Abigail, in I Samuel 25, is one of the more minor characters in the Old Testament, but she is one from whom we can learn a lesson. She is a strong woman, a wife and eventually a mother, wed to a man defiant to God’s servant David. In a time when women were seen as property, when women had little independence and could face terrible treatment if disobedient to their husbands, Abigail defies hers to give comfort and help to this man protecting their lands. She risks her reputation as a wife and her safety as a woman to do what she knows is right.
God, in contrast, treats women as very valuable in the scriptures. Psalm 128:3 refers to a good wife as a fruitful vine. Proverbs 12:4 compares an excellent wife to a crown; chapter 18:22 calls a wife a good thing. Furthermore, Proverbs 31 heaps great praise upon wives and mothers. In the New Testament, we see Christ, time and again, treating the women in His life with kindness and respect, and Ephesians 5 calls on husbands to care for their wives as they would themselves.
Back in I Samuel 25, we meet Abigail, married to an ill-tempered and poorly behaved man named Nabal. David sends servants to this Nabal for provisions while protecting the region, but Nabal callously turns them away. In response, David and his men prepare to attack Nabal’s household, and this is where Abigail comes in. In verse 14, she learns of David’s intentions, and she quickly collects food for David and his men without involving her husband at all.
In verse 23, Abigail humbles herself before David and asks to bear the guilt for Nabal’s faults. She offers the gift of food she has brought, and she begs forgiveness from David. David praises God for her gift and her presence and sends her home. When she returns home, she finds her husband drunk, so she waits until the next day to tell her husband of the anger David harbors against him. In verse 37, it says Nabal’s heart dies within him. After he dies, David takes Abigail’s hand in marriage, seeing her value and worth.
Lessons from Abigail
We see amazing strength in this woman in her prompt actions, her desire to protect her household and unworthy husband. We see a woman who respects God and His servants. She gives God credit where due, and she demonstrates wisdom and discernment in her actions and her discreetness. Her qualities are numerous, and she is a great example of quiet strength and faithful service, even to a master less than worthy of her respect.
Ephesians 5:22 and 33 as well as Colossians 3:18 talk about wives respecting their husbands, and Abigail somehow manages to show kindness and respect to a man difficult to love, a man who even set himself against a servant of God. She seeks to protect him, even in quiet defiance, and she looks out for his reputation and well-being. She protects her home where her husband does not. She leads where he fails. In doing so, she not only honors her husband, but she shows honor to God as well.
This is the strength of Abigail, a woman in a poor relationship who sees her husband hurtling toward self-destruction, towards harming his own household, and she takes action to protect her husband and those affected by his unwise decisions. We all have times in our lives when we have to be the ones taking initiative. We all have times when we need to look out for others, even when they won’t look out for ourselves. There are times when we must take risks to do what we know is right. There are times when we must all be Abigail, and we can take hope and strength in the example she leaves for us.
lesson by Alan Miller
