1 Samuel 25:23-31

1 Samuel 25:23-31

[23] And when Abigail  saw  David,  she hasted,  and lighted off  the ass,  and fell  before  David  on her face,  and bowed  herself to the ground,  [24] And fell  at his feet,  and said,  Upon me, my lord,  upon me let this iniquity  be: and let thine handmaid,  I pray thee, speak  in thine audience,  and hear  the words  of thine handmaid.  [25] Let  not my lord,  I pray thee, regard  this man  of Belial,  even Nabal:  for as his name  is, so is he; Nabal  is his name,  and folly  is with him: but I thine handmaid  saw  not the young men  of my lord,  whom thou didst send.  [26] Now therefore, my lord,  as the LORD  liveth,  and as thy soul  liveth,  seeing the LORD  hath withholden  thee from coming  to shed blood,  and from avenging  thyself with thine own hand,  now let thine enemies,  and they that seek  evil  to my lord,  be as Nabal.  [27] And now this blessing  which thine handmaid  hath brought  unto my lord,  let it even be given  unto the young men  that follow  my lord.  [28] I pray thee, forgive  the trespass  of thine handmaid:  for the LORD  will certainly  my lord  a sure  house;  because my lord  fighteth  the battles  of the LORD,  and evil  hath not been found  in thee all thy days.  [29] Yet a man  is risen  to pursue  thee, and to seek  thy soul:  of my lord  shall be bound  in the bundle  of life  with the LORD  thy God;  and the souls  of thine enemies,  them shall he sling out,  as out of the middle  of a sling.  [30] And it shall come to pass, when the LORD  shall have done  to my lord  according to all the good  that he hath spoken  concerning thee, and shall have appointed  thee ruler  over Israel;  [31] That this shall be no grief  unto thee, nor offence  of heart  unto my lord,  either that thou hast shed  blood  causeless,  or that my lord  hath avenged  himself: but when the LORD  shall have dealt well  with my lord,  then remember  thine handmaid. 

What does 1 Samuel 25:23-31 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Abigail"s approach to David was a model of tact and courage. Visualize this solitary woman, riding a donkey, approaching400 armed men who were riding horses and were bent on slaughtering her household. It took immense courage and boldness, as well as great Wisdom of Solomon , for Abigail to take her life in her hands and do what she did.
First, Abigail took all the blame for her husband"s foolish actions. In this she reminds us of Jesus Christ who also rode into the teeth of His enemies on a donkey, took on Himself the sins of generations of fools, and was willing to suffer the consequences unselfishly. Abigail begged David to listen to her; her own husband would not (cf. 1 Samuel 25:17). Nabal had proudly described David as a runaway servant ( 1 Samuel 25:10), but Abigail presented herself humbly as a servant to David ( 1 Samuel 25:24).
She described her husband as a fool ( 1 Samuel 25:25). Is this how a wife should speak of her husband, even if he is a fool? Perhaps she meant that in responding to David as he had, Nabal had substantiated what others called him. If David had interpreted her description of her husband as disloyal, it is doubtful that David would have asked her to marry him later ( 1 Samuel 25:40). She might have proved disloyal to him too.
Abigail proceeded to help David view his situation from God"s perspective. She referred to the Lord as the One who, in response to her words, was restraining him from shedding innocent blood ( 1 Samuel 25:26). She was anticipating David"s proper response to her appeal. She further wished that all who opposed David, as Nabal had done, would be ineffective. She presented her gift of food and asked for David"s forgiveness, again as the substitute for her husband ( 1 Samuel 25:28; cf. 1 Samuel 25:24). She believed that Yahweh would give David an enduring dynasty because he fought the Lord"s battles ( 1 Samuel 25:28), not just Saul"s battles, and because David would do the Lord"s will. In this she again anticipated David"s proper response to her request. She believed God would preserve David alive, a blessing promised in the Mosaic Law for those who obeyed God (cf. Deuteronomy 4:10; Deuteronomy 8:1; Deuteronomy 16:20; et al).
Shepherds carried two bundles, one in which they carried food for themselves and the other in which they placed stones to hurl at the enemies of their sheep. [1] This figurative description of David as kept by God, rather than thrown out by Him, would have appealed to David as a shepherd. Abigail also believed that David would reign as king one day, which she had learned that God had revealed ( 1 Samuel 25:30). Samuel had recognized David as the future king ( 1 Samuel 16:12), then Jonathan did ( 1 Samuel 20:15), then Saul did ( 1 Samuel 24:20), and now Abigail did. She anticipated that day and viewed David as having a good conscience then for not taking vengeance against Nabal, since vengeance belongs to God. Often the early sins of leaders come back to haunt them when they later attain high office.
"He [2] was about to attack fellow Judeans and wipe out a whole family. This act would surely have brought reprobation on David and would have undone all his carefully crafted relationships with his fellow Israelites." [3]
Abigail concluded with a request that David would remember her when he attained his throne ( 1 Samuel 25:31; cf. Genesis 40:14). In all that she said, Abigail revealed a godly perspective that was totally absent in her husband. There are many similarities between Abigail"s appeal to David here and the appeal of the wise woman of Tekoa in 2 Samuel 14:1-20. [3]
Abigail was careful "neither to exculpate Nabal nor to appear disloyal to him.... In short, she must win David without betraying Nabal. Abigail devises the perfect solution to the dilemma: she intercedes on behalf of Nabal ( 1 Samuel 25:24), although conceding that he has no case and no hope of survival ( 1 Samuel 25:25-26). In other words, while overtly defending him, she covertly dissociates herself from him." [5]