make sense that David would choose such an occasion to send some of his men to request some provisions from Nabal on his behalf.

And note that David is respectful, he and his men have blessed Nabal’s shepherds by helping guard his sheep while they have lived there, and he only modestly requests if Nabal can share whatever he chooses with David and His men.

Look at the foolish man’s response:

1 Samuel 25:9–13 ESV

9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

Now, make no mistake, Nabal would have known who David was.

This was a wealthy man of Israel who was from the tribe of Caleb.

He would have surely known well of David, the man who killed Goliath, was anointed to be the next king, and was fleeing for his life from King Saul.

So, these questions that Nabal asked are simply to mock, make fun of, and belittle David and his men.

He refuses to give them anything, and turns them away.

Foolish Nabal has offered evil in return for David’s good.

And when David hears of it, he immediately prepares his men for revenge by taking up the sword.

1 Samuel 25:14–35 ESV

14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.” 18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.” 23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.” 32 And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

Because Nabal’s men knew how his foolishness most likely was going to bring disaster on them all, they go to his wife, Abigail hoping she can help.

So, without Nabal knowing, Abigail quickly gathers up gifts for David and his men and courageously goes out to place herself between her foolish husband and a group of offended men coming to take revenge.

And we read that Abigail in great wisdom and discretion is successful in keeping David and his men from carrying out their vengeance.

1 Samuel 25:36–44 ESV

36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. 39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Foolish Nabal loved his possessions and his pride so much, that the text says his heart died within him when Abigail told him what she had done.

And ten days later, God struck foolish Nabal dead.

Now that we know the story, let’s see the application:

1. Do Not Seek Personal Revenge, But Leave It To The Wrath Of God

It is surprising to see David so quickly take up the sword at this offense ready to kill Nabal and all of his men given the fact that the chapter before this event and the chapter after this event both tell of two instances where David exhibited extraordinary restraint in not killing King Saul when he had two obvious chances to do so.

King Saul was the one who was making David’s life so miserable seeking to hunt down and kill David.

The difference may perhaps be that though King Saul had fallen from God’s grace and blessing, he was still the man that God first anointed king.

In contrast, while Nabal was rich, He was known for his foolishness.

We too are tempted toward the sin of partiality and we break integrity by assessing our response to someone based on their reputation or their status, instead of based on God’s commands.

When David learns of Nabal’s insults toward him, he does not seek the Lord, but instead, he sins by taking up the sword in order to seek personal revenge.

Nabal had returned David’s good of helping guard Nabal’s sheep with the evil of belittling him and giving him nothing, so, now David plans to return evil for evil.

Leviticus 19:18 ESV

18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Now, God has established civil and church authorities in order to seek just judgments and rulings when you have been wrongfully sinned against.

We need God given institutions who can make just judgments and seek just restitutions for wrongs committed.

But, what God forbids is your taking matters of righting wrongs into your own hands in seeking revenge.

For one thing we see that in our flesh, we never seek vengeance in a way that is equal to the offense.

Nabal belittles David and refuses him food, so David is going to kill him and all his men.

That is not an eye for an eye. That is your whole existence wiped out for an eye.

Our Lord Jesus commands against taking personal revenge in his sermon on the mount.

Matthew 5:38–42 ESV

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Now, Jesus is not saying that Christians must always take a pacifist position.

Other Scriptures will command us to resist the devil and to resist evil.

We fight against the devil and we fight against our sinful nature, but we are not to resist the one who does personal evil against us.

We are not to return evil for evil, which is certainly what David was seeking to do.

If one humiliates you by slapping you one the cheek, don’t slap them back, turn to him the other also.

You may think Jesus was not being literal here, but Jesus certainly followed his own words literally when he was slapped repeated at his trial and in subsequent beatings leading to the cross without any retaliation.

In Acts 23, Paul is slapped across the face while being on trial, and he verbally lashes out, only to then apologize, showing that he should not have even verbally retaliated.

Jesus then speaks to a lawsuit involving your assets.

If they would take your tunic, offer your cloak as well.

How about when a Roman soldier interrupts your day and commands you to run an errand for him.

Consider when Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus’ cross.

This happened in their culture, and Jews understood that they had to obey up to a mile, but Jesus says, go ahead and go two.

Give to one who begs and do not refuse those who would borrow from you.

Now, I don’t think this means we must give to people who choose to beg when they can work, but it does mean to give if you are asked in cases of legitimate need.

Paul picks up on Jesus’ teaching in Romans when he writes:

Romans 12:17–21 ESV

17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The temptation in seeking revenge when our personal rights are infringed upon is that if I don’t punish them by my revenge, then they won’t learn their lesson.

They will just get away with what they’ve done.

But that is not what the Bible teaches.

The Bible teaches, you repay good for evil and seek to live at peace with all because vengeance will be paid by the one to whom vengeance belongs - God alone.

When you do good to your enemy, you will heap burning coals on their head.

Think about it: your enemy is going to expect retaliation from you.

But when you offer good in the face of evil, it causes the evil one to look foolish and unsuccessful in their cause to harm you.

