Episode E: Abigail WIFE TO A FOOL (The Who's Who Book Club Podcast)

The Wholesome Book Club podcast discusses different women in the Bible each week. In this episode, they focus on Abigail, a woman married to a foolish man named Nabal. Abigail is considered intelligent and acts as a moral compass for David, who is on the run. When David asks Nabal for supplies, Nabal refuses and insults David. Abigail quickly comes up with a plan to appease David and prevent him from seeking revenge. The podcast also discusses the traits of a foolish person and the importance of being approachable. Hello there, welcome to the Wholesome Book Club podcast, where the book here is the Bible and the Whom are the women written therein, week after week, one woman's life, legacy and lessons we can learn are examined. Who am I? I'm glad you asked. Cheryl Tremont, your host. Hello there, happy Sunday. Welcome back to another episode of the Wholesome Book Club podcast, where the book is the Bible and only the Whom is what changes from week to week. Today we're talking about a woman who was a foolish man's wife. The woman in the spotlight today, she is one among the beauties of the Bible, but she is the only one in the Bible of these beauties that is deemed intelligent. The person that's in the spotlight today is Abigail. We know beauty comes from within, but what trumps beauty is brains. This woman was married to a foolish man. I love how the Bible warns us not to call anyone a fool. In doing so, you put yourself in the path of hell's fire. You know, you can see people doing foolish things, but the Lord does not want us to call anyone a fool. So check this out. Her husband's name, Nabal, it means fool. So imagine, if you will, every time she called him to dinner, she was calling a fool to the table. Her story can be found in the book of Samuel. I think it's 1 Samuel chapter 25. Unlike last week where the woman in the spotlight was attached to one man's name in history, Abigail is attached to two men in history, the husband that I just said, Nabal, and David. David was anointed king early, but you know, if you know the Bible, it took years for him to become king. Those of you who may be listening and do not know the story of David, you're going to find it interesting that at this juncture of his life, before he meets Abigail, he is on the run. He's busy being on the run. But the story being found in the book of Samuel is a great place for us to start our discussion. Samuel was always David's moral compass for David's life, from the time he was anointed king to the time Samuel died. So I believe meeting Abigail at the time David does was his saving grace, because she encouraged and corrected King David. Standing in the stead of Samuel, she didn't know that, David didn't know that, but if your moral compass passes away, and you're capable to function outside of higher moral ground, and someone steps in to remind you who you are, she is in stead of Samuel. So she encourages David. She even politely reminds David as a correction. So Abigail was a quote unquote female Samuel in this regard. You know, it brings to mind the saying, we meet people sometime for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Question, do you remember a time meeting someone and a divine purpose was on it? You know, sometimes we recognize it right when it's happening, and sometimes it's after the fact. I remember one time teaching a software class to seniors when a senior woman, very sweet, little Filipino woman, looked like she was about four feet. When she came into the room, a light seemed to shine on her head. She was my student, but she was my student for a short time. In the meantime, when she left, I never tracked her leaving the class because the class was so large, so I didn't have the mindset to track her absence. About two years later, she contacted me and asked, can you teach me at my home and run errands for me sometimes? My son will pay you if you could do this for me weekly. Well, I was not shocked that she found me, asked me, because I remember the day she came in the room, I understood there was something divine regarding her. So sometimes we recognize that we need a person and the divine purpose is connected to them. A divine purpose is connected. I think this was the case for Abigail and David, and yet in their case, their meeting was for a lifetime. Yet she isn't a prominent figure in his life according to the history other than this initial telling of her. So, all right, let's get to the back story of Abigail. This husband of hers was foolish, wealthy, and mean-spirited. What a combination. Foolish, wealthy, and mean-spirited. Well, one day his workers were out in the field working when men that was with David approached them. Men that they were not fearful of because these same men had been protecting them from the negative elements as they worked in the field without wanting payment. You see, David and his men, they were on the run, like I said before, but while they were on the run from King Saul, who was continually seeking to kill David, they were camped near Nabal's people. But, you know, even with David being sought after constantly from King David, he had a character that he understood. You never know who you may need in the future. Therefore, build bridges instead of burning them down. You know, that's something that truly we can learn as people. You may disagree with a person, but you never know how you can work together down the road. So, instead of burning down connections, build them. But, in this case, it almost got burnt down. But at least David had the character to understand that. So, when the men approached Nabal's men asking for supplies, they were pleased to oblige David's men. But, of course, they needed to ask permission. You know, there is a protocol. You just can't be busy giving away what don't belong to you. So, even though the men were happy to know David's men, they dealt in protocol. So, they actually went and told Nabal these things. But before they went to tell him, let me tell you how David handled it. David's men came correct. David sent greetings by way of his men, blessings by way of his men. He even told them, tell the servant to tell their master, Nabal, how we have been protecting his men. So, then politely asked for food supply. So, David and his men came correctly. So, when the servants of Nabal went to tell Nabal, it is his reply that is staggering. Oh, wait. He cussed every which way except Sunday. Who is this David, he asked. His last word at the end of the day to the