Daily Devotional | Abigail: A Woman with Wisdom

Has God ever used someone else to speak truth straight into your life? Abigail was used by God to be a truth-bearer and to calm a hostile situation. After Samuel died, David moved into the Desert of Maon, where he met the household of Nabal, a wealthy—but disagreeable—man. David and his men treated Nabal’s shepherds with kindness. Yet, when David asked Nabal for kindness in return, the man harshly declined: “Who is this David?” (v. 10).

When David received this report, he grabbed his sword and told 400 men to strap on theirs. There is no doubt what he planned to do. However, God in His grace sent Abigail, Nabal’s wife, to intervene. As soon as she heard what had happened, she gathered a gift of bread, wine, cakes, and sheep, and left with an entourage to meet David. When she rode up, David had just pronounced doom upon Nabal and his household (vv. 21–22).

Abigail’s speech was thorough, eloquent, and piercingly true. We can almost imagine her rehearsing it on the donkey ride. She approached David with humility and even accepted the blame for what happened. She found common ground with David when she discredited Nabal as foolish (v. 25). Then she reminded David that the Lord had preserved him thus far. The Lord restrained David from taking revenge with his own hands. And in this, the Lord had done a good thing. She offered her extravagant gift and begged for forgiveness. Finally, she pronounced a blessing on David and appealed to the benefit of a clear conscience.

David immediately recognized her wisdom as from the Lord and followed it. In fact, he admired her so much that, when God struck Nabal dead, David asked Abigail to be his wife (v. 39).

>> We can learn from Abigail’s boldness in speaking the truth. Perhaps God is pressing on your heart the need to speak His truth to someone today. As you pray, ask Him for His guidance and wisdom.