Lessons from Abigail's Story

By Natasha Miller (c) 2022

Day 3: Separate Yourself from Foolishness

Positioning Prayer: Heavenly Father, I deeply desire to walk in alignment with You and to know You. Teach me Your ways. Bless me with Understanding. Allow Your wisdom to guide my every thought, word, and deed. Thank you for speaking to me as I study your Word. In Jesus Name, Amen. 

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 25:2-44, Romans 14:17-18; 1 Peter 4:8

   Being married to a fool is hard. Being irreversibly connected with foolish people through bloodlines and community is hard. How do you live an honorable life before God and deal with fools? 

   Abigail represents a perfect example of how to live a Kingdom lifestyle while navigating the effects of idiots. Literally, her husband’s name Nabal means “fool.” He lived up to his name; even his servants called him in KJV a “son of Belial,” meaning a “good for nothing,” and in other translations like NKJV a “scoundrel.” Nabal’s foolish decision to insult David was not unique. He had a pattern of this behavior. 

   Abigail was able to exist in this environment because of her 1) faith, 2) joy, and 3) righteous behavior. Her faith, on display in her conversation with David, indicates a woman who trusted and had a relationship with God. Her joy, known by her name meaning “my source is joy” allowed her to righteously respond in wisdom to the situation. Joy, being her source, led her to righteous behavior; she was not paralyzed by anxiety, stress, or other carnal responses.  These three things separated her from the foolishness of her husband. 

   Some may think because Abigail went behind her husband’s back, she wronged her husband. While he was partying, she was blessing David with food, humility, and Godly advice. But Abigail did not wrong her husband. Walking in wisdom and love, she was protecting him and her whole household. Foolishness had blinded him, but she could see clearly and as his wife had the authority to cover his sin. The next day, after he was sober, she then informed him of her actions. Her actions were not selfish but intended to protect the whole household, even her husband. Nabal had no idea what devastation he was bringing down on them. His brashness invited the slaughter of all the males. 

   Abigail, because she knew right from wrong and good from evil, did not allow herself to be lulled into complacency because she needed to “let her husband lead.” Nor did she allow herself to be an accessory to evil. She separated herself from foolishness and aligned herself with the Lord. From this alignment she was able to make wise decisions that saved her own household from death and destruction and saved David from sinning against God by shedding innocent blood in anger. And because Abigail separated herself from foolishness, she found favor with God and David.

Activating Prayer: Lord, I repent for any time I have lacked faith, joy, and righteousness in my decision and actions. I repent for any time I have aligned myself with foolishness. Every day I desire to walk with You. I desire to walk with You in strong faith, unrockable joy, and deep righteousness. Show me the way. I ask for wisdom. In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

To read all 6 weeks of devotionals, click here. 

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(Photo by Kristian Lovstad)