Be Courageous and Act Humbly
By now you may have noticed that I like Abigail. I’ve written about her a few times now. Of course, her big scene is when she assuages David’s anger against her own husband (1 Samuel 25). How did she bring about peace here? Her husband was a fool, by name and deed. David had been kind and respectful of the man and was asking for consideration in the time of feasting. But his request was denied. Thankfully, one of the servants tells Abigail what has transpired, and she responds.
Turn fear to courage
Firstly, Abigail responds quickly (verse 18). She does not panic, but quickly realizes that she needs to head of the danger that is coming. She gathers food and sets off to meet David on the road. The thing is, she clearly understands the danger, she knows who is coming toward her. She even references the sling in her plea to David. She knows what happens when David goes to battle. She must have experienced fear or trepidation. Knowing that an army is coming for your household and a servant tells you ‘disaster is hanging over the household’ (verse 17). But her fear does not hold her back. They say that courage is not the absence of fear but pushing beyond to face it. Biblically, courage is frequently found with ‘fear not’ and the Lord is with you. David himself says it to his son Solomon (1 Chron 22:11-13), Joshua hears it as he sets out to lead the Israelites into the promised land (Deut 31:6 & Joshua 1:9), Hagar as well (Genesis 21:17), Mary too (Luke 1:30). These examples show is that it is the faith that we have in our Lord, that the Holy Spirit accompanies us daily which turn fear to courage and action. Abigail must have had a firmly grounded relationship with God to have responded so quickly in the face of such a threat.
Humble plea
Nabal, Abigail’s husband, rebuffs the request from David’s men, he implies that he has no idea who David is and that he would never support someone on the run by feeding him and his men. Nabal lifts himself up while diminishing David. In contrast, Abigail bows and falls at David’s feet upon seeing him. She calls out the errors of her husband and begs mercy on herself and the household. She not only speaks of a lasting dynasty of David, but even refers to the death of his enemies by sling. How could Nabal deny knowledge of this man while Abigail tells stories of him in just a few lines? She knows exactly who he is and how strong he is and how he threatens Saul’s reign and is destined to rule. Abigail humbles herself and her gift while also presenting her request not to harm her household. Nabal was very wealthy and, given that David has not sought to purchase food his men and since he has been running form Saul for all this time, it is likely that David was actually quite short of coin. But this is not how Abigail presents her gift, as a magnanimous offering of a wealthy family to a group of warriors, rather she presents it as a humble gift to a future king. Her position is not important, but rather the establishment of peace in the land.
Respond to the need
I think it is remarkable to way that Abigail addresses David. Yes, she acknowledges the future king, but what she does in greater form is recognize the complaint – the reason for a lack of peace in the land. She sees that a great man has requested food in exchange for a service which, until now, had been unacknowledged. She unfortunately does not address this directly in her plea, but instead brings food for the men, thereby responding to the complaint.
The lack of peace is a plea for action.
Peacemaking requires action on our part. We need to be like Abigail and embrace courage, act humbly, and go beyond recognizing issues by acting on them. We cannot stand in fear of what may happen, we must stand firm on the belief that God is with us. We cannot deign to encounter others on the road to peace, but rather present ourselves modestly and respectfully. We cannot simply say there is a problem, but we must act to resolve it. Like Abigail, we must be courageous and act humbly to make peace.
