”Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my Lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. Please, let not my Lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my Lord whom you sent. Now therefore, my Lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my Lord be as Nabal. And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my Lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my Lord. Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make for my Lord an enduring house, because my Lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my Lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my Lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my Lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my Lord, then remember your maidservant.”“ I Samuel 25:23-31 NKJV
a. When Abigail saw David: Because of the hilly terrain (she went down under cover of the hill, 1 Samuel 25:20), Abigail could remain hidden from David right up until they met face to face. It also seems that Abigail saw David first, and when David first saw her, she was humbled before him, at the head of a great train of gifts and provisions.
i. In his angry, agitated state, something unexpected made David and his whole company come to an immediate stop: a great procession of gifts, and at the head of that procession, a beautiful woman bowing down before David. This had to make a startling impression on David.
b. She dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground: Abigail made her appeal in utmost humility. She didn’t come to David as a superior (as the beautiful, rich, and privileged often do) or even as an equal; she came to David as his humble servant.
c. In this appeal, Abigail did many things very right.
i. When she first heard of the crisis, she immediately went into action (Then Abigail made haste, 1 Samuel 25:18). She knew this was an urgent situation, so she acted with urgency.
ii. With her first words to David Abigail immediately took the blame on herself (On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be!). Abigail didn’t do this because she really believed she was guilty. She took the blame because she knew that David would punish her differently than he might punish her husband Nabal.
iii. Abigail asked permission to speak instead of taking command of the conversation (Please let your maidservant speak in your ears).
iv. Abigail smoothly suggested the positive outcome to David in her appeal (the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand). She stated it in a way that almost guided David towards her suggested outcome.
v. Abigail brought David a present (now this present) but was wise enough to say that it was for the young men who follow David, not for David himself. To say that it was for David would suggest that he was in this just for the money, and that David’s insulted dignity could be bought off with money.
vi. Abigail plainly, straightforwardly, asked for forgiveness (Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant).
vii. Despite David’s present anger and agitation – which is clearly sin – Abigail spoke of David’s character in high terms, regarding his present unmentioned state as an aberration (my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil is not found in you throughout your days).
viii. Abigail reminded David of the LORD’s promise for his life (the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house). She guided David to look beyond the immediate aggravating circumstances to the bigger promise of God.
ix. Abigail asked David not to do something he would later regret when God’s promise was ultimately fulfilled (that this will be no grief to you…that you have shed blood without cause). This is perhaps the single best thing that Abigail said; she wisely asked David to consider the outcome of his present course and how bad it would be. She asked him to let the LORD settle the matter instead of taking vengeance into his own hands.
d. Abigail also did some things wrong in her appeal to David.
i. She did all this without her husband’s counsel or approval (But she did not tell her husband Nabal, 1 Samuel 25:19).
ii. She openly and severely criticized her husband to David (this scoundrel Nabal…. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him). No wife should speak this way of her husband and no husband should speak this way of his wife.
iii. She almost suggested to David that he kill the guilty Nabal (let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal), but that he spare the rest of the household because they were innocent (shed blood without cause).
iv. She made herself available for David’s future consideration, perhaps in an inappropriate way (When the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant).
v. Abigail was not outstandingly submissive or respectful to her husband Nabal. Though there is no explanation in the Bible perhaps it was justified because this was a legitimate life-or-death situation. If Abigail didn’t do what she did, then Nabal and scores of innocent men would die. But the point of the passage is how submissive and respectful Abigail is towards David, not Nabal.
e. The life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling: This perhaps is the strongest point of Abigail’s appeal and she used a wonderful turn of speech. She said, “David, you are like a bundle that the LORD holds closely and securely to Himself. Your enemies are like rocks that the LORD will sling away.” This invites David to act like a man who is close to the LORD.
i. David took his 400 men to do what God could do as easily as throwing a stone out of a sling. This had to remind David of a time when he really did trust God for the victory – when he cast a stone out of a sling and killed Goliath. Through her wise words, Abigail turned David’s attention from Nabal back to the LORD.
ii. Abigail’s appeal to David was so glorious because it lifted him up instead of beating him down. David was clearly in the wrong, and Abigail wanted to guide him into the right. But she didn’t do it by being negative, by emphasizing to David how wrong and angry and stupid he was – though in fact he was. Instead, Abigail emphasized David’s glorious calling and destiny, and the general integrity of his life, and simply asked him to consider if his present course of action was consistent with that destiny and integrity.
iii. Abigail is a marvelous model of “sweetly speaking submission.” Many Christian wives have the idea of “silent submission.” They say, “I know my husband is wrong, but I won’t tell him. Submission means I should shut up.” That is wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Other Christian wives have the idea of “sharply speaking submission.” They say, “I know my husband is wrong, and God has appointed me to tell him. And boy, will I!” That is wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Abigail gives the right example – submission that speaks but speaks sweetly instead of sharply.
iv. Abigail’s submission to Nabal was not outstanding but her submission to David was. And David’s submission to the LORD was equally outstanding; by giving up the fight, he had to trust God to take care of Nabal. (Guzik)
“act like a man who is close to the LORD”!
I’m guilty of not acting like a man who is close to the LORD because of my sinful nature. Paul reminds me of this struggle that we all have!
”I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.“
Romans 7:18-25 BSB
Do you admit to having the same struggle as David and I?
Blessings
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