One Smart Woman!

Today we are going to talk about one woman in the Bible who was not only smart, but discerning as well:

Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon.² There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the town of Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. ³ This man’s name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was crude and mean in all his dealings. 1 Samuel 25:2-3 (NLT)

David, still on the run from King Saul had settled in a remote wilderness area with his soldiers. Near the settlement was a man named Nabal, who was very wealthy. He was married to a woman named Abigail. During the sheep-shearing season David and his men had watched over all of Nabal’s flocks and protected his men to see that no harm come to them or their sheep. When time for the celebration came, David sent his men to talk to Nabal and let him know what he had done, and requested provisions for his men. Nabal out and out refused, and this refusal greatly angered David. David began to assemble his troops to go and invade Nabal’s land and destroy the land the people on it.

Fortunately, one of the Nabal’s servants went to Abigail, who made an instant decision to provide ample provision for David and his men.She also took it upon herself to go to David with the delivery, giving him this message:

Please listen to what I have to say. ²⁵ I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent.

²⁶ “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is.²⁷ And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men. ²⁸ Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lordwill surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life. 1 Samuel 25: 25-28 (NLT)

Abigail was not only smart, she walked in a humility and grace that was not afraid to appeal to David’s better nature. Best of all, it worked! Nabal’s land and household were spared that day from whst would have been certain disaster. However, when Abigail told Nabal what she had done, he had a stroke, which after ten days proved to be fatal for him.

The good news to this story is that Abigail had won the admiration of David by her generous and courageous act, which he promptly repaid by asking her to be his wife! We never know how far a wise woman will go!

Maria