And it also points to the reality that true vengeance will be paid by the only one to whom it is owned - and that is God the true judge.

Peter teaches this also when he writes about Jesus:

1 Peter 2:23 ESV

23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Jesus knew God would judge all the evil done against him properly, so he did not have to.

After Abigail convinces David not to seek personal revenge, about ten days later, God struck Nabal dead.

David was kept from wrongdoing, and God avenged his insult the way only God can.

Do not seek personal revenge, but leave it to the wrath of God.

2. Pursue Godly Wisdom and Discretion In Your Dealings With Others

God uses Nabal’s wife, Abigail, as the lynchpin of the story.

Whereas, Nabal was foolish, worthless, and badly behaved, Abigail was wise, discerning, and beautiful.

Nabal’s men went to Abigail, because they knew that going to Nabal would not render good results.

And when Abigail hears of Nabal’s offense toward David, she takes immediate action without telling her husband.

Proverbs 26:4–5 ESV

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

Wisdom and discretion are the ability to rightly apply the truth of God to a given situation.

Abigail discerned just like Nabal’s men did that taking the matter to Nabal the fool was only going to end in a fool’s result.

Instead, Abigail displays a fear of the Lord, which God’s word says is the beginning of all wisdom, by taking decisive actions based on the truth she knows.

She knows that Nabal should have honored David’s request for provisions, given how respectful and helpful David had been, so Abigail took provisions to offer David and his men.

She knows that Nabal is truly guilty of the offense, so the first thing she requests of David is that he would place the guilt on her, and requests that David forgive the trespass.

She knows that Nabal is known for being foolish and worthless, so she makes that plain to David.

She knows that God has anointed David to be the next king, and she reminds David that it is the Lord who has promised to fight his peoples’ battles.

She reminds him that as the Lord’s anointed, God will bless those who bless David and will sling out his enemies as from the hollow of a sling -

No doubt conjuring up remembrances of God giving David the victory when he slung the stone at Goliath.

Finally, she warns David that he will not want to have vengeful bloodguilt on his conscience for taking matters in his own hands when he becomes the king of Israel.

You see, Abigail was able to exercise the wisdom needed to make peace in the midst of the situation because she feared God more than she feared the circumstances,

And she disciplined herself to be led by truth and not emotions.

It would have taken a lot of courage for Abigail to place herself in the middle of David and his warriors who were set on slaughtering in revenge.

It also took courage for Abigail to go back home and tell Nabal what she had done.

When Abigail heard what Nabal had done, it would have been easy to just flee herself in fear in order to escape David’s wrath.

Or, when she got to David, she could have just uncontrollably wept or begged for mercy, but instead, she courageously stood and spoke truth in the midst of all the emotions.

Pursuing godly wisdom and discretion means you must fear God more than you fear the circumstances,

And you must be led by truth not by all the swirl of emotions.

Abigail’s wisdom is a beautiful display of the words of James.

James 3:13–18 ESV

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Proverbs 16:7 ESV

7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Psalm 34:14 ESV

14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

While David first responded to Nabal’s humiliation with a desire for revenge, Abigail’s courageous actions and wise words helped him come to his senses and keep him from bloodguilt that day.

And God continued to bless David by making Abigail his wife after the death of Nabal, and making him king after Saul died a few chapters later.

Then God came to King David and promised him that he would establish his throne for eternity far after David had died.

And, when we get to the first chapter of the New Testament, we read of one born in David’s line named Jesus.

And Jesus, both God and man, lived a life of perfect wisdom and discretion, entrusting himself fully to His Father God.

And while Jesus lived amongst sinners who often criticized him, mocked him, put him down, literally slapped him, beat him, and nailed him to a splintered cross, Jesus never sought personsal revenge or retaliation, instead, he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly.

Jesus suffered the pain of humiliation in order to take on the punishment of our sins.

Like Abigail, Jesus was willing to say, “On me alone be the guilt!”

And he died and rose again three days later proving that He had paid the price for our sin, and all He said about His kingship and coming kingdom is true.

And all who repent of sin and place their faith in Jesus are saved from their sin, filled with the Holy Spirit, and added to the church, where we await the second coming of our great King,

The king came the first time in humility to conquer sin.

He will come again in glory and power to bring final judgment on all who have rejected him and offended others.

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

On that day, no offense will go unpunished, vengeance is the Lord’s and He will mete it out in perfect justice.

And for all who have bowed the knee to Jesus as Lord and Savior will be saved from the wrath of God to come, for all the punishment for their offenses was taken upon Jesus on the cross.

Vengeance is the Lord’s, the King is coming, entrust your soul to him and his judgments as you continue to repay good for evil.

Are you the type of person always ready to offend when others offend you?

Are you the type that says, “I don’t get mad, I get even?”

That’s what foolish Nabal and sinful David did in this story.

As a follower of Jesus by the power of His grace, that ought not be so.

There is a greater judgment coming than what you could ever accomplish.

Instead, may we pursue God’s wisdom and discretion by His grace.

May we fear God more than we fear man and circumstances.

And may we respond to circumstances by the truth of God, not the emotions of the moment.

Let’s pray.