In 1 Samuel 25, there was a woman named Abigail who was married to a man named Nabal.  David and his men come to Nabal’s servants and ask to celebrate a feast day with him and his household. Nabal refused David’s request and says ““Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master.  Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”

David upon hearing this prepares his men for battle, yet one of the servants told Abigail, who realized all the good that David did in protecting them, realizes the evil that her husband did, and quickly prepares a feast for David and his men, and in secret gave to him as he requested.

She comes to David and declares “Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal (fool) is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.  Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal.”… “And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

It is due to Abigail’s discretion that David and his men did not shed blood in vain. Although her husband was a scoundrel and a foolish man, Abigail was a wise and resourceful woman. She wasn’t being disobedient to Nabal because his ways were evil. She did what was right to the Lord and to David.

Verse 32 reads “Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.  For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!”  So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.”

Women in this day and age were not treated as they are today, and to come up to David as she did could have resulted in her death, yet instead David blesses and respects her.

The Lord strikes Nabal down and Abigail becomes a wife of David. David did not have to cause bloodshed nor did he have to kill Nabal, himself. All of this was because of Abigail. This is the influence one woman can have.

Women today can have just as much influence as Abigail did, even if their husbands are evil. While they may feel like they do not get the respect they deserve, just as David respected Abigail, us as men should make sure that we give the women in our lives the same respect for the good that they do, regardless of who else knows of it.

I wouldn’t have the faith that I do have if not for my mother [and by proxy her mother and their mothers], and it is through her encouragement and in many cases advice, that I continue this website and growing as a Christian.

The same is true for so many others. We should never minimize nor neglect the positive influence of the women in our lives.