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Abigail |
Dear Brethren,
What is the importance of the story about Abigail in 1
Samuel 25? The Bible says that she was smart and beautiful,
but she is not listed among the people of faith in Hebrews
11. "She was a woman of good understanding, and of a
beautiful countenance." (1Samuel 25:3) What did
Abigail do to warrant almost an entire chapter be
written about her? Her name, Abigail, means, “my father
rejoices," "my father's joy," or simply, "joy."
Abigail's husband was a drunken fool who died in his folly -
struck down by God. "It came to pass... that the Lord
smote Nabal, that he died." (1Samuel 25:38) David,
not yet a king, married Abigail soon thereafter. But, that
is not why she is famous, nor is that why so much of her
story is recorded in the Holy Scriptures.
David made some serious mistakes, blunders and sins in his
life. Because of his sincere and deep repentance (Psalms
51), and because he was a man after God's own heart, David
will have a most important position in the Kingdom of God.
However, when Abigail is introduced into David's life, he is
about to make his biggest blunder of all. Had David not
been deterred from his wicked mission by the convincing
argument and persuasive intervention of Abigail, David may
have forfeited his prophesied destiny to be King of all
Israel.
Abigail knew of David's potential. David had first been
anointed by the prophet Samuel, only about 25 miles from her
home in Carmel. "The Lord said unto Samuel, How long
wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from
reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I
will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have
provided me a king among his sons... Jesse made
seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There
remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the
sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for
we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and
brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful
countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said,
Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn
of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and
the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from
that day forward." (1Samuel 16:1,10-13)
Because of Abigail's intervention, David eventually became
King of Israel, who would never lack a descendent to sit on
that throne. (Read "The United States and Britain in
Prophecy") Abigail, at great personal peril, literally put
it all on the line to save David and his
reputation. Willingly, she laid her life down for him.
Jesus is the Savior, and Abigail gives us a perfect example
of our responsibility to be
co-saviors
with Jesus Christ. In this instance, she saved David from
more trouble than he could handle. She brought David to his
senses, and convinced him to let go of his vengeance and
rely on God.
How can we apply Abigail's example in our lives today? She
did not sit back and say to herself, "I'm not going to get
involved. I won't stick my nose into somebody else's
business. I'll just put it in God's hands." No! Abigail
realized that we are to do God's bidding and get involved.
We are to take a stand - as Jesus took a stand. We are to
lay our lives down for others as Jesus laid His life down
for us. Abigail took the bull by the horns, and in doing so
she changed the course, not only of history, but of all
eternity. Some four hundred years after the time
period of Abigail and David, Jeremiah would prophesy these
words of the Lord, "They shall serve the Lord their God,
and David their king, whom I will raise up
unto them." (Jeremiah 30:9)
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| Sermon: |
"Abigail"
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