Biblical Vignette of a Peacemaker: Abigail

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Jesus said, “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” Matthew 5:9

In my previous blog article (Blessed are the Peacemakers) I examined the Beatitude where Jesus blesses peacemakers. Jesus taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) In this article I want to give a short examination of a Biblical example of a peacemaker in action.

In 1 Samuel 25 we are told the story of Abigail and David. As the story begins, Abigail is the wife of a rich man named Nabal, who belongs to the tribe of Judah (same as David), and owns large flocks of sheep and goats. David is not yet King of Israel because Saul is still alive. David is already a very successful General in Israel’s army, and he has with him a group of 600 soldiers who are experienced in battle, and have been very successful in defeating Israel’s enemies with the help of God. 

Saul had been pursuing David with the intent of killing him out of envy for the success God gave him – though David’s victories in battle benefited Israel as a whole, and Saul ought to have praised God for giving David victory over Saul’s enemies, but King Saul had turned away from God and was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. David had just had the first of their face-to-face encounters where David could have easily killed Saul (and David’s men encouraged him to do so), but David would not murder God’s anointed King, and he showed Saul that he was not his enemy. King Saul was contrite and admitted that he had treated David badly and blessed him, and he and David parted with a truce. King Saul’s truces, however, were typically short-lived, and his attitude could change with the slightest demonic temptation to envy. So David retreated deep into the territory of the tribe of Judah. Saul was king over a united Israel, including Judah, but David still felt safer in the territory of his own tribe, among his people. Abigail had nothing to do with this peacemaking. David did that himself, but it shows the state of mind that David was in when he was provoked by Nabal.

I think it is likely that David did not go to his family home in Bethlehem because if Saul fell into a murderous rage again that would be the first place he might go to look for David. So he went several miles West, and camped out near the area where Nabal’s flocks were grazing. It was in the Spring or early Summer, and the time for sheep shearing was approaching. That is a big event for shepherds because that is when the shepherd earns most of his money for the year. Sheep shearing is to the shepherd what harvest time is for the crop farmer. David knew about such things because his family also owned flocks (see Psalm 23). David sent some of his young men as messengers to Nabal asking if he and his men could join in his feast. David told them to remind Nabal that he suffered no losses while his shepherds and David’s men were out in the fields together, and he told his men to greet Nabal with the message, “Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.” (1 Samuel 25:6)

When Jesus entered the City of David for the last time before His death, He did not come as a conquering hero, but as a humble servant of God who would offer His innocent life to rescue sinners.

David’s threefold message of peace to Nabal reminds me of when Jesus sent out the 72 he told them, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.” (Luke 10:5-6) What this means is that when Christ’s disciples came in peace, peaceful people would greet them in the same way. If their peaceful greeting was returned with hostility, then they were to leave and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.” (Luke 10:11) 

David expected a gracious welcome from Nabal because David was the great hero of the tribe of Judah. David has slain the giant Philistine warrior, Goliath, several years earlier. He was one of Israel’s top warriors, at least equal or possibly greater than King Saul’s son, Jonathan. Also, David’s army had spent a fair amount of time in the fields with Nabal’s shepherds, and David was confident that his well-disciplined soldiers had unfailingly obeyed his orders not to take any animals from Nabal’s flocks for a midnight barbecued mutton party.

Nabal responded to David’s request by saying, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” This was a rude response, and not in the spirit of peace which David’s men made their request. Obviously, Nabal knew who David was and where he was from, but he refused to acknowledge the truth. Nabal also made some false accusations against David. He had not broken away from King Saul. It was Saul who turned against his most successful and faithful general (who was also his son-in-law) and tried to kill him out of envy.

Nabal’s response was exceedingly foolish in a couple of ways. First, it was practically suicidal to anger a man with an extremely successful and experienced army at his command. On the other hand, if Nabal had graciously granted David’s request, he would have made friends with the next King of Israel, and could have profited greatly from that friendship. Nabal might not have known that God had already anointed David to be the next King, but the blessing of Abraham was also in play here. God promised Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) This blessing wasn’t just that God liked Abraham, but it regarded the promise of the messiah, and it was passed down to Isaac, Israel, and Judah (out of Israel’s sons). A little while later God would affirm that the promise continued through David’s line (see 2 Samuel 7:8-16). So Nabal had inadvertently cursed himself by being so rude to David.

David’s response was immediate, and also a little over the top. Though David had made his request with a threefold greeting of peace, Nabal’s antagonistic response also antagonized David, so that his peaceful desire was replaced with a murderous one. He made a vow to kill Nabal and all the men associated with his household before the sun rose the next morning. He told his men to strap on their swords, and they all did. He then took 400 men with him to deal with Nabal, and left 200 to guard his camp and supplies. This was an overreaction, though David may have been on edge having been pursued by both the enemies of Israel and Israel’s king, and he likely was not in the mood to be insulted by someone from his own tribe. He had hoped that he was among friends, and he had treated them as such, and made a peaceful request to join in the feast. When he was so rudely rejected he became angry, and having an army at his right hand, he impulsively determined that he did not have to take that from Nabal. In his anger, David did not recognize that his anger and intentions were far out of bounds of the offense, but there was one person who did – Nabal’s wife, Abigail.

