“And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.” (1Sa 25:32-33 AV)
It takes quite a woman to affect a man for his own good. David and his men provided protection for a man named Nabal. He and his household were shearing sheep in the wilderness. This was a risky business. Predators and robbers alike could have brought great loss or death as Nabal’s servants performed their duties. David and his men surrounded Nabal and his household and kept them safe. This they did at their own expense. As supplies dwindled, they asked Nabal for some consideration. They didn’t ask for much. All they asked for was some compensation for the services already rendered. Nabal refused to compensate David for his expenses and worse, accused David of being a runaway slave. To this, David’s anger was stirred. He commanded his men to arm themselves because they were fixing to do Nabal and his household justice well deserved. Then enters Abigail. Abigail, Nabal’s wife, fixes a feast and sends it to David and his men. She begs David not to harm her husband even though Nabal is a drunken madman. David relents and his comments are seen above.
When I read this, I am struck with the wisdom and skill of Abigail. David has several wives. But it was Abigail who is seen in more detail than all of his wives, with the exclusion of Michal. Abigail is the wife David should have had all along. She is wise and she knows how to handle her husband. She is not haughty. She is not arrogant. She is humble and persuasive. She sees her husband's faults and rather than harp on them, she tries to overcome them. For his own good. She did that with Nabal and she did that with David. Abigail is the wife David needed all along. She saw his great leadership and bravery but also knew it needed a bit of refining. She saw he was prone to react emotionally and knew she could be that balancing influence to make David a greater man than he was. It astounds me every time I read this passage how much feminine wisdom is essential for us husbands. David would have taken the life of someone who deserved it. Yes. But he would have gotten the reputation of being vindictive. His wife saved him from a rash decision that would have harmed him in the long run.
If the truth be told, us men owe a lot more to our wonderful wives than we realize. They are far more wise than we may recognize. They have a way of seeing us in all our unflattering persona and rather than use our faults to their own ends, they wisely compliment who and what we are to get the best out of us. That is who I married. She is the best of the best. I have the cream of the crop. My wife is the wisest person I know. She has pulled me off the ceiling more times than I care to remember. When I was a bit out of my league or worse, out of my mind, she pulled me back into reality. It is often said that women are the more unstable of the genders. Not so. We simply manifest it differently. Men, we need our wives far more than we realize. Like Nabal and David, we need our Abigail to run interference sometimes. We need her to pipe up and say something in meekness and fear. We need to hear things that only she can say. We need her to give guidance that only she can see. Praise the LORD I married my Abigail and I trust you are as blessed as I am.
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