Make Haste!!

Abigail is, without a doubt, one of my favorite female Bible characters. Among other things, I admire her fortitude, and each time I read about her in I Samuel 25, I find myself marveling at her strength in spite of her home life. We get a good idea of her circumstances in I Samuel 25:3.

“And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.”

In spite of being married to a churlish (rude; sullen; rough in temper; selfish; narrow-minded) and evil man, Abigail is described as a woman of good understanding AND a beautiful countenance. THAT is a woman to be admired!

A few weeks ago, my Bible reading included this familiar account and, as I read about this wise woman, the Lord gave me a few simple thoughts pertaining to another character trait of Abigail. She made haste! When Abigail saw a need or opportunity, she didn’t hesitate…she acted quickly! Because she wasted no time, her life as well as the lives of others were greatly affected.

First of all, some background information leading up to Abigail’s actions. In the verses below, we see Nabal’s rude denial to David’s servants:

“And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?” I Samuel 25:4-11

Upon hearing of Nabal’s refusal, David decides to take matters into his own hands:

“So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.” I Samuel 25:12,13

One of Nabal’s servants went and told Abigail what was going on:

“But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.” I Samuel 25:14-17

And now, we see the first effect of Abigail’s haste:

Abigail Made Haste and Prevented Strife

“Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid. ” I Samuel 25:18-31

Of Abigail’s response, Matthew Henry comments:

“We have here an account of Abigail’s prudent management for the preserving of her husband and family from the destruction that was just coming upon them; and we find that she did her part admirably well and fully answered her character.”

Next, we see the second effect of Abigail’s haste:

Abigail Made Haste and Saved Her Own Life

“And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.” I Samuel 25:32-35

Abigail not only prevented strife, she saved her own life…as well as the lives of her household!

Finally, we see the third effect of Abigail’s haste:

Abigail Made Haste and Became David’s Wife

“And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife. And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.” I Samuel 25:36-42

As Abigail hasted to David, I can imagine her singing…

From a life of walking alone
To a man after God's own heart,
God's mercy, to me He has shown;
He has given me a brand new start.

I realize that this is already a lengthy post, but I would like to take Abigail’s example and make three applications to our lives:

1. Abigail hasted and prevented strife. When we are aware of strife, what is our first reaction? Are we eager to take a side and fight? Or, do we attempt to make peace? No, I am not speaking of compromising truth for the sake of keeping peace. As believers, we are commanded to contend for the faith. But, when our character is in question, would others describe us as peacemakers or troublemakers?

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9

“An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.” Proverbs 29:22

2. Abigail hasted and saved her own life. If you are reading this right now and have never trusted in Christ as your personal Saviour, why are you hesitating in making the most important decision in your life? To put off accepting Christ is actually making the decision to reject Christ. Rejecting Christ is rejecting the eternal life that salvation gives. Rejecting Christ is choosing eternal damnation in Hell. Please, make haste and humbly acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour. Please, don’t delay – trust in Christ alone to save you…TODAY!

“…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” II Corinthians 6:2

3. Abigail hasted and became David’s wife. Abigail was presented with an opportunity that would change her life for the better and she did not hesitate to seize it. Has God opened a door of opportunity in your life? (I want to be clear right here – this particular application is for Christians who already have a personal, daily walk with the Lord…who are sensitive to His still, small voice…who sincerely desire to know and obey His will. To haphazardly walk through any door of opportunity is very dangerous indeed.) If God has very clearly shown you a way you can go forward in your life…a way that does not contradict His Word…a way that would not cause you to suffer spiritually but would allow for growth and service – why are you waiting? If you know that God has confirmed it to you, don’t allow fear to keep you from stepping out. Sometimes, God requires us to take a step of faith before He clears the way. It wasn’t until the priests actually stepped out into the water that the Jordan River parted and the children of Israel crossed over on the dry ground.

“And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.” Joshua 3:13

One final thought – I was thinking on all of this earlier this morning and the Lord brought to my mind the many times that I have wanted Him to “make haste” in a situation. Many times my prayer has been similar to David’s:

“But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.” Psalm 70:5

But, while I have desired for GOD to make haste for ME, how often have I been guilty of keeping HIM waiting?

Today, is there a situation in which we need to be a peacemaker? Make haste!
Today, do we need to humble ourselves before God and accept His free gift of salvation? Make haste!
Today, has God made it clear that we need to step out in faith? Make haste!

“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1