Bible Study - Women of Faith (4) Abigail: Intervening Faith - 1 Samuel 25:1-35 - June 23, 2019

Bible Study – Women of Faith (4) Abigail: Intervening Faith – June 23, 2019

This is lesson four (4) in our series of study entitled “Living by Faith: Women Who Trusted GOD.”

Our focus scripture is 1 Samuel 25:2-3, 14-17, 23-28, 32-35.

Honor CHRIST by stepping in to help resolve conflict.

In Biblical times, a person’s name often reflected their character, appearance or stature. In our lesson this week, we have Abigail who was an intelligent and beautiful woman married to an oaf named Nabal.

Nabal’s name reflected his character as a human and means “stupid”, “foolish”, “senseless”, or “vile.” Nabal was a very wealthy man and he was an ungodly man. His wife and a servant referred to him as “son of Belial” in the King James Version of the Bible, which, in essence, was referring to him as Satan. He had a lot of livestock which included sheep and goats. Sheep and goats need to graze and the hired hands took them out into the countryside to let them graze. When in the countryside letting the livestock graze, they were subject to and vulnerable to attacks by thieves who could kill the hired hands and take the livestock. David and his men provided protection to Nabal’s flocks and hired men. As a result, Nabal did not lose any of his livestock or a hired hand.

It was customary and understood, that the owner of the livestock and hired hands would share with those who helped protect them during this time of grazing. At the time of shearing the sheep or slaughter of livestock it was a festive occasion. Those who helped protect or guard them while they were grazing were included in this festive time and shared in harvest.

David, heard that Nabal’s hired hands were shearing the sheep. Shearing occurred twice a year in the in the spring and the fall. It was a festive time, celebration of the harvest so-to-speak, for the workers and the neighbors would be invited to the feast. David did not send his entire group of men, which would have overwhelmed Nabal. Instead he sent ten young men to Nabal. Normal courtesy would have been for Nabal to invite these young men to join them in the celebration. Instead he treated them poorly.

David’s men went to the heart of the matter. They were not trying to crash his party, they asked for payment in goods for the protection and favor that David and his men had provided Nabal’s hired hands and herds. HE did not demand a certain payment but left it up to Nabal to decide what he considered to be fair for the service David and his men rendered.

David instructed these young men on how to properly greet Nabal, show him honor and respect. (Verse 6) This overview leads us into our background scripture. Keep in mind the meaning of Nabal’s name. Let’s explore.

Let’s read 1 Samuel 25:1-14-17:

David, Nabal, and Abigail (Background and Setting)

1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled to mourn for him, and they buried him by his home in Ramah. David then went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

2 A man in Maon had a business in Carmel; he was a very rich man with 3,000 sheep and 1, 000 goats and was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings. (Nabal being a “Calebite” meant he was from the tribe of Judah. David was from the same tribe thus a loose family connection. But that did not soften Nabal’s heart toward David’s request.) 4 While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep, 5 so David sent 10 young men instructing them, “Go up to Carmel, and when you come to Nabal, greet him in my name. 6 Then say this: ‘Long life to you, and peace to you, to your family, and to all that is yours. 7 I hear that you are shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So, let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you can afford to your servants and to your son David.’”

David’s men were instructed to state the reason they were asking for whatever Nabal thought was appropriate to pay them for the services they had provided and to join in on the feast. This shows that David trusted Nabal and thought he would do the right thing. Since David sent only 10 young men, it revealed that he was not coming to demand but willing to accept whatever Nabal thought was fair.

9 David’s young men went and said all these things to Nabal on David’s behalf, and they waited. 10 Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is Jesse’s son? Many slaves these days are running away from their masters. (David’s men made the ancestral connection.) 11 Am I supposed to take my bread, my water, and my meat that I butchered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t know where they are from.”

Nabal’s response revealed his heart. Nabal did not acknowledge GOD in his life, it was all his stuff. He was self-sufficient. He did not acknowledge that he knew David or that David’s men had provided protection to his herds and hired hands while they were in the wilderness.

