Abigail- A Woman Of Strength And Courage Series

This morning, we are going to begin a new series on women in the Bible.

This is a series that I would like to preach on for the rest of the summer

I did this series several years ago and received a lot of good feedback

So often, we focus on the men in the Bible and we forget about the other unsung hero of scripture

Women played a vital role in the Bible.

Not only did they have children and raise the family, but they also did heroic things such as risking their lives to establish peace and offering wisdom as judges.

Jesus ministry was financed by women

He didn’t have to worry about the money b/c the women took care of that.

Today, our scripture invites us to look at a lady named Abigail.

Does anybody know anything about Abigail?

(Invite people to share what they know)

Read scripture

Starting with the beginning of chapter 25, we read that the prophet Samuel dies.

He is buried in Ramah and the whole assemble of Israel mourns for him.

After the time of mourning, David, who have been wondering in the desert because King Saul was trying to kill him, sends some men to seek food from a wealthy man named Nabal

Nabal ridicules David and his men and sends them away without any food.

Now David and his men had been protecting Nabal’s herds from raids.

It was not uncommon for herds of sheep and cattle to be raided by natural predators and other human nations.

David and his men were acting as police or a standing army for Nabal’s wealth.

So when David asked for some compensation to feed his men, Nabal refused to help David.

When David gets wind of Nabal’s refusal not to help, he assembles his men and goes to destroy Nabal.

During this time, Abigail, Nabal’s wife is made aware of the situation and she quickly makes enough food to feed David and his men

Then she got on her donkey and intercepts David and his men and she does two things.

Asks that blame be placed on her

Offers the food to David and his men

Abigail stopped a hostile situation from taking place.

She protected her husband from the danger that he didn’t know was coming by taking care of David’s needs

Nabal was stupid enough to cross a soldier after the soldier just protected him.

No wonder the name Nabal means fool

His parents wisely named him.

Abigail said "The buck stops here. Blame me for the wrong doing and spare my husband his life."

Abigail also recognized the injustice that took place.

Nabal’s servants told her how David and his men protected the herds

The were well treated by David and his men and nothing went missing while they were protected

These men risked their lives for Abigail’s family

And they deserved to be paid.

Besides providing for David’s men’s needs, Abigail also instructs David well.

She tells David that his actions were wrong

“David, you can’t just kill Nabal. You are the future king.”

It’s almost like our wives offering us sound advice using sports analogies to get our attention.

Fisherman wives might say, “Don’t worry about that we have bigger fish to fry.” A Golfers wife might say, “A decision like that may land you in the hazard.” A hunter’s wife might say, “Be steady on the trigger you might not get another shot.” An athlete’s wife might say, “That’s bad sportsmanship.” A baseball wife might say, “Don’t swing at junk.” A basketball wife might say, “You’ll be charged with a foul.” A football wife might say, “That would be a penalty of the 15 yard variety.”

Abigail was able to think straight, something David wasn’t able to do, and ease David’s anger.

I could go on and on talking about Abigail’s character, but I want to leave you with several teachings that she has modeled for us.

In David’s anger, Abigail brought David food, and in this acted to correct the situation that had made David angry. Where an injustice has been committed, we must try to correct it.

She asked David for forgiveness. This is a godly alternative to striking out in an attempt to obtain revenge.

She pointed out the consequences of acting in anger. David would be guilty of shedding blood needlessly. And later, when David became king, his action might erode the confidence and support of the people of Judah.

She also urged David to leave vengeance in God’s hands. God, who rights all wrongs, would care for David—and take care of all David’s enemies. (Willmington’s Bible Handbook)

Impressed by the words of this bold and yet humble woman, David blessed her for keeping him from acting hastily.

God did deal with Nabal.

When Abigail told him what happened, scripture tells us that he had a heart attack and died.

David heard about this and asked Abigail to marry him