Abigail: the peacemaker

I have always had a great admiration for Abigail. Her name means “my father’s joy” and she was a very special woman. Abigail was generous, quick-witted and wise. Her great sorrow was to be mismatched with her husband, Nabal, who was her complete opposite. As Abigail was humble, faithful, generous and intelligent, Nabal was arrogant, greedy, selfish and egoistic. She probably had a lot of heartache and sleepless nights dealing with her husband and his cruel ways. However, her great joy is that God used her to save lives and gain peace after her husband’s great insult. She eventually would become David’s wife. The Talmud identifies Abigail as one of the seven female prophets (Megillah 15a) (Adelman, 2021). Why is Abigail an important person in the Bible? How was she a peacemaker? What lessons can we learn from her story?

Abigail must have left suffocated to be married to such a fool of a husband. The wealthy Nabal would have been quite a catch, but he had a domineering attitude that one day would endanger the lives of many. The news of David and his victories had been spreading. Abigail had heard the story of his defeat of Goliath as well as his prowess in battle and his rift with King Saul. Recently, David had taken refuge in her area, the Desert of Maon, west of the Dead Sea. And since his arrival with 600 men, marauders kept clear of the local flocks, including Nabal’s and he greatly prospered. One day, David sent 10 men to ask Nabal for provisions and Nabal responded with a scoff and refused, foolishly insulting the region’s most powerful man. Aware of the danger they were in, the servants ran to Abigail and begged her to intervene. She quickly sprang into action. Gathering a caravan of donkeys, loaded with gifts for David and his men, taking them to David’s camp. Once there, she makes a speech that corrects the wrong and avoids the bloodshed that was coming. The next morning, she tells Nabal what she had done and he collapses. Ten days later he died. When David heard the news of Nabal’s death, he proposed marriage to Abigail, which she accepted and she became his third wife. 

If there is a theme to Abigail’s story, it would be peacemaker. Proverbs 12:20 says “There is deceit in the hearts of those who plot evil, but joy for those who promote peace.” Abigail is known as one of the Bible’s great peacemakers. When she had heard what Nabal had done, she knew immediately what she needed to do. She gathered supplies and went out to meet David. When she sees him, she falls at his feet and gives one of the longest speeches recorded in the Bible by a woman (1 Samuel 25:24-31). First, she takes the responsibility for Nabal’s faux pas and begs to be allowed to speak (verse 24). Second, she begs David to forgive Nabal for he lives up to his name, The Fool (verse 25) and states she didn’t see his men arrive. Third, she seeks forgiveness and prays for the Lord’s blessings on David’s endeavors (verse 26-31). With her speech, David erases his anger and offers his forgiveness. Abigail saved the lives of every man in Nabal’s household (1 Samuel 25:32-34). She also saved David from sin, reminding him that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35). Even when she went home, she didn’t immediately tell Nabal what she did. She wanted until he was sober. Abigail simply tells him what had happened and his “heart failed him” (1 Samuel 25:37) and he collapses and dies 10 days later. Just as Abigail kept the peace between Nabal and David, she kept the peace between herself and her husband. 

There are lessons we can learn from Abigail’s story. First, life’s tough situations can bring the best out of people. People would understand if Abigail was broken and weak under her husband’s “surly and mean dealings” (1 Samuel 25:3). She was very much in a toxic relationship (McDaniel, 2021). But difficult situations help us develop a strength and perseverance that we didn’t know. She sprang into action to right the wrong instead of running and hiding.  Second, be humble, kind and seek peace with those around you. Even though the offense wasn’t committed by her, Abigail was determined to soothe David’s anger for the sake of the innocent lives that would have been taken. She took a risk, taking responsibility for something she didn’t do and not knowing how David would respond (McDaniel, 2021), it could have easily been her head instead of Nabal’s. But she spoke with humility, kindness and sought forgiveness on Nabal’s behalf. Third, our words and actions are powerful. We need to carefully and thoughtfully consider each one before we speak because once words are said, they cannot be taken back. Her action was the carefully gathered provisions, probably more than the original amount David’s men asked for. She then reminded David that God had done great things in his life and would continue to do great things (McDaniel, 2021) and not to allow one man’s folly to destroy that. 

In conclusion, Abigail was a woman who rose above her circumstances to change the course of events. Although her culture and husband put a low value on her, she used her skills and opportunity to defuse an explosive situation. I think it is telling that the servants came to her. They probably knew she would know how to rectify the situation. She was capable, sensible and able to see beyond herself. She saw the bigger picture and acted accordingly. Do you see the bigger picture? Abigail was a peacemaker in a grand way, but we can all promote peace in small ways every day. How can you promote peace? Using Abigail’s example, we can seek to make the most out of a difficult situation with humility, kindness and choosing our words and actions carefully.

References

Adelman, Rachel (June 23, 2021) . Abigail: Bible. Jewish Women’s Archive. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/abigail-bible. Retrieved August 29, 2021. 

McDaniel, Debbie (August 24, 2021). 5 Things All Women Can Learn from Abigail in the Bible. iBelieve. https://www.ibelieve.com/faith/things-women-learn-from-abigail-bible.html. Retrieved August 29, 2021.