12 David’s men retraced their steps. When they returned to him, they reported all these words. 13 He said to his men, “All of you, put on your swords!” So, David and all his men put on their swords. About 400 men followed David while 200 stayed with the supplies.

David’s men returned to their camp empty handed and told David what Nabal had said and how he had treated them. David reacted negatively, as most of us would respond, and told about 400 of his men to put on their swords for they were going to take care of business. David’s ego took over, which GOD allowed to guide him toward a satisfactory solution.

David did not know what was ahead for him but GOD did and we happen to know the rest of the story. We get to see GOD’S hand at work. David was not looking to GOD to provide a solution because he had the power of his men. But GOD revealed to David that HE was very much involved. This was likely a Spiritual growth moment for David and it gives us encouragement to seek GOD’S guidance in all things.

If we place ourselves in David’s shoes, all he knew was that he was going to wreak havoc on Nabal and his family. He knew that he had the manpower to do it. At the same time, GOD was preparing Nabal’s young servant to speak to Abigail. Abigail was a GOD fearing, wise, proactive woman who had commonsense and the opportunity to intervene on behalf of Nabal, her family and their servants. Her step of faith revealed to David that GOD was involved in the solution.

So, we have Nabal’s young servant, Abigail, David and David’s men all who had the freedom to make decisions in this matter but GOD was working to bring about a satisfactory solution. Would commonsense prevail or would fear, timidity or insecurity prevail? Let’s see.  

14 One of Nabal’s young men informed Abigail, Nabal’s wife: “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he yelled at them. 15 The men treated us well. When we were in the field, we weren’t harassed and nothing of ours was missing the whole time we were living among them. 16 They were a wall around us, both day and night, the entire time we were herding the sheep. 17 Now consider carefully what you must do, because there is certain to be trouble for our master and his entire family. He is such a worthless fool nobody can talk to him!”

It took courage for Nabal’s young servant to approach Abigail and tell her what had happened and what the likely outcome could be if David took action against Nabal. Abigail had to make a decision. We know that Nabal was an evil, vile person. Was this Abigail’s opportunity to get rid of Nabal by not trying to defuse the situation? She could have allowed David to take action against Nabal. What was the down side? David would likely annihilate her and all of her family. It took courage for her to make the decision that GOD wanted her to make. She trusted GOD to take care of her, her family and Nabal. Abigail trusted this young servant’s advice and took action. The young servant even stated to Abigail that Nabal was a worthless fool. The King James Version of the Bible uses a phrase which the servant used when referring to Nabal “a son of Belial.” Belial means “worthless”, “good for nothing”, “wicked.” When the servant used the phrase “son of Belial” it meant that Nabal was the “offspring of” or “the personification of” wickedness and stupidity. Abigail used this phrase “son of Belial” when she referred to Nabal when she approached David in verse 25. In essence “son of Belial” was a reference to Satan.

We see in verse 36 that Nabal was feasting, drinking and partying while all of this was taking place. 

18 Abigail hurried, taking 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 Then she said to her male servants, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 As she rode the donkey down a mountain pass hidden from view, she saw David and his men coming toward her and met them. 21 David had just said, “I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good. 22 May God punish me and do so severely if I let any of his men survive until morning.”

Abigail sent her trusted servants to meet David and his 400 men. David had just finished justifying to himself what he was about to do to Nabal and his family. Abigail took a hidden pass and met David and his men.

 23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey and fell with her face to the ground in front of David. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “The • guilt is mine, my lord, but please let your servant speak to you directly. Listen to the words of your servant. 25 My lord should pay no attention to this worthless man Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name is Nabal, and stupidity is all he knows. I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men whom you sent. 26 Now my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, it is the Lord who kept you from participating in bloodshed and avenging yourself by your own hand. May your enemies and those who want trouble for my lord be like Nabal. 27 Accept this gift your servant has brought to my lord, and let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the Lord is certain to make a lasting dynasty for my lord because he fights the Lord’s battles. Throughout your life, may evil not be found in you. 29 “When someone pursues you and attempts to take your life, my lord’s life will be tucked safely in the place where the Lord your God protects the living. However, He will fling away your enemies’ lives like stones from a sling. 30 When the Lord does for my lord all the good, He promised and appoints you ruler over Israel, 31 there will not be remorse or a troubled conscience for my lord because of needless bloodshed or my lord’s revenge. And when the Lord does good things for my lord, may you remember me your servant.”

