The Fool's Mate

Reflections on 1 Sam. 25:14-35

Someone has said that opposites attract. Nabal and Abigail were certainly opposites. Nabal was “harsh and badly behaved,” but Abigail was “discerning and beautiful” (1 Sam. 25:3). Nabal was a fool. Abigail, the fool’s mate, was quite different.

ATTENTIVE. Unlike Nabal, who did not listen to his servants, Abigail listened to the servant who reported that David’s men had been good to them and protected them. She listened when the servant warned that Nabal’s insults might bring harm to Nabal and his family.

APPRECIATIVE. Unlike Nabal, Abigail appreciated the protection David had provided. David wasn’t in a protection racket. He was “fighting the battles of the Lord” (1 Sam. 25:28 ESV) against the marauding bands that harassed the Lord’s people. Accordingly, she prepared a generous gift for David and his men.

RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL. Abigail took responsibility for the insults David’s men had received from her family saying, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt” (1 Sam. 25:24 ESV). Furthermore, she constantly addressed David as “my lord” and spoke of herself as “your servant.”

DISCERNING. While respectful, Abigail also saw that David was in danger of putting the blot of bloodguilt on his character by seeking revenge with his own hand (v. 26). She discerned that David was not conspiring against Saul, but waiting patiently on the Lord’s time. She discerned that David was protecting Judah from the enemies of the Lord’s people even more than Saul was. She discerned that God would make David “a sure house” (1 Sam. 25:28; cf. 2 Sam. 7:11), that God had appointed him “prince over Israel” (1 Sam. 25:30). She discerned that David had no need to act out of character by “shedding blood without cause” or “working salvation” for himself (1 Sam. 25:31). If he started destroying God’s people when they did not appreciate the protection he had given them, his “services” would have become a protection racket. Her gift was the Lord’s restraining hand on his actions (1 Sam. 25:26).

Abigail obtained a pardon for her husband and safety for her household (v. 35). Abigail was the exact opposite of her husband. While Nabal died for his lack of sense, she nourished many with her righteous words (Prov. 10:21).