1 Samuel 25:23-44 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 25:23-44. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Samuel 25:23-27 (NIV)
23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground.
24 She fell at his feet and said: “My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say.
25 May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name–his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent.
26 “Now since the LORD has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal.
27 And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you.
On verses 23-27: As I read these verses I see Abigail as a picture of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Here are 5 ways Abigail reminds us of Jesus Christ:
1. Abigail got off her donkey (v23) and stood humbly and sacrificially between a sinner (Nabal) and the wrath of a king (David). Likewise, Jesus Christ would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (John 12:12-15) and stand between sinners like us and the wrath of God the king.
2. Abigail had done nothing wrong — she didn’t see what her husband Nabal had done (v25b) — yet she willingly took the blame for Nabal’s sin (v24 – “My lord, let the blame be on me alone”). Likewise, Jesus was innocent of wrongdoing, yet He willingly took the blame for our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) so that we could go free.
3. Abigail offered bread to David as a gift and peace offering for Nabal’s sins (v27). Jesus offered the bread of his body to God as a gift and peace offering for our sins (John 6:41; 1 Corinthians 11:24).
4. When Abigail spoke to David on Nabal’s behalf, Abigail was honest about Nabal’s sin and foolishness. She didn’t try to make Nabal look better than he actually was; instead, she called Nabal a wicked man and a fool (v25). Likewise, when Jesus stood in the gap for us, He didn’t sugarcoat our sin. Jesus acknowledged that our wickedness and sin were a real problem (e.g John 8:24).
5. Abigail did not implore David to forgive Nabal because Nabal deserved mercy, but for the sake of David’s own name and reputation (v28 – “Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live”). Likewise, when Jesus implored his Father to forgive our sins, just like Moses (Exodus 32:11-14), Daniel (Daniel 9:18), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:7-9) and other great leaders before him, it was not because we deserved forgiveness that Jesus asked his Father to forgive, but rather for the sake of God’s own name, reputation and glory.
1 Samuel 25:28-35 (NIV)
28 Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD’s battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live.
29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling.
30 When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel,
31 my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has brought my master success, remember your servant.”
32 David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me.
33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.
34 Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.”
35 Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.”
On verses 28-35: While David is seething with anger, Abigail reminds David of who he really is and of God’s vision for his life. Using language that must have encouraged David greatly, she reminds him that God is establishing a dynasty for David (v28) and doing for David something unique that He was not doing for anyone else. She reminds David that he is God’s chosen representative, fighting the Lord’s battles (v28b). She reminds him that God will be faithful to protect David even though Saul pursues his life (v29). She even uses a picture that is personal to David — hurling a stone from a sling — to describe what God will do to David’s enemies (v29) so that David would not need to take matters into his own hands. She reminds David that God is faithful to keep His promises and to fulfill His plans for David (v30). With all this in mind, Abigail advises David to relent from harming Nabal so that David’s conscience would not be burdened by needless bloodshed (v31). Finally, putting herself last, she says, “And when the Lord has brought my master success, remember your servant.” (v31b) David’s response in verses 32-35 show that David was helped greatly by Abigail’s words.
What can we learn from this? When David was at his worst, Abigail brought out the best in him. How? By reminding him of (1) who he really is in God, (2) God’s unique purpose for his life, and (3) how God is faithful to protect and defend him so that there is no need to take matters into his own hands. Similarly, wives, when your husband is feeling at his worst, you have a special voice in his life. Use that voice to encourage him and bring out the best in him. How? Like Abigail did for David, remind your husband of who he really is in God (how God sees him), God’s unique purpose for his life, and how God is with him to protect and defend him. Husbands, do the same for your wives. Brothers and sisters in Christ, do the same for your friends and loved ones. Praise God that when we feel at our worst, God uses other children in His family to restore us, to speak sense into us and to keep us from doing something that we will regret, if only we are willing to listen.
1 Samuel 25:36-37 (NIV)
36 When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until daybreak.
37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things…
On verses 36-37a: Here we see further proof of Abigail’s wisdom. Notice that Abigail was careful to choose the right time to speak with her husband. She chose to wait until after Nabal was sober so that her words could have maximum impact. I pray that, like Abigail, you would have the wisdom to know when to act quickly and when to slow down, when to speak and when to hold your tongue.
1 Samuel 25:37-42 (NIV)
37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.
38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the LORD, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.
40 His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.”
41 She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my master’s servants.”
42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five maids, went with David’s messengers and became his wife.
On verses 37-42: Nabal’s sudden heart failure and death were proof that, just as Abigail said, there was no need for David to take matters into his own hands and in so doing bear “the staggering burden of needless bloodshed” (v31). Instead, God was faithful to defend and avenge David.
Similarly, because Abigail trusted God to work things out His way, she ultimately was blessed as well: she got a new and better husband (v42)!
What can we learn from this? When we trust God to do things His way, it’s always so much better than when we take matters into our own hands.
1 Samuel 25:43-44 (NIV)
43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives.
44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
On verses 43-44: The story of David and Abigail shows that a beautiful, God-fearing and wise wife is one of the greatest blessings a man can have. But it’s possible to have too much of a good thing! After David’s first wife, Michal, was given to another man (v44), David not only married Abigail, but also another girl Ahinoam (v43). While polygamy was a common practice among the rich and powerful of David’s day, God specifically commanded kings not to take many wives (Deuteronomy 17:17). Moreover, throughout Scripture we see how taking many wives always led to some kind of disaster. David’s marriages to many wives would lead to his downfall. Ahinoam would give later birth to Amnon, who would end up raping one of David’s daughters from another wife. The rape of Tamar would lead to incredible strife and civil war not just within David’s own family but for all of Israel. Had David remained faithful to one wife, he, the women involved, and his family overall would have had a much happier and more blessed life.
Father, thank You for all the lessons we can learn from this passage. I pray that like Abigail I would be a picture for others of what Christ is like — wise, humble, courageous, and self-sacrificing. Thank You that just as You defended David and made all things beautiful in Your time, thank You that You will do the same in me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
