4. (1 Sam 25:23-31) Abigail's appeal to David
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, "On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. Now let this gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord by given to the young men who accompany my lord. Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days. Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And when the LORD does for my lord 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."
Fell on her face before David: This act of obeisance, and in fact the whole tone of the wise wife of Nabal in her address to David, seems to suggest Abigail knew she was addressing God's anointed and the future king of Israel. This is in sharp contrast to her husband's defamatory comments given in 1 Samuel 25:10.
David and his men were charging forth to kill a man who had terribly insulted and stolen from David. David had just sworn an oath (1 Samuel 25:22). But now, in his angry agitated state, something unexpected makes David and his whole company come to an immediate halt. Abigail, a beautiful woman, is bowing before David and has a great procession of gifts. This had to make a startling impression on David. In that day, it would have been astonishing to find the lady of the land prostrated on her face in obeisance to David.
David had also focused his wrath against every male of Nabal's household. But, here is a woman of Nabal's household. David being in deep recesses of anger and agitation probably would not have accepted any act done by Nabal's household, no matter how humble and wise the man was. No, this act had to only be done by a woman, a very wise and charismatic woman.
On me alone, my lord, be the blame: Abigail suggests David impute Nabal's iniquity on her. If David wants to punish someone, Abigail pleads that it should be herself who receives the punishment. Abigail's entire speech shows great wisdom. By absolute submitting to mercy, without any pretense of justification of what was done, she endeavors to work on David's generosity.
Please do not pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal: Abigail represents her husband as a man that offended out of folly rather than malice, which in some degree might excuse her husband's rudeness. Abigail points out that Nabal's folly and stupidity should be more an object of pity than anger.
Since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood: So confident and pious is Abigail that she is doing the LORD'S work, and that He is standing by her, that she speaks as though the danger of her husband's household was a thing of the past. David had real cause to be thankful in that he had been prevented from doing a cruel and wicked act.
Let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal: Abigail dismisses Nabal as too insignificant to be considered a threat to David. Abigail regards Nabal as utterly powerless to harm anyone such as David. Abigail's prayer is that David's other enemies may be just like Nabal--completely harmless.
Let this gift which your maidservant has brought be given to the young men: Abigail brought David a present, but she was wise enough to say that it was for the young men who followed David, and not for David himself. To say that it was for David would suggest that David was in this just for the compensation. This would have insulted David's dignity by suggesting he could be bought off with gifts.
Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant: Abigail again takes upon herself the wrong her husband committed. The gracious act of forgiveness, she reminds David, will be shown to her and not to her husband.
For the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house: Abigail grounds her request on the grounds that David will succeed to the kingdom. She points out in 1 Samuel 25:30-31 that such an act of violence that David was minded to commit would be a burden on his conscience. Her conviction rests on the fact that David has proven himself the champion of Israel and on his blameless life.
My lord is fighting the battles of the LORD: Abigail, along with the rest of the Israelites of her time, looked on the wars waged by the armies of Israel against the idolatrous tribes and nations around them as the LORD'S wars. We frequently in these early records see the expressions, "fighting the battle of the LORD", "the ranks of the living God", "the battle is the LORD'S", etc. For many years now since he defeated the famous giant Goliath, David had been a great champion of idolatry.
The life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God: This is one of the ealiest and most definite expressions of a sure belief in an eternal life in the presence of God. The image is taken from common everyday life. A person packs up in a bundle items of great use or of indespensible value so that the owner may carry them about. A lover is said to be bound up in a bundle of love. The above verse is a favorite and common inscription on Jewish gravestones.
The lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling: David was taking his 400 men to do what God could do as easily as throwing a stone out of a sling. This had to remind David of a time when he really did trust God for victory--when he cast a stone out of a sling and killed Goliath. Through her words, Abigail refocuses David's attention from Nabal back to the LORD.
Abigail's appeal to David was so glorious because it lifted him up instead of beating him down. David was clearly wrong, and Abigail wanted to guide him on to the path of righteousness. But, she did not do it by being negative. Instead, Abigail emphasizes David's glorious calling and destiny, and the general integrity of his life. She simply asks him to consider if his present course of action was consistent with that destiny and integrity.
When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant: With exquisite grace, Abigail ends her plea to David with a reference to the period when happy days should arrive for David. She knows with certainty that David will be the future king of Israel. When David becomes king, he must have no deeds of violence, or furious passion and of blood shed to look back upon. When that golden time should come, David must remember Abigail, who had saved him from the commission of a wild and sinful act. And in great memory for the good service she rendered to David, he must then look kindly on her from his throne.
Abigail is a marvelous model of speaking sweet submission. Many wives have the idea of silent submission. They say, "I know my husband is wrong, but I will not tell him. Submission means I should remain silent." That is wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Other wives have the idea of speaking sharp submission. They say, "I know my husband is wrong, and God has appointed me to tell him." That is also wrong, and they should look to Abigail as an example. Abigail gives us the right example--submission that speaks, but that speaks sweetly instead of sharply.
Husbands have a huge responsibility in all this. First, they are responsible to encourage their wives to speak, instead of reinforcing the idea of silent submission. Next, they are to carefully and prayerfully receive what their wives say. Finally, they need to understand that even if the advice is not given as wonderfully as Abigail's was towards David, the basic message may still be from the LORD, even if the delivery is not graceful.
Abigail's submission to Nabal was not outstanding, but her submission to David was. And David's submission to the LORD was equally outstanding. By giving up the fight, David had to trust God to take care of Nabal. And God did just that.
