Abigail was an intelligent and beautiful woman in the Bible and she instantly found favor in the eyes of soon-to-be King David. He praised her for her good judgment and she possessed a good character and wisdom.
Her story can be found in 1 Samuel 25:2-42 where she was accounted to be the wife of Nabal. He was a rich man who dealt selfishly with everyone including David and his men who protected his servants and property (v. 3).
When David asked him for food, he behaved in a selfish way and angered him so much that he wanted to kill Nabal and every male in his household. But Abigail heard about the issue and immediately took action that saved the men of her household.
Here are 5 lessons we can all learn from Abigail today:
1. Act quickly when needed
After Abigail was told what had happened by her servant in (1 Samual 25:17 NIV), it was recorded that Abigail acted quickly. She immediately took 200 loaves of bread, 2 skins of wine, 5 dressed sheep, 5 seahs of roasted grain, 100 cakes of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs. She took these food items without telling Nabal and loaded them up on a donkey, and told her servants to take them and go ahead and that she would follow them.
She acted on time because as they were on their way, they were met by David and his men, if she didn’t act quickly, there would have been a bloodbath at their house. Abigail’s ability to act quickly was again seen in verse 23 when she saw David and got off her donkey and bowed. After Nabal died, David sent messengers to request her to become his wife it is written, she “quickly got on a donkey and went with David’s messengers and became his wife” (1 Samuel 25:42 NIV).
2. Humble yourself so that God will exalt you
We can learn an important lesson from the life of Abigail is that she humbled herself when necessary. When she saw David, she bowed down saying “Pardon your servant” in 1 Samuel 25:24 NIV. Then in verse 28, she tells David, “Please forgive your servant’s presumption” (NIV). From the way Abigail behaved and spoke, we can see how humble she appeared before David in an effort to make peace with him.
Abigail’s humility eventually led David to change his mind about killing Nabal and all the men in his entire household. Did you get that? Although it was not her fault, her humility saved them! Abigail could have easily said “Nabal needs to deal with that. I’m tired of making excuses for him.” If she did, that attitude could have cost many innocent people their lives.
Likewise, in life, a problem may not always be your fault, but you may have to humble yourself to solve the problem. Having the attitude that the person that caused an issue should own up to it could cause you more than if you simply humbled yourself and took the issue on.
If you work in a store, that may mean mopping up a spill you met so that a customer doesn’t get hurt. Whereas ignoring it could lead to a lawsuit, ultimately causing you to lose your job. In your relationships, it could look like apologizing for a miscommunication even though you felt like you communicated clearly to avoid a drawn-out argument. In whatever area of life it may be, learn from Abigail and humble yourself when necessary. In the grand scheme of things, it may be the smaller price to pay.
3. Be Knowledgeable
The third life lesson we can learn from Abigail is that she was knowledgeable as the Bible tells us that she was intelligent (1 Samuel 25:3). Her husband was arrogant and he asked “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse?” (v. 10), but Abigail knew who he was and that he was the soon-to-be king of Israel.
Conclusion
The story of Abigail is a great example of a woman with good character who acted with wisdom. May we all be like her and find favor in the eyes of God, our family, and community.
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