David Takes Abigail as a Wife
This lesson talks about David coming into contact with an evil man. This lesson helps us to understand we do not have to be in control of everything all by ourselves. We need to learn, just like David, to allow the moving of the Lord in our lives. We have to learn to live our faith and allow the LORD to control the hard times and the evilness that is in our lives. 1 Samuel 25:1-45
There was a wealthy man named Nabal who had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats in Carmel. Nabal was mean and evil in his doing. Nabal was married to Abigail who was a woman of good understanding, and beautiful.
David was not king at this time and had been camped near the lands of Nabal who was a wealthy rancher. David heard that Nabal sheared his sheep and sent out ten young men to ask Nabal to sheer his sheep. These ten young men were to greet Nabal in Peace for him and his house and peace to all that he had.
David had had performed a valuable service for Nabal while in the wilderness. He had protected his flock from the Philistine and David expected to be compensated for his service. David had protected Nabal his shepherds and his flocks for a long time.
David did not expect payment until Nabal made his money at the harvest of sheep shearing. David was kind and polite to Nabal so not to intimidate him. Nor did David ask for a specific payment.
Nabal, in true fashion for his character, demanded to know who David was, and who the son of Jesse is. This was a great insult since David was well known throughout Israel.
David had been warring the Philistines for King Saul and had killed ten thousands Philistine. (1 Samuel 18:5-9). Nabal continued to show his ungenerous nature by refusing to his bread, water and meat to give it to men he does not know. The young men returned to David who was greatly insulted.
David, in true fashion for his character, instructed his men to put on their swords. David took with him four hundred men, and left two hundred to stay with the supplies. One young man told Abigail what had transpired and that David was coming with about four hundred men to wipe out Nabal. Abigail jumped into action and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
That was really fast preparation to gather all that food even in these days. This speaks volumes of her wealth, her strength, and her organizational skills in a time of crisis. If they had this much food at their fingertips it really shows want an ungenerous man Nabal was.
David had only asked for fair payment for his services he had rendered to Nabal. Abigail not only prepared and organized food for David she also organized her route to get to David without her husband knowing. She did not tell her husband what she was going against his treatment of David. David had sworn an oath: “May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light.” (1 Samuel 25:22).
When Abigail saw David she hastened to dismount form the donkey, she fell on her face before David and bowed down to the ground. Abigail gave her appeal to David. David had sworn to kill all the males especially Nabal.
Because of this it would have been impossible for a male to appeal to David. However, before him fell a beautiful Abigail who was not pretentious, privileged or rich, not even as an equal to David. Abigail came as a humble servant to David. There was not grief in her heart, no offense to him.
Abigail added that since the LORD had held David back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging himself with blood shed causelessly, and then remember your handmaid. Abigail reached David and he received her advice.
David thanked the LORD God that He had sent her this day. David told Abigail she had kept David from avenging himself by his own hand and causing bloodshed. David had realized that had the LORD not sent Abigail he would have killed all the males left to Nabal.
Nabal held a feast of a king and his heart was merry and he got very drunk. Nabal did not have a clue the danger he had brought to his household. All he had to do was invite David to his feast and there would not have been a danger.
Apparently the servants and Abigail knew the imminent danger, yet Nabal remained clueless. Abigail did not tell Nabal what had happen until the morning when he was no longer drunk. Nabal “his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.” Ten days later the LORD smote Nabal and he died. David did not kill Nabal the LORD struck Nabal until he died.
What Can This Story Teach Us?
When David heard that Nabal was dead he knew the LORD had returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head. It was the LORD’s judgment against Nabal that fell on his own head. David sent a messenger to Abigail while she was at Carmen, and asked her to become his wife. Abigail rose in haste and rode on her donkey along with five of her maidens and followed the messengers of David. Abigail became the wife of David.
When David heard that Nabal was dead the blessed the LORD and acknowledges that it was the LORD who punished Nabal and kept David from doing evil himself. We cannot take matters into our own hands when it comes to dealing with evil. We need to learn to take the wickedness to the LORD and ask Him to return that same wickedness upon the head of our enemies.
David could have bullied Nabal and killed all the men of his household. David would have looked evil if he had taken things into his own hands. We do not have to be in control of everything all by ourself. We need to learn, just like David, to allow the moving of the Lord in our lives. We have to learn to live our faith and allow the LORD to control the hard times and the evilness that is in our lives. How many examples can you see in your life when the Lord has intervened?
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “David Takes Abigail as a Wife:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2015.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1973,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015, January) “David Takes Abigail as a Wife:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1973,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015) “David Takes Abigail as a Wife:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=1973, (accessed).