Abigail greeted David in a gracious, humble manner. She poured her heart out to David. She stated her faith in GOD and that GOD has chosen him to be the future King of Israel. She cautioned David not to shed needless blood because of his ego or for Nabal’s stupidity. Verse 25 said it all – “Stupid is his name and stupid is his game.”  It was a reality check for David and as we see in the next verse, it was like “WOW!!! Thank you, LORD for sending this wise woman to defuse a bad situation. LORD, I see YOUR hand at work in this matter!”

32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praise to the Lord God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! 33 Your discernment is blessed, and you are blessed. Today you kept me from participating in bloodshed and avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who prevented me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, Nabal wouldn’t have had any men left by morning light.” 35 Then David accepted what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. See, I have heard what you said and have granted your request.”

Abigail had saved the day for David and her family including her rotten husband, Nabal. David saw the hand of GOD at work through Abigail.

Notice that David stated “Praise to the Lord God of Israel.” He used the Hebrew words “Yahweh” which refers to the GOD’S covenant making- and “Elohim” which refers to GOD’S covenant-keeping. David was likely looking for an opportunity not to have to do what he was about to do and GOD had provided it.

At least two dynamics were at work. Abigail showed humility by bowing and showing honor and respect to David. David had to be willing to listen to Abigail and change his mind. He had to risk losing face among his men. Abigail was a Godly, gutsy woman, who risked her life and making her husband angry to do the right thing. We need to keep in mind that Christians must respond as the Holy Spirit leads them. David recognized and acknowledged that Abigail was led by GOD. How and when a person steps in to help resolve an issue is often critical. We have to understand that GOD did not make us robots and every person has the freedom to choose how they respond to the issues of life. It is all about out heart and our relationship with GOD through CHRIST. We may find ourselves facing a decision whether or not to “Step-In.” Stubbornness or attitude can block the Holy Spirit from leading Christians to follow a path to a satisfactory conclusion. Let’s continue to explore.

36 Then Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was in his house, holding a feast fit for a king. Nabal was in a good mood and very drunk, so she didn’t say anything to him until morning light. 37 In the morning when Nabal sobered up, his wife told him about these events. Then he had a seizure and became paralyzed. 38 About 10 days later, the Lord struck Nabal dead.

When Nabal was sober, she told him what she had done to keep David from destroying him and all that he had accumulated. Was it fear and the near brush with death or the fact that Abigail had given David his stuff after he had refused to give anything to him that caused his stroke? He had a stroke and he died in 10 days. His death was attributed to GOD. When we allow GOD to take care of our problems, HE does.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord who championed my cause against Nabal’s insults and restrained His servant from doing evil. The Lord brought Nabal’s evil deeds back on his own head.” Then David sent messengers to speak to Abigail about marrying him. 40 When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to bring you to him as a wife.” 41 She stood up, then bowed her face to the ground and said, “Here I am, your servant, to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 Then Abigail got up quickly, and with her five female servants accompanying her, rode on the donkey following David’s messengers. And so, she became his wife.

David received the news of Nabal’s death and rejoiced. GOD had avenged the wrong that Nabal had done to David. David sent word to Abigail that he wanted her as his wife. She accepted and took five female servants and became David’s wife. 

When or when not to step into a situation is important. It takes courage and discernment. Often, it is a reaction to the situation at hand. When our ego is bruised, we want to retaliate. How we respond is often a reflection of our heart and relationship Christians have with GOD through CHRIST. Blessings!!!