1 Samuel 25:1-3
"There was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite."
Nabal's name meant fool and he lived up to his name. Abigail's name means Father's joy. Back in those day, it was still a custom to arrange marriages. Abigial's father must have thought a match with Nabal would provide his daughter with everything. She had to obey the wishes of her dad and once married, she now belonged to her husband.

What does the Bible say about Abigial here?

She was Nabal's wife. She was a woman of good understanding and of beautiful contenance. I love the fact that scripture records Abigail as intelligent and beautiful.

1 Samuel 25:4-8:
David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, 'Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. Thus you shall salute him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing, all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight; for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.'
David mentions the feast day. Remember that David was a shepherd boy in his youth. It was customary to have a feast when the work was done and it was to be shared. With the amount of sheep that Nabal had, the shearing time would have lasted days if not weeks. All the free hands would be involved in the process. Abigial would have been involved with this as she was to oversee all the things of her home and the feeding of the servants.

Though she worked in her home, do you think Abigial knew all about Daivd and his mighty men?

I am sure being her husband Nabal was rich and well known in Carmel. I am sure Nabal knew of Samuel's death and of David's family. I am sure Abigail had heard the men speak of such a mighty young man as David.

1 Samuel 25:-9-11:
When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David; and then they waited. But Nabal answered David's servants, 'Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking awayfrom their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and the meat thatI have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?'

Do you really think that Nabal did not know of David? Do you think Abigial knew of Daivd and his mighty men?

I find it difficult to believe that Nabal had not heard of David. (Slaying Goliath etc.) I think they all knew of David and his men. The Bible tells us that he was harsh and evil in his dealings. It sounds to me like he didn't believe in the living God.

1 Samuel 25:13-17:
David said to his men, 'Every man strap on his sword!' And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, 'David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at them. Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never missed anything when we were in the fields, as long as we were with them; they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know this and consider what you should do; for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one can speak to him.'

Why do you think the servant ran to Abigial with the news?

To share with her the way her husband had mistreated David's messengers and that the messengers had been kind to Nabal's men. David's men put a hedge of protection around the servants of Nabal. He said his master was a worthless fool and no one could reason with him. He told Abigail to carefully consider what she must do.

1 Samuel 25:18-19:
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys and said to her young men, 'Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you.' But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
Abigail quickly considers what she should do, and puts her plan into practice. She gathers the makings of the feast David had requested, prepares for travel and takes off to meet David....all without telling Nabal.

List what she did and what it may have required her to do so.
What was she protecting? What was she risking? Was she right not to tell her husband?

Abigail hurried: 200 loaves of bread, 2 skins of wine, 5 butchered sheep, 1 bushal of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, 200 cakes of pressed figs and loaded them on donkeys.

She was trying to protect her husband and his place from mistreating David's men. She was trying to pacify the actions of her husband. Abigail told the servants to not tell her husband Nabal and to go ahead of her and she would follow with the goods she has loaded.

I believe Abigail could have been killed by her foolish husband in his anger. I believe Abigail made a choice to submit herself to God's man. I believe God honored that later.

1 Samuel 25:20-22:
As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them. Now David had said, 'Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good. God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.
1 Samuel 25:-23-26
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the donkey, and fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, 'Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name,and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.
Abigail displays a measure of her wealth by riding her donkey which were animals for the rich. But she quickly falls off to bow to him.

What did she want David to see?

First, Abigail humbled herself to David's authority as leader of his men who protected her servants. She also wanted David to see she had wisdom with regards to Nabal's refusal to help David. She even admitted her husband was foolish but she asked David to punish her for Nabal's actions. I consider this awesome for David himself told God he had sinned against him only. Abigail had wisdom and used it well.

1 Samuel 25:26-30:
'Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal.'"'And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your servant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. When the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.
Abigail went on to demonstrate spiritual understanding. She didn't defend Nabal, but reminded David of the spiritual consequences of his actions. List the things that she pointed out to David.
1 Samuel 25:32-35:
David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand! For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male.' Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, 'Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition.'

How does David respond? List the things he says about her.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me: Blessed by thy advice, blessed be thou,. which have kept me from shedding blood and avenging myself. Now, Go up to thine house in peace, I have hearkened unto thy voice, and have accepted thy words.

1 Samuel 25:36-38:
Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light. Finally Abigail went to Nabal, but he was drunk. In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him; he became like a stone. About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

Based on the way she handles things, do you think Abigail had been through this before? What qualities would it take to go through this ?

Yes, Nabal must have drunk before a lot and she knew him well enough not to share anything until he was able to receive her words. She was wise, strong, disciplined, and knew exactly when to share what she had done. In other words, Abigail used her wisdom when to speak truth.

1 Samuel 25:39
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, 'Blessed be the Lord who has judged the case of Nabal's insult to me, and has kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own head.'
1 Samuel 25:39-42:
Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife. When David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, 'David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.' She rose and bowed down, with her face to the ground, and said, Your servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.' Abigail got up hurriedly and rode away on a donkey; her five maids attended her. She went after the messengers of David and became his wife. David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel; both of them became his wives.

Why was david so quick to want to marry Abigail? First of all she was a beautiful woman and had a humble spirit. What was different here for Abigial? First David was a God fearing man and also he took another wife later. What was she giving up? Her wealth. How would you feel losing your wealth and positiion? I think if I knew it was God's will I could deal with it. But if I didn't understand why?, I would be very sad. Position: well again if it was God's will he would enable me and take me to where he wanted me to serve him. What was she gaining? I think she would be blessed by David being a man of God. She might later be blessed by David being made king of Judah.

1 Samuel 27:3:
David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his troops, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel , and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow.

How do you think Abigial felt knowing there was another wife?

Since it was common in those days I feel she accepted it. But I am sure in her heart it hurt her.

1 Samuel 30:3-5

When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep. David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel , and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
Abigail joins David's household and begins traveling with the group. Then while David and his warriors are off, the city is attacked. The buildings burned. Women and children kidnapped, taken captive. David returns to desolation; he and his people cry-out in distress until they can weep no more.The people are so angry they talk about stoning David, but when David turns to the Lord, God promises David will be able to rescue the captives.

What do you think Abigial and Aninoam suffered at the hands of their captors? Abuse, slavery, and probably rape. They were beautiful women. I can't imagine being held against my will. Do you think her patience and courage while living with Nabal perpared her for her capitivity? Yes, absolutely. Abigail knew and used wisdom when talking with hostile Nabal. She would use that same wisdom to keep herself alive. Do you think she knew David would rescue them? I believe Abigail knew David was God's man and she trusted him with her life. Did she cry out to God? As she had seen David cry out to God I am sure she learned to pray to her God also. After all, God took Abigail from an ungodly man and gave her a good home with David. She knew God had called David and he would rescue her and all that the Amalekites had taken from him.

1 Samuel 30:2-3:
David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives.
2 Samuel 2:2-3:
So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel , and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron.
1 Chronicles 3:1-2:
These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite ; the second Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite; the third Absalom, son of Maacah , daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah, son of Haggith.