Nabal and Abigail (Sunday, May 14, 2023)

Nabal and Abigail (Sunday, May 14, 2023)

Not all matches are made in heaven. Or, we might say that not all matches are heavenly. Nabal and Abigail were not cut from the same cloth. Oh, we can say that God must have put them together. And God had Abigail in such a place that she could avert David from his wrath and eventually become David’s wife following the death of Nabal. But they were not alike.

The name “Nabal” comes from the same stem as “foolish.” Names in the Bible often mean something, and whether Nabal’s parents spotted this trait early on, or, maybe it was just a popular name from social media, that’s what they named him. One reference where this word is used is in Proverbs 30:32 "If you have been foolish in exalting yourself; Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth.” Nabal would have done well to put his hand on his mouth.

“Abigail,” on the other hand, means “father of joy,” or perhaps, “source of joy.” How could “fool” and “joy” walk hand in hand? The Bible describes the two of them this way: 1Sam. 25:3 “And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings.”

We had a Nabal and an Abigail in our congregation years ago. They have both passed away now, but the one was mean and ugly; the other was delightful and kind. She loved him and put up with him until he died, and I remember a deacon and myself helping her care for him in the home until he died. She continued on, humble and unassuming, and I still talk to people from time to time that she blessed. No one ever said that they were blessed by her husband.

Why does God allow this? Perhaps it’s a human lesson of what God does for us? We, like Nabal, can get caught up in our own business, forgetting the kindness of others to us and refusing kindness to others in need. We can be all about ourselves. But God is still kind to us, showing up in the midst of our charge toward retribution with roasted grain and clusters of raisins ( cf. 1Sam 25:18) to refresh us and to have us reconsider our course of action. As we come to Jesus, our “old man” is put to death, and we are born into a new life that will have more to do with joy and kindness than with foolishness. We will no longer be all about ourselves, but will step into the lives of others for their blessing.

And in the midst of it, we find a new partnership, a new marriage. Whereas once we were married to that which would threaten to drag us down and drown us, now we are married to Christ.