Abigail

A Woman Of Good Understanding

Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil and evil in his doings… 1 Samuel 25:2-3

Here we are introduced to Abigail as a woman of “good understanding” in stark contrast to the description given to her husband, so let’s look at the Hebrew word for “understanding.”

Sekel (H7922): Intelligence, by implication success: - knowledge, policy, prudence, sense, understanding, wisdom, wise.

In the Hebrew, each word in the definition carries equal weight and application. This means Abigail carried all of the above traits. And because “sekel” is only used 16x in Scripture, this implies that the wisdom and understanding Abigail carried was rare. And it is one of the same the words used to describe Solomon. In all likelihood Nabal’s prosperity was connected to Abigail’s wisdom, particularly her wisdom in managing their household and their servants.

And as her story begins it’s a time of prosperity for her household, but for David and his men who are in the region it’s a time of need, as he’s still being pursued by Saul and his men. David and his men are hungry and this is why he’d sent ten men to ask for provisions, and he wasn’t out of line to do so. He was simply asking for Nabal to give out of the abundance he had, and at a time of celebration when the food was plentiful. David also politely reminded Nabal of all he and his men had done in watching over Nabal’s sheep. It would have been common courtesy, not to mention common hospitality customs of the day, for Nabal to return the favor. But Nabal responds as the scoundrel he is, scorning not only David’s men, but David Himself. And when David hears of it he proclaims “every man gird on his sword” – hot-tempered and ready for the bloodshed of Nabal’s entire household in retaliation. Hunger will drive a man to reckless actions.

Abigail however is equally quick to action when she hears the news from her servants how David has been reviled and how “harm is determined against our master and against all his household.” With decisive and wise action she makes haste and loads donkeys with an abundance of food, intent on honoring David’s request while at the same time interceding on behalf of her husband. In essence, she’s taking on the responsibility of mediating between two men. And she’s doing so without telling her husband. Perhaps a bold move for a woman in her day. It’s also worth noting that Abigail is a woman prepared. She has “five sheep already dressed” as part of the provision she’s bringing to David. A wise woman indeed watches well ove the ways of her household. And she is not caught off guard when the unexpected happens.

And Abigail moves with such decisive action she is able to intercept David on his journey toward slaughter. Then Abigail shows herself to be a woman of virtue and steps into her moment in history. Single-handedly and in a way that honors David, Abigail persuades David to change his course of action, and this wasn’t merely an act of self-preservation on Abigail’s part. She knows David will later regret this reckless course of action when he becomes king. After all, David had integrity enough to spares Saul’s life despite Saul’s malice toward him. She knows David is a man of honor (with one exception that will later play itself out with Uriah). Her request was for David’s benefit as much as it was for her own.

And the manner in which Abigail carries herself and how she presents herself enables David to receive her gracious advice and maintain his honor, rather than act in a way that would negatively affect his kingship when he becomes king. For David was a man of war quite capable of wiping out Nabal’s entire household. His own words give evidence of his heartfelt thanks for Abigail’s ability to turn his heart toward the wisdom of a better course of action:

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! And blessed is your advice and blessed are you…”

David also receives Abigail’s gift of food, and exemplifies he is a man who knows how to give honor where honor is due:

Go up in peace to your house. See I have heeded your voice and respected your person.

And the Lord protects Abigail. When Abigail discovers her husband is drunk upon her arrival home, she makes the wise decision to wait till the morning to tell Nabal of her actions. There is a time for all things and when Abigail does tell, “his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. Then it happened after about ten days, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.” Scripture tells us this was Nabal’s evil returning back upon his own head. This was also God’s hand of protection upon Abigail. In this story Nabal is described as harsh and evil, a scoundrel and a fool, and as he was cruel and lacking compassion toward David and his men, it’s likely he treated Abigail in the same manner. It’s likely there would have been retaliation against Abigail if the hand of God had not intervened. The Lord always rewards the righteous. This is a principle throughout Scripture.

It’s also noteworthy that although Nabal likely didn’t see Abigail’s value and worth and didn’t value Abigail, David did. David also perceived her wisdom and wisdom is always beautiful in appearance. Therefore, when David heard the news of Nabal’s demise he wasted no time in proposing to Abigail. And when Abigail accepted David’s proposal, she continued to position herself as the maidservant that she was. She had not allowed Nabal’s treatment of her to determine or devalue her worth, therefore she maintained the confidence to humble herself before David. For it is a confident person, not an arrogant one, who will humble herself before God and others. This is but one of the many of Abigail’s virtues.

And accordingly, Abigail went from the wife of a fool to the wife of the man who would rule. Because she was a woman who didn’t allow her circumstance to negate the woman she knew she was. A woman who didn’t allow her circumstances to determine or devalue her worth. And she took decisive action and exercised the wisdom she carried when the situation urgently required it. She humbly mediated between two men, with grace and dignity. And in doing so, in righting the wrong of her husband, interceding on his behalf, she spared the bloodshed of innocent lives. Abigail was a woman of wisdom, confidence, humility, dignity, and generosity, and the entirety of her story is recorded in 1 Samuel 25 and well worth the read.