In a world where everyone is on edge and many at each other’s throats, I wonder how I can be a peace-maker rather than a peace-disturber… how I can bring peace amongst volatility. Admittedly, I often feel perplexed by this. Yet, in this quest, I have found a woman whose wisdom and good judgement so impress me. Her name is Abigail. She is from the Old Testament in the Bible. Let’s call her a successful case study of bringing peace into a hostile environment.
Abigail’s husband, Nabal, was rich and harsh. It seems he let his riches get to him, giving way to pride, arrogance, and entitlement. While his men were in the care of David, David protected them day and night, honoring Nabal. Now, returning them without a hair out of place, David needs a bit of support in return.
David sends one of his men to Nabal with his request. Nabal, prideful and greedy, dishonors David and his team’s efforts, as well as his own men, to get out of sharing what seems to be his duty to share. (I have been in a couple of business transactions like this, shocked at the disrespect after going out of my way for that person or company. Have you?) The insult and arrogance are not lost on David. He is not pleased with Nabal, who is clearly a “Godless fool” as his name means, unlike David.
David, now enraged with anger, gathers his men and heads straight to Nabal to vindicate himself by the sword. [Oh my, have I wanted to vindicate myself once or twice. I am sure you have too.] Yet, on his way, David is met by Abigail, Nabal’s wife, who has heard of the insult. Unlike Nabal, Abigail is wise, grateful, and emotionally intelligent.
Feeling the winds of strife blowing and aware of the bloodshed ahead, the Bible tells us, “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.” Along with gifts, she brings wise, gracious words that honor David and the call God has put on David’s life.
Abigail, falling at David’s feet, says, ‘Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.”
Abigail cares. She is wise, and she cares. She cares not only for herself. In fact, she puts herself on the line, running to meet this angry mob of scorned men. She does it because she cares about all involved in this catastrophic situation: She cares about her men, as well as David and his men, and she protects her estate. Through good judgement, she brings honor to all, both now and, in David’s case, for the future as he will soon become king.
She says, “Please forgive your servant’s presumption…When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel,my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.’
In acting promptly with good judgement, Abigail mitigates loss and bloodshed. Her strategic gift to see the possible outcomes and her willingness to put herself on the line breaks strife and introduces peace. She turns this potentially disaster situation into a blessing for David and his men, ultimately costing Nabal’s lavish estate truly little, by offering up humility and gratitude. The result is good for her, peace among men and protection over David’s calling.
“David said to Abigail, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.’ “Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, ‘Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.’” [Excerpts taken from 1 Samuel 25:14-35]
Used of God, Abigail stops David from taking vengeance upon himself, heaping shame upon him through a rash reaction in anger. And God handles it for David. He brings vengeance upon Nabal for David when, 10 days later, Nabal dies of heart failure. Upon Nabal’s death, David, who is relieved God sent Abigail to intervene and so impressed by her, takes Abigail to be his wife.
In a world full of anger and anxiety, there is so much we, as women, can learn from Abigail. In a volatile situation, she used good judgement to halt the anger of men and to stop the bloodshed of hundreds. Through her example of acting quickly and graciously, we too can mitigate disagreements and bring peace within the workplace and our areas of influence.
When it comes to business and our professional interactions, let’s face it: We see the anger and wrath of man, which threatens everything people have worked for. May we be mitigators, not adding to the fall out, but pouring peace on the situation that changes the outcome for the positive. God, help us to practice wisdom and use measured words that we might be agents of peace in the places we work and in the environments we touch. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sarah Guldalian 