Abigail is an unforseen and often unspoken hero found in the Old Testament, who‘s courage and bravery not only saved her entire household from perishing by the sword, but also kept four hundred men from entering into a bloody battle.
She is the only woman in the Bible who openly defied her husband, and as a result, was called wise and honorable because of her actions. 1 Samuel 25: 2-3 tells us that she was an intelligent and beautiful woman who was married to an extremely wealthy and wicked man named, Nabal. Nabal was greedy and ruthless in his business-dealings. One day, David was in the wilderness when he heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So David sent ten young men to bless Nabal, and to kindly remind him of how David and his men had protected Nabal’s business from being devoured by thieves. Since David and his men had done what was right in the eyes of God, they were wondering if he might offer them some food for their services. Nabal responded by shouting insults at them, calling David a-nothing and a-nobody. Then Nebal declared that he would not give them any food, and he sent them on their way.
When the young men reported back to David everything Nabal had said; he became very angry. After all, David had come from nothing, and most likely was called this throughout his childhood. David was also in the midst of hiding out in caves, living in the wilderness, and being chased by a madman who was trying to kill him. Samuel-the prophet-who had anointed David as the future King of Israel had just died. At this point, I’m sure David’s emotions had reached an all-time-high. Unfortunately, David allowed his anger and pride to get the best of him, and he shouted for his men to put on their swords and prepare for battle. David swore an oath to God, declaring that by morning every man who belonged to Nabal would be dead. Meanwhile, Abigail was preparing for her day when one of their young servants came running in and told her everything that had happened, “You need to know this, and figure out what to do, for disaster is hanging over our master and all who live/work with him. [Nabal] is such a worthless ill-tempered fool that no one can talk to him!” (1 Samuel 25:17) Scripture tells us that Abigail flew into action. She gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep dressed out and ready for cooking, a bushel of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes. Then she sent her servants ahead of her saying that she would follow them. Abigail quickly left and did not say anything to her husband... To Be Continued - Discover God’s secret message to His Daughters in Part 2 of Abigail‘s story...Coming Soon!
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