Abigail - A Woman Who Made Haste

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I Samuel 25: 1-35

1.       Abigail was married to Nabal. She was described as a woman of understanding and beauty – Nabal was described as churlish (rude, vulgar, difficult to deal with, etc.) and evil in his doings.

 Verse 3 - And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

³ Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

·         Lord, thank You that You are not looking for a perfect arrangement, even when You choose to move, the situation/circumstance is not a hindrance – You seek available vessels.

·         Don’t allow me give excuses as a woman about my circumstances or ‘seeming’ issues of life/living – make me a woman of understanding!

2.       David sent his men to Nabal asking for Nabal to assist them, especially as David heard Nabal was shearing sheep. Nabal rebuffed them, even claimed ignorance of who David was. One of Nabal’s servants observed the entire episode and reported to Abigail immediately.

Verses 4 – 14 - Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

¹² So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.

¹³ And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

¹⁵ But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:

¹⁶ They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

¹⁷ Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

·         Lord, thank You for ‘arranging’ this young man who played a key role in this story – it wasn’t a coincidence that he heard all that transpired, You were deliberate.

·         Lord, even as this young man whispered what had happened to Abigail, help us to know that even in our time – You are whispering to us, calling us, showing us how to pray for our men at this time! How to stand in the gap – Ezekiel 22:30

·         Lord, make us women that You can approach – why did this young man run to tell Abigail all that had transpired? He knew she was a wise woman – Lord make us wise, remove every foolishness from our lives

3.      Immediately Abigail heard what happened, she made ‘’haste’’ – she packaged food and wine for David and his men and sent it off, without consultation. She neither delayed, nor even got angry/distracted to confront Nabal on such a behaviour that could jeopardize their entire house hold! There was no time for confrontation or apportioning blames – she made haste.

Verses 18 – 20 - Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

¹⁹ And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

²⁰ And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

·         Lord remove every tendency in me to be quarrelsome, to be distracted and tactless – these are all distractions that can cause painful and damaging delays (destroying Your men) – Lord make me definite in the place of travail, to follow Your strategy and not mine, to pray Your prayers and not mine!

·         Lord, deal with any lingering issues that can cause these distractions that will prevent me from making haste – let Calvary ‘’torch’’ every aspect of my life decisively

·         Help me to trust in You – not to be distracted by anything, let me be a woman of focus and persistent in the place of travail.

4.      She went straight to David, fell at his feet and pleaded with him for mercy, verses 23- 31.

·         Lord, like Abigail, help me to go straight to the core issue – not dilly dallying, not playing around, not being inconsistent, not even knowing what to do in these times! Lord, give me Your focus!

·         Abigail went straight to David to forestall calamity – both for David and for Nabal – Lord, make me a deliberate woman in the place of prayer, travailing for Your men decisively

·         Help me not to be selfish – this travail is for all men, not some, not my relations only – all men! Abigail’s intercession saved not only her household, but also David from shedding blood

5.      Abigail was not distracted by the riches of her husband, or even her own beauty. She was indeed a woman of understanding, a woman of focus, a woman of action – she made haste!

·         Lord, keep me focused on You even on this journey no matter the status of my life- You have told us before that the issues of our lives are mere implements in Your hands – means or no means, poverty or riches, good health or bad health, beauty, bad spouses or good spouses, etc.

Lord, help us like Abigail, to always make haste in all that You tell us to do, in Jesus name, Amen!

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