Nobility and Boldness for the Modern Woman: Lessons from Abigail

Abigail's meeting with David teaches women important lessons about how to handle life both inside and outside the home. Abigail’s nobility of spirit and uncommon boldness saved the lives of her family members, as well as earned her a place in King David’s heart and home. In this piece, we pick out some virtues displayed by Abigail in her interactions with David, which will benefit today’s woman in search of peace, strength, and advancement for herself, her family, and her community.

Abigail was married to a rich man named Nabal. Nabal owned a lot of livestock. The Bible describes Nabal as a surly and mean man. While fleeing from Saul, David and his men protected Nabal’s servants and livestock in the wilderness.

David’s protection of Nabal’s property lasted for years in the wilderness. One year, during the sheep shearing season, a period of time characterized by an abundance of food, merriment, and generosity, David asked Nabal for food. Nabal, a wicked man who pays good with evil, not only refused David’s request but called David a rebel and a usurper. A livid David swore to kill every male in Nabal’s household.

Abigail’s Humility

Humility is the ability to consider oneself an equal part of humanity, even in the company of people of less social and economic standing. Abigail’s humility is first revealed when her household servants confide in her. Nabal’s servants, who were present when he insulted David’s messengers, knew what could be the consequences of their master’s action. The servants had respect and trust for Abigail and had hastened to confide in her about her husband’s conduct. Every woman reading this should ask herself if she is the kind of woman who can be loved, respected, and easily accessed by people of lower social and economic standing. Not only were the servants able to tell Abigail what her husband said to David’s servants, but they also advised her on how to handle the situation. The advice was well received and implemented by Abigail. The Bible describes Abigail as intelligent and beautiful, and deductively, the biblical description of intelligence includes humility, generosity, and graciousness.

Abigail’s Confidentiality

Another virtue of nobility is confidentiality. When Nabal’s servants confided in Abigail, she quickly prepared food for David and his men and embarked on a trip to meet him. This mission was kept secret. A woman of noble spirit is careful about the information she shares. It was this confidentiality that made Abigail’s trip a success. In this social media age where many are desperate for likes, discretion seems like a misnomer. Yet, discretion is essential for success.

Abigail’s hard work and generosity

Abigail prepared generously and fastidiously for the meeting with David. In 1 Samuel 25:18, the Bible records that "Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys."  As the Bible records in Proverbs 31, a woman of nobility does not have slack hands. She works hard at whatever she finds to do. With Abigail’s hard work also comes a generosity of spirit that is uncommon but a necessary component of a noble woman. Nobility of spirit demands generosity of time, resources, and whatever might be needed of a woman at any point in time, for which God’s name will be glorified.

Abigail’s Trust

The Bible records that after putting the food items together, Abigail asked her servants to go ahead of her with all that she had prepared to meet David. This sounds very much like the story of Queen Esther in the Bible, who trusted Hegai the Eunuch with her future by allowing him to choose the outfit she would wear for her night with the king. Abigail trusted her servants with the things she prepared to meet David, the future king of Israel. A noble woman trusts the people God has placed in her life to help her. She is neither suspicious nor afraid of people. She is a woman of wisdom who has dealt with her fears in the place of prayers and with the word of God, and in that way, she does not chase her family, friends, and helpers away by not trusting them. Remember that trust is earned and not given. A woman of nobility knows whom to trust and whom to treat with love and respect, but from a distance.

Abigail’s Boldness

The place of meeting with David and his men speaks volumes about the boldness of Abigail. The Bible records that Abigail "came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them."

A mountain ravine is a fearful place to be. It is somewhere in-between a valley and a gully. It was a lonely, terrifying place for an unarmed woman and a few servants to meet with four hundred hungry, sex-starved armed men with instructions to kill every male member of the woman’s family. Nonetheless, Abigail trusted David's good intentions. This indicates a quiet and calm spirit, a meek and gentle attitude, even though she was walking "through the valley of the shadow of death."

God had already prepared David for that meeting with Abigail in the ravine. Many years earlier, David stood face-to-face with Goliath in a valley. David was armed with only five smooth stones against a battle-ready giant. The five dressed lambs that Abigail’s servants brought must have reminded David of his five smooth stones. Watching Abigail alight and walk towards him, just as he had once climbed down the hill and moved towards Goliath, must have struck a chord in David’s heart. David saw that Abigail’s boldness, just like his, stemmed from a depth of righteousness and trust in God, which brings about peace and security. Abigail was a person of like spirit as David. As sure as David knew that he was going to kill Goliath in the name of the Lord on the day he slew the giant, David realized that he would spare the life of the woman who kneeled before him in the name of the Lord.

Graciousness of Speech and Manners

Abigail’s manners and speech form the apex of her interaction with David. It was the deciding factor. "When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell at his feet and said: "Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say." Abigail’s comportment was of humility and dignity, which are core components of grace. Grace is humble and dignifying at the same time. Abigail’s goes on to deliver a classic speech that can serve as a study in graciousness of speech. Graciousness is an essential attribute of womanhood as ordained by God. Out of millions of women on earth, it was grace that singled out Mary to be the mother of God’s only son. The angel greeted her, "Hail Mary, full of grace." A woman who wants to nurture and build a beautiful life for her family and community would have learned graciousness of speech and manners.

The rest of the story showed how Abigail conquered David with nobility of spirit and righteousness induced boldness. David would go on to change his mind regarding his vow to kill Nabal and all the male members of his household. Nabal himself died in a matter of days after Abigail’s encounter with David. Upon hearing the news of Nabal’s demise, David asked Abigail to be his wife.

Nobility of spirit is peace, righteousness, progress, and joy in the lives of everyone who embraces it. From the hearts of women, this nobility will flow to the hearts of their husbands and children, and out to the community and the world at large.