“And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid” (1 Samuel 25:20-31).
Introduction
Abigail covers a lot of ground in her speech to David; in fact it is the longest recorded speech of any woman in the Bible. Maybe, because she saw David coming down the road towards her, and probably fuming with anger, she quickly related everything to him before he had time to think or speak. She presented herself as an intelligent and responsible woman. “We can hardly conceive anything more touching than this address; every point was calculated to touch the heart” (C. H. Mackintosh).
Humility
Abigail threw herself on the floor before David. We must remember that she is a wealthy and high ranking lady in her community, and was probably used to others showing respect to her, but she humbled herself before him. She needed David to listen to what she had to say before he proceeded with his plan. David was completely stopped in his tracks physically, mentally and spiritually by this woman.
Responsible
She, as the only sensible member of her family, thought of herself as responsible for her husband’s rudeness. She was willing to sacrifice herself so that her household could be free of David’s curse. Abigail pleaded for forgiveness even though she had done nothing wrong. “Impute Nabal's sin to me, and if thou pleasest, punish it in me, who here offer myself as a sacrifice to thy just indignation. This whole speech of Abigail shews great wisdom, by an absolute submitting to mercy, without any pretence of justification, of what was done, (but rather with aggravation of it) she endeavours to work upon David's generosity, to pardon it. And there is hardly any head of argument, whence the greatest orator might argue in this case, which she doth not manage to the best advantage” (John Wesley).
She did not hide Nabal’s offence, but instead describes him for what he is, so revealing to David that this whole episode was the work of one foolish man, a man whom she had the misfortune to be married to.
Reminder
Abigail then reminds David of the fact that God’s hand was upon him. Did he need to take vengeance on such a matter as this? She was trying to get David to see that he was making a grievous mistake if he carried out his intention to kill the household of Nabal. She had pointed out her husband’s sin, but now she was showing David the sin in his heart. Only a wise and intelligent person could have dared to do this. She asks him to show forgiveness instead of vengeance. If he had any thought of ignoring her, then he should think twice, because Abigail states that God had sent her to persuade him to back off. This was a very tactful reproof of David’s evil thoughts. If David is truly under the protective care of God, then how could Nabal’s offence hurt him in any way?
She reminds him of all that God had brought him through thus far. He has eluded Saul, Goliath was killed by his hand, and he has been victorious over all his enemies. This was because God was with him. Therefore could not the Lord deal with Nabal in His own time and way? If God has ordained him to be the next king of Israel, which Abigail understands to be the case, then he ought not to begin his reign with innocent blood on his hands, and if he does, then he will live to regret it.
Conclusion
It is only at the end of this speech that Abigail makes a request for her own safety. This reveals just how selfless she was. Knowing that her husband was a fool and had caused this problem, she could have asked for her own deliverance first, but instead her heart was with her family, friends and servants.
© 27/7/2009