When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 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. 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. 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. And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 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.
The context of the above verses comes out of the story of David and a man named, Nabel. David had heard that the man was rich and sent his men to request that out of this richness, Nabal would provide some assistance to him and his men. Remember, they were wanders in the land. However, Nabal acted with harness, as that was the man’s nature:
1 Samuel 25:3 (ESV)
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.
Since he acted this way, David decided to take what he needed from the man with sword and might. (Not necessarily a Godly character himself.) When Nabal’s wife, Abigail, heard about all this, she decided to become a peacemaker. The above events are the story of her coming to David with the material goods his men originally requested. She was of Godly character and but her husband was a man of evil nature. God used her to appease David. When Abigail returns to Nabal and explains all this, Nabal dies from an apparent heart attack. David, therefore, seeing her widowhood and her Godly character, desires to marry Abigail. The story seems odd. It has several challenges:
1. David was quite aggressive. It could be that since the custom of the land was for people to care for one another, especially strangers. David could see that Nabal was an evil man based upon his treatment of others.
2. Abigail seems to speak quite harsh about her husband, behind his back. She didn’t, however, say anything that was not true.
3. David taking on another wife. He already had two at this point. This is something that the Scriptures seem to condone in Old Testament, but not in the new. The answer to that question can’t be covered in this devotional.
The key thought here is that Abigail was willing to be the peacemaker to a man who did not deserve peace. We can argue the other fine points and challenges, but the fact that she was willing to put her life at risk to make sure others in their family of shepherds and workers, is a key point. David was on a mission (right or wrong) to destroy her family and workers because of her husband’s bad nature. It was this character of hers that saved not only herself, but also much bloodshed of others. When we willingly become peacemakers (even if the person does not deserve peace in our eyes) we bring good and glory to God.
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