‘And Samuel died’, v. 1. One of the few bright lights had gone out. David felt the loss and went down to the wilderness. It was here that he met Abigail.
Abigail (’the father’s joy/delight’) stood out like a jewel against the dark backdrop of her husband’s foolishness in rejecting David’s requests for help. She was ‘of good understanding (inward) and of a beautiful countenance (outward)’, v. 3. She displayed great wisdom in dealing with a sensitive, and potentially explosive, situation.
She listened to the young man’s concerns about the actions of her husband, vv. 14-17, even though some of his comments were extremely forthright. He knew he could approach her with his concerns and obtain sound judgment, irrespective of family ties.
She understood the seriousness of rejecting ‘the man after God’s own heart’. She knew that he demanded and deserved the loyalty of her heart.
Unlike Nabal, she was prepared to give generously of her possessions when David needed them, vv. 18, 35. As far as Nabal was concerned, his wealth belonged to him, but Abigail kept her possessions ready for God’s use.
She knew where to find David, i.e. in the wilderness, by the covert (secret place) of the hill, v. 20. She knew he would not be found in the city and so she rode on an ass; God says of the wild ass, ‘whose house I have made the wilderness … he scorneth the multitude of the city’, Job 39. 7.
She approached David in the right spirit, i.e., humbly and reverently, identifying herself with Nabal’s iniquity, v. 24.
She saw that David, the despised and rejected man, would ultimately be king, vv. 28-30, and she wanted to be linked with the man on the throne. No one looked less like a king than David, but Abigail had the faith to say, ‘the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house … when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid’, vv. 28, 30, 31.
David could not forget a woman who had brought such delight to his heart, and she left the ‘comforts’ of an affluent home to be linked with a man in the wilderness!
