“For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept
me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by
morning light no males would have been left to Nabal.”
1 Samuel 25:24
Nabal was a very rich man. He was “harsh
and evil in his doings” (1 Samuel 25:3). His wife’s name was Abigail. She was
beautiful and had a gift of good understanding. David sent some men to Carmel to greet Nabal.
These men were bringing peaceful greetings, kind words, blessings. Nabal
rejected them. He even went so far as to say “Who is David, and who is the son
of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his
master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed
for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?” (1
Samuel 25:10-11). So David’s men went to David and told them what Nabal had
said. David was ready to retaliate. Nabal’s wife, Abigail, was informed on what
her husband did. She knew that David would not be pleased. She quickly went
into action. She “took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five
sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted
grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs,
and loaded them on donkeys” (1 Samuel 25:18). She didn’t tell her husband what
she was doing. She rode the donkey and met with David and his men. David was
not happy. He felt he was slighted. He was going to kill every male of all who
belonged to Nabal. Abigail saw David, and when she saw him she “dismounted
quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the
ground” (1 Samuel 25:23). She “fell at his feet and said: ‘On me, my lord, on
me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears,
and hear the words of your maidservant. Please let not my lord regard this
scoundrel 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 help you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself
with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord
be as Nabal. And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my
lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the
trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make for my lord and
enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not
found in you throughout your days. Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek
your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living
with the Lord your God: and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as
from the pocket of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done
for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and
has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor
offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or
that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my
lord, then remember your maidservant’” (1 Samuel 25:24-31). David was touched
by the sincerity and humbleness of Abigail. David blessed her. He acknowledged
to her that God had sent her to meet him. He told her that her advice was
blessed and that she herself was blessed. Because of her quick actions it kept
him from turning to bloodshed and from avenging himself with his own hand. He
knew her wise actions were not just from her but also from the Lord. Our
sovereign Lord works in many ways. Using peacemakers is one of the ways that He
works. He still uses them today. Matthew 5:9 says “Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.” Decide today to be like Abigail. Be a
peacemaker. Keep your eyes fixed on God. Ask Him for wisdom that comes from
above and also for good understanding. Use your hands and words for good. You
will make a difference is the lives of those around you and God will also bless
you for it.
Father, Your Word says “Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called sons of God.” May we be peacemakers in this day and age.
May our eyes be fixed upon You. Give us wisdom that comes from above as well as
good understanding. May we use our hands and words for good. We want to make a
difference in the lives of those around us. We want to be called “sons of God.”
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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