Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. Let not my lord regard this worthless 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. Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as 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.
Comment: David’s heart is set on revenge and slaughter. Life was harsh where David was fleeing from Saul. There were no 24/7’s for him to duck into and feed his band of men. He had done Nabal a great service, as Nabal’s men had acknowledged to Abigail. It was a hard and harsh world! Abigail’s talk has several interesting aspects.
- She was very humble, respectful and placating in her attitude to David.
- She offers herself as the only one to be killed by David – On me alone, my lord, be the guilt.
- Nabal means ‘fool’ or ‘niggardly’, or ‘churlish’. The word if spelt ‘nabel’ means an ‘umbilicus’ – a very small and insignificant thing! Thus she describes her husband.
- She gives David, the future king, a good reason to be gracious and overlook the insults of Nabal. Consider me she says as God’s way of protecting you from ‘bloodguilt’.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens but she is certainly insightful and wise and gracious! I, for one, hope that her plan works!
Prayer: You, Jesus, taught that ‘blessed are the peace makers’. Help me to be blessed in that characteristic!
As I read it! 
Thanks Barry. The World needs peacemakers at this sad time.
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Thank you Barry for the comments on this passage. “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt.” These are the first words Abigail speaks to David. She is willing to take the blame for something she did not do. That certainly shows humility which is very sincere. She wanted to calm David down, as she knew in her heart that he would be wanting to take revenge on Nabal for returning evil for the good things David and his men had done for Nabal and his men. What a difficult situation Abigail was facing, but she was very brave and resourceful. God bless you.
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Spot on! A brave lady married to a very stupid man!
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Our Ladies Group studied the book ‘A Woman God can use’ which featured 7 or 8 women from the Old testament an Abigail always stood out to me.
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