1 Samuel 25:23-31 – Be prudent

When Abigail met David, she immediately dismounted her donkey, got down on her knees and fell with her face to the ground before David. This was exactly what David did to Saul in 1 Samuel 24:8. Her humility was clearly visible. Her words were congruous with her posture. She showed great honor to David and began by taking the blame for her husband’s foolish behavior. Humbly she pleaded for an opportunity to speak to David. Abigail went on without pausing to wait for David's consent to her request. Her plea here was for David not to have any regard for Nabal, whom she referred to as worthless. His folly had been attested to in two ways, by his name and his behavior. She assured David that her action would be very different had it been her that David’s men met. But unfortunately, she did not see them when they went to Nabal. With her humble stunt, she got the attention of David.

In verse 26 she saw her intervention as a timely providence of the LORD. She saw it as God preventing David from having to suffer from the guilt of shedding innocent blood. She was suggesting to David that he should let the  LORD take vengeance on his behalf. Unknowingly Abigail had linked whatever was happening to how David had spared Saul in the cave at Engedi. He was also spared the guilt of having to shed the blood of Saul. Abigail then requested for the privilege to fulfill what her foolish husband refused to do. She asked David to accept what she had brought to him and his men. 

What Abigail said in the next four verses is very interesting. In seeking forgiveness for her husband’s transgression she became very prophetic. She spoke of the LORD giving David a great future, an enduring house because the battle he was fighting was the LORD’s. She also unknowingly alluded to the way he had been used to destroy Goliath with a sling. Abigail wisely worked into her speech her request for forgiveness, saying, “And when the Lord does for my lord (meaning David) according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel, this will not cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having avenged himself. When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.” She was pleading with David not to shed innocent blood on account of her husband's foolishness, and also not to let the good work God had appointed him to be sullied by the guilt of the impending bloodshed.  She asked to be remembered when the LORD had finally fulfilled His plan in David’s life.  

Abigail’s intervention affirmed how insightful she was. Not only was she wise and prophetic but she was also diplomatic. How blessed Nabal was to have such a wife! Of course, it’s wonderful to have such an insightful wife. But more than that, the lesson we can glean is this: We can enjoy victory without having a conscience plagued by guilt. How? When we avoid being needlessly ruthless. We should instead collaborate with God to know that He is the ultimate vindicator of all that we would go through. Trust God and His plan for our lives!