Abigail’s Good Counsel

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. —1 Samuel 25:23, 24

Alarmed at the way David’s men had been treated, one of Nabal’s servants hastened home to Abigail, Nabal’s wife, and related the encounter.

Abigail immediately knew she must apologize.

“Without consulting her husband or telling him of her intention, Abigail made up an ample supply of provisions, which, laded upon asses, she sent forward in the charge of servants, and herself started out to meet the band of David. She met them in a covert of a hill.” Blaming herself, she said, “Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial [son of wickedness], even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. . . . I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days” (1 Samuel 25:25, 26, 28).

Abigail pointed out three things to David: (1) Nabal had not insulted David personally; that was the way he treated everyone. (2) Obviously, David had not consulted God, and God had delayed him, thereby saving innocent lives. (3) “David would be incurring guilt, from which his life had been reasonably free up till the present. . . . But had he carried out his purposes against Nabal, the incident would have raised serious queries in the minds of the people as to David’s fitness for being their future king. If he was to continue his policy of exterminating those of the citizens of his realm who dared oppose his will, his administration would be quite undesirable.” God often sends a messenger at exactly the right time and place to turn aside rash acts.