Commentary on "Abigail: No Victim of Circumstances"

LESLIE MARTIN

 

Day 5: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - What Abigail Won't Do

 

After her servant told her what had transpired between Nabal and David’s young men, Abigail sprang into action: she had a huge amount of food prepared and donkeys loaded with her generous gifts. She sent her servants ahead with the gifts to meet David and his 400 man fighting force who were quickly closing the gap between David’s camp and Nabal’s estate. She followed her servants on her donkey, and they met David in the pass between the peaks of the Carmel mountain range.

“When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David and bowed herself to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, ‘On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant.’” 1 Samuel 25:23,24 NASU

Note how humbly Abigail greeted David, she “dismounted from her donkey… fell on her face… bowed herself to the ground… fell at (David’s) feet.” The words used here emphasize that she went immediately from sitting on her donkey to bowing prostate with her nose and face to the ground at David’s feet. This type of bow was not a normal greeting. The Hebrew word is shachah and it means: “to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God):” (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.) Abigail was not only showing great respect and humility, but she was acknowledging that David was Israel’s next anointed king!

Abigail’s words to David are a shining example of intercession as she took all the blame and responsibility on herself and pled with him to reconsider his plan since he was to be Israel’s king. She confidently asserted that her intercession was directed by God “…since the Lord has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand…” (1 Samuel 25:26)

The Lord used Abigail to speak a special promise to David,

“Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling.” (1 Samuel 25:29)

This promise is so beautiful! It was the custom at that time to hide your most valuable possessions (such as jewelry, gold, etc) in a large piece of cloth. You would take your treasures and roll them up in the cloth for security and safe-keeping. This promise referred to that custom “the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God.” David was securely hidden and protected with God. In all our troubles, we are never alone. God is with us and keeps us secure.

 

GO TO DAY 6

 

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