Abigail was beautiful and intelligent, but she was married to Nabal, a rich man who was harsh and evil.
Abigail and Nabal’s story opens at sheep shearing time. For a sheep farmer, this was a festive time of celebration where the owner would host a feast and share his wealth by providing gifts to those who had helped him throughout the year.
David and his men were camped in the area, and as was the custom, they helped protect Nabal’s shepherds and sheep. So when David found out it was sheep sheering time, he sent messengers to Nabal to seek their portion of the feast, a reward of sorts.
Only Nabal didn’t respond as they expected. Instead of thanking them and sharing of his bounty, he rebuked them and pretended not to know who David was. He treated them with contempt rather than the respect they deserved.
When the servants returned to David and shared with him what happened, David prepared to attack Nabal and kill all the males in his household. Fortunately, one of Nabal’s servants ran to Abigail, alerting her to the situation. She threw together a feast, and without saying a word to her husband, she hopped on a donkey and followed her servants to David’s camp.
As soon as Abigail spotted David, she dismounted from her donkey and fell on her face before David. She begged him to listen to her, apologizing for her husband, explaining that he was a fool. She then took responsibility herself for the situation, explaining that she should have seen David’s servants and provided for them.
Abigail could have done nothing. It wasn’t her problem. But she assumed responsibility for Nabal’s actions and saved the day.
Read about Abigail in Scripture: 1 Samuel 25.
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