5. (1 Sam 25:32-35) David thanks God for Abigail's appeal and receives her advice
Then David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male." So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request."
Blessed be the LORD: David recognizes that the intervention of Providence has saved him from a foolish and wicked revenge. David's prayer in Psalm 19:12-13: "Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them no rule over me; then I will be blameless and I shall be acquitted of great transgression."
David's anger was justified, and his rights were violated. But David responded wrongly. Vengeance and retribution belong only to God. Here, David is taught that this principle did not only apply between him and Saul, but it also applied between him and everyone. David is being taught a good lesson--our hurt feelings never justify disobedience. When others sin against us, we may feel justified in sinning against them, but we are never justified by our hurt feelings.
Blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand: David can also thank Abigail because she successfully reminded him of his destiny: to reign over Israel in righteousness and integrity. If David had slaughter Nabal and his household, it would forever be a black mark against David among the Israelites. They would forever wonder if they could really trust him. And it might have sealed his doom before Saul. For the first time, David would have given Saul a legitimate reason to hunt him down as a criminal. This was a major lesson in David's training for kingship, one that he was going to need to keep before him at future crises. The implication is that violence breeds violence. Whereas, restraint makes way for a peaceful resolution. David knows this in his head, but he may fail to remember it when his anger is roused.
So David received from her hand what she had brought him: It is important to remember that Abigail did not come to David empty-handed. One reason her appeal was effective was for the fact that she paid David what was owed to him. When David received it from Abigail, he acknowledged that Nabal had paid the bill, and there was nothing more owed to him. David knew the blessing here of being kept from sin. It is a blessing to be forgiven our sin, but it is an even greater blessing to be kept from sinning. We would need to seek forgiveness from our sins less often if we would seek the LORD more diligently to be kept from sinning to begin with.
C. Nabal dies, and David marries Abigail
1. (1 Sam 25:36-38) God strikes Nabal dead
Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light. But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.
He was holding a feast in his house: This completes the picture of the wealthy sheep-master. The contrast between him and his wife is striking. Abigail was very high-minded and wise. Nabal was malevolent, obstinate, haughty, selfish and unyielding. Nabal may be taken as an extreme example of the leading Israelites in the days before Samuel's leadership. Abigail can be seen as a representative of the nobler spirit among the people after the spirit of Samuel had influenced the inhabitants of Israel.
Nabal lives up to his name; he is a fool. His life is in imminent danger. His wife knows it, his servants know it, but Nabal remains clueless. He eats and gets drunk as if all is fine and well. He seems not to have a care in the world. In this regard, Nabal is a picture of the sinner who goes on rejecting God, without regard to God's coming judgment. Just as certain as it was that David would have killed Nabal, so it is certain that God will judge the sinner who continues to reject him.
Like the feast of a king: All Nabal had to do was invite David to this tremendous feast, and Nabal's life would have been spared. Nabal's own greed and foolishness was his undoing.
His heart died within him: These words are generally understood as signifying that an attack of internal bleeding had seized Nabal. Commentators are divided as to what brought about the immediate stroke. 1). It was brought on by fear after hearing what a terrible danger Nabal had been in his reckless speech and outlandish conduct. In Nabal's feverish state and excited still with strong drink, terror and horror seized him and the stroke followed. 2). A furious burst of anger at his wife's actions swept over him--that Abigail should have humiliated herself before one whom he evidently greatly disliked. The wild burst of anger resulted in the stroke of apoplexy. Although both scenes may be plausible, scenario number one seems more probable.
Abigail's wise actions saved Nabal from David, and she saved David from himself. But it could not save Nabal from God's judgment. Nabal was never out of God's reach, and when it was the right time, God took care of Nabal.
2. (1 Sam 25:39-44) David marries Abigail
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head." Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you to take you as his wife." She arose and bowed her face to the ground and said, "Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servant." Then Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife. David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives. Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head: David knew exactly what the death of Nabal meant. It was God's judgment against Nabal, which the LORD showed when David decided to let the LORD avenge him instead of taking action himself.
Then David sent a proposal to Abigail: In 1 Samuel 25:31, Abigail asks David, "then remember your maidservant." Here, David certainly remembers her and takes her as his wife.
When the servants of David came to Abigail: The time elapsed between the death of Nabal and David's proposal is not specified. The legal time for mourning was seven days, but there may have been a considerable period of time from Nabal's death to David's proposal.
Behold, your maidservant is a maid to wash the feet of my lord's servant: Abigail shows her devotion to David by her words and deeds. Bowing low shows her respect for David. Washing the feet like loosing the shoe latchet (Mark 1:7) was the service of the lowliest servant. Despite Abigail being formerly married to a very wealthy man, she humbles herself before David.
David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel: The Jezreel mentioned here is not the same city which is located in Issachar. This Jezreel is a town in southern Israel stated in the hill country of Judah near Maon. The fatal results of this Oriental custom of polygamy shows themselves in David's household--a plentiful crop of intrigues, crimes and murders in the palace were the sad fruits of David yielding to this miserable practice.
Saul had given Michal...to Palti: The marriage of the Princess Michal to Palti probably had taken place some time before these current events with David. This high-handed act shows on the part of Saul a fixed determination to utterly break with David forever. Palti was presumably a chieftain whom Saul was desirous of attracting his fortunes. But the story of Michal does not end here. After King Saul's death, Abner, Saul's cousin and captain of the military, made overtures to David. However, David only consented to the friendship with Abner if his former wife Michal was taken away from Palti and restored to him. Michal is given back to David. (See 2 Samuel 3:13, 16)
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