Powerful Women of the Bible: Abigail, A Woman of Noble Character

Hi Friends,

I hope you are having a great day!

Today, we're going to discuss Abigail in the Bible. 

I love Abigail. 

She was an intelligent, beautiful, and humble woman. 

But she was married to a wealthy, foolish man named Nabal. Nabal was mean, surly, and wicked. 

Her story can be found in 1 Samuel 25. 

But it doesn't start with her. 

It starts with David asking her husband, Nabal, for help. 

David sent his men to Nabal and told them to say:

"Say to him: 'Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours! " 'When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them. The whole time, nothing of theirs was missing. So be favorable toward us. Please give your servants and David whatever you can find for them.' ""

1 Samuel 25:6-8 NIV

But Nabal refused to help them. He insulted David. 

He said, "Who is this David? Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?"

1 Samuel 25:10-11 NIV

When David's men told him that Nabal wouldn't help him, David became upset and made plans to kill Nabal and all the men in his household. 

David was upset because he had gone out of his way to help Nabal and protect his things. 

He had been very good to Nabal, and now Nabal wouldn't return the favor to David. 

Nabal's refusal to help David was like a slap in David's face. And David did not take Nabal's rejection well. 

David said:

"It's been useless—all my watching over this fellow's property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!"

1 Samuel 25:21-22 NIV

When some of Nabal's servants heard about this, they went to tell Abigail, and she quickly intervened to save her husband and their household. 

She prepared food for David and his men:

"Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys."

1 Samuel 25:18 NIV

She then went to meet David. 

Abigail approached David with humility and spoke life into him. 

She humbly fell before him on the ground.

She encouraged him and built him up, reminding him who he was and who God called him to be. 

She reminded him that he was the future king of Israel and that God had chosen him, even though David had not yet become king. 

And she convinced him not to shed blood and avenge himself, thereby saving her foolish husband and their household from being killed. 

Because of Abigail's intervention, David did not proceed with killing Nabal and the men in his household. 

Instead, he sent Abigail home in peace. 

Abigail was a woman of noble character. She was a loving and caring woman and wife. 

She was wise. 

She prevented David from acting out of emotion, and instead, he gave the situation to God, letting God handle it. She kept David from making a foolish and rash decision. 

Even the servants knew that they could trust her to do the right thing and save them. Despite Nabal's wickedness and foolishness, Abigail intervened on his behalf to save his life. 

Later on in the story, Nabal dies. 

Look at that. Abigail prevented David from taking revenge, and God took care of the matter. 

After Nabal died, David sent for Abigail and asked her to become his wife. 

Abigail accepted his proposal and married David. 

As women of noble character, we want to speak life into others. 

We want to move in wisdom. 

We want to intervene when it is necessary (and possible) to prevent others from making mistakes that can change the trajectory of their lives for the worse. 

We want to be women whom people can trust and depend on to do the right thing. 

Well, that's all I have for now!

Until next time, happy reading!

And may God Richly Bless You!

XO,

Dr. Rich 💋