Somehow one of Nabal’s men heard about David’s intentions, and told Abigail that David was intent on killing Nabal and all of them, too. He also noted that Nabal “is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.” (v. 17) He told Abigail that David’s men “were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.” (v. 15-16)

Abigail quickly gathered some food that was prepared and set out to meet David’s army to try to turn away his murderous anger, though she did not tell her husband what she was doing. When she met David she humbled herself and fell at his feet, saying, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.” (v. 24) She first humbled herself calling herself David’s “servant” and accepting blame for the offense that her husband gave to David. Then she pleaded mercy for Nabal, admitting that he was a fool. Abigail told David that she was not there when his messengers came to Nabal. This was to suggest that the messengers would have received a warmer reception, had she heard David’s request, the proof of which was the supplies that she brought with her to David.

Abigail made peace with David when he intended murder. Painting of The Meeting of David and Abigail by Peter Paul Rubens seen at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Abigail then continued to reason with David, not pleading for the lives and well-being of her household and employees, but pleading for the sake of David himself. She said that the Lord (God) had thus far restrained David from “bloodguilt” (that is, guilt for shedding the blood of innocent people, or murder). She asked that he would accept the food she brought and forgive her tresspass (since she accepted the guilt of her husband). Then she said, “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.” (v. 28) She calls David her “lord” (since she humbled herself, saying she was David’s “servant”), and she noted that because David is “fighting the battles of the Lord (God)” then he should not be found guilty of murdering innocent people (such as Nabal’s workers, and possibly Nabal, himself). Abigail shows that she recognizes that God is with David in his battles, and he should keep himself pure for what lies ahead for him as the next king of Israel. 

Abigail then said, “If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord (meaning: David) shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. And 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 my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.” (v. 29-31) Abigail calls David “my lord”, and recognizes that God has chosen David to be king (or “prince”) of Israel. David would be “prince” of Israel because God, Himself, was always Israel’s king, as long as they remained faithful to God. It is interesting that Abigail says that God will sling out David’s enemies as from the hollow of a sling. This, of course, is a reference to how David slew the Philistine warrior, Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17). She trusts in God to take care of David’s enemies, and reminds him to do the same, but she asks that David remember her household when God has blessed David, as she trusts that He will. In this, she shows great concern for David’s spiritual well-being as God’s chosen king, and that surely was a large reason why David’s heart was softened, and his murderous anger was dissipated. 

David’s first response to Abigail was to first bless God, who sent her to meet him and to turn away his wrath. This is the proper response of all God’s people. Just as Abigail spoke of God’s blessings to David, so he puts God first in his response to her gracious words. Next, David blesses Abigail for her wisdom, kindness and discretion to make amends for Nabal’s self-destructive rudeness. He also tells her his intentions were to kill all the men and boys in Nabal’s household, but he seems pleased that no one had to die by his hand. David then dismisses her in peace, and assures her that he has received the gifts she brought in peace as she intended. David had sent his men in peace, but that peace was returned with strife, and that caused anger and strife in David, and in his men, too. However, in the midst of great danger and strife, Abigail returned that peace to David and his army, and their peace was restored, too. David assures her that he has graciously received her gifts, has forgiven the offense, and will bring no harm to her household.

Though David was a warrior from a young age, his hands were innocent of murder when he became king of Israel, with the help of the peacemaking efforts of Abigail.

While all this was going on, Nabal was feasting like a king, and was drunk. If David had come and found him like this he would have had very little resistance when he killed Nabal and all his men. This also shows that Nabal had more than enough to share with his neighbor, David. Nabal was not a king, and it was foolish of him to act as if he were. When Abigail came home she did not immediately tell her husband what she had done to save his life. She waited until the next morning when he was sober. When he heard the full story of what happened the Scripture says his heart “died within him and became like stone” and ten days later God struck him dead. Though God spared David from the “bloodguilt” of murder through the kind, peacemaking actions of Abigail, He avenged the offense Himself and struck Nabal dead. This reminds us that God said “Vengeance is mine” (Deuteronomy 32:35, also quoted by St. Paul in Romans 12:19). We should not seek revenge personally, but leave it to God, and to God’s appointed representatives. The government may use capital punishment for the crime of murder, and in doing so are acting on God’s behalf – as long as the government does so in a lawful way, and does not prosecute innocent people. (See Genesis 9:6)

When David heard that Nabal was dead he first blessed God who avenged the insult, and, through the intervention of Abigail, had kept David from wrongdoing in response. Then he sent for Abigail and asked her to become his wife. She was again very humble as a servant, and she accepted his proposal. David, as a godly man, recognized the value of Abigail as a peacemaker. Though David already had several wives at this time, and that would cause him trouble in the future, though that is a story for another time. Abigail was not the cause of David’s troubles, and she is someone that all God-fearing people can admire for her faith in God and her work to make peace and save her household from being murdered.