Call me Abby!
Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. 1 Samuel 25: 18,19.
So this is the story of David and Abigail: David sends some men from his army to Carmel, to a wealthy man called Nabal, making a peace offering and asking for provisions for his army. In his grittiness, Nabal refuses to help, and in His own wisdom he tells them (in other words but I'll make it short and sweet) "You're not my problem. I worked for this, I have earned it and I ain't sharing it!". Now, let's make a quick pause here… I can think of many times when in my own selfishness I looked at others who seemed to be 'too intense' or 'too demanding' and concluded I should walk away. My comun thought in all these situations was I don't owe them anything. Funny thing is you and I have the richest wealth in the whole world, and we can add something to that: we were granted to it freely. We have the bread of life and many times when others come to us feeling hungry, we're still acting as if it wouldn't be enough to give.
So here is where Abigail comes into the story. I like her so much I will need to call her Abby from now own. Abby hears from her servant that David and his army are coming their way. She hears about how they're ready to battle as their peace offering was not accepeted. She then prepares great big portions of everything: two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs — I mean, really… Everything! Abby decides to send her servants before her and she follows, walking towards an army, having no clue if she is about to find favor and mercy in David's eyes. She is determined to do the right thing, despite her husband's choice. Wow, this is so powerful and dangerous!
The thing about Abby that amazes me the most was that she left home without knowing what would be of her when she came back and she didn’t even try to run away. Would she be taken in? Would Nabal leave, or even kill her? The Bible says Nabal was not a good fellow and I can also imagine that maybe she wouldn’t be so terribly sorry to sit around and watch him be destroyed by an army. But she doesn't do that, she goes after the men instead. Not knowing exactly what's before her, having no clue what was waiting for her on the way back either.
When Abby makes it to David, not only he is thankful for the provisions, but he blesses her for keeping him from getting his hands dirty with blood. She goes back home and uses her discerning heart to wait for the right time, and tells her husband of what she did. That very day the Lord turns his heart into stone with grief and he dies a few days later. At the end of the day, justice was made without anyone having to make the wrong, or let's face it, the most convenient choices. And God was faithful to David and Abby.
When David hears about Nabal, he asks Abby to marry him, and she is redeemed. At that time so many different things could happen to a woman who became a widow and I wonder how frightened Abby must have been feeling until she heard from David again. Marrying again was probably not likely to happen. But again, the Lord was faithful.
I believe this is the Lord has for me today. A calling that brings me out of the heart of stone given to Nabal, showing me that there is a better way where I can be generous and give freely, even if it could cost me everything, because the thing about faith is that God is the one who will always be faithful! So for today I want to look at the cross, facing my savior, and thankfully ask "Jesus, please call me Abby. For you have turned my heart of stone into a well of faith!".