request was he didn't care who David was and what he had done for his men, he was not going to help them. All right. So, not only foolish men did I say earlier, but mean-spirited. You know, there is a difference between these words. That's why I'm saying them to you for us to look at. There are some people you know who's foolish acting, but they're not necessarily mean-spirited. And there are some people who is foolish acting. They are very mean-spirited. So, these are attributes to Abigail's husband that was not a good mixture. So, after they tell Nabal and he respond the way he did, needless to say, but I will, this pissed David off to the degree he declared he was killing Nabal and all of his household and everything attached to him. Nabal's servants ran and told Abigail all that had taken place. Let's look at that for a minute. It was a beautiful thing that they did not deem her the same attitude as her husband. So, I'll ask you, are you approachable? Are you approachable? You know, a husband and wife, the Bible says the two shall become one. But if one is mean-spirited, do you think that means you should become mean-spirited? If one is not compassionate, do you think that means I should be not compassionate because my husband is not? No. When he said the two become one, they're supposed to function as one. But yet, you being approachable and a husband not being, or vice versa, somebody should be approachable. So, I'll ask you, are you approachable? So, for them to ask their master first, great. That is the route to go. But they did understand that between the two of them, there was one that was level-headed. And that's our woman in the spotlight today, Abigail. So, without her consulting her husband or even arguing with him, she quickly cooked up a plan of action. That's the next thing I would ask you. How long would it take you to come up with a plan of action? Sound thinking is one thing. To be strategic is another. So, we'll see as we go further on. Not only did she have a plan of action, but she was quick-thinking as well as strategic. So, from there, she tells the servants, Thank you for telling me. I want you to pack up supplies. And as you pack up the supplies, take it to the field. And I will follow behind you. Abigail understood dealing with the foolish is difficult. And it wastes a lot of time. The Bible says speak to a fool on that level makes you foolish as well. So, she took no time to address this with him. She knew she had to act, and she had to act fast. The next thing I would ask you to ask yourself, Do you know a foolish person? Or perhaps, maybe you are the foolish one. In order for you to really be able to examine whether or not if you know someone foolish, or you yourself is the foolish person, let's look at traits of a foolish person. The one thing foolish people have in common, they have poor judgment. They have poor judgment. They do not understand A goes to B, B goes to C. They don't have that connective thinking. They are do things, say things, and it has no rhyme or reasoning. No rhyme, no rhythm, just out there. So, one way to test whether or not if you're foolish or you know someone foolish, their judgment is off. Very poor. The next trait we'll look at, foolish people reject any feedback, let alone reasonable feedback. They like their own thoughts being the only voice in their head. They like their voice to be the only voice in their head. So, poor judgment and rejecting feedback of any sort, and truly reasonable feedback, is characteristics, traits of a foolish person. So, I hope you are not that foolish person, but I know you know some foolish people because we all do. But here's the reason why I'm asking you to gauge that. Because when we are in partnership with a foolish person, the damage is collateral damage. Abigail understood that. So, it's not so much that, okay, so this is going to happen to my husband or the business or what we own, but it's everything connected to him. Collateral damage. We all know how many weddings have been affected when divorced. Collateral damage. When a husband or a wife, whoever is leading the family, makes decisions that take them into the hole, both people land in the hole. But Abigail, like the Bible says, was not only beautiful, but intelligent. And this she understood, that she could not afford the collaborative damage that would happen. You know, back in the day, Smokey used to sing, Can You Love a Virgin Man? But I ask you today, can you love a foolish man? You know, this is a woman's study discussion that's held on my podcast every week. And that's how it's packaged, where we speak to women. But if you're a man and you have a foolish wife, it would be the same thing that I would ask you. Can you love a foolish person? It takes a lot of energy to deal with someone who has poor judgment and do not like feedback. So, back to the story. Abigail tells them, I will follow right behind you. As she gathered herself together, The Bible tells us that she rode out behind them, on a donkey. And that speaks to us about wisdom. She didn't go ahead of the men, she went after the food, after the supplies. That curtailed the negative energy that was circling in the air. Because David and his men, they're gearing up to go and kill, right? But she understood, you go before me with what they're asking, and I will come behind. So, she arrives where David and his men are. The Bible tells us she gets off the donkey. She bows before David. She asks forgiveness for the actions of her husband. What a woman. This woman understands how it is to make amends for what's happening in her household. Can you imagine, from David's point of view, how he sees the supplies coming, and then this well-graceful woman who takes the position that she does. She don't go to bad-mouthing her husband. She covers him. She protects him. Will you please forgive him? And she is deemed wise. But what I like about this story is something that it tells us she did afterwards. The Bible says that she rode up, did all that I explained, and David says to her, thank you. She says to him, remember who you are. In so many words, she says to him, you do not want to do this thing because you are God's man. And he thanks her because she saved him from functioning in his spirit versus God's spirit. She saved him from shedding the blood of innocent people. He appreciated that. But one of the things I also love about this story, being a woman of God, being one who understands the power of the feminine spirit, before she turns on her heels to go back, she says to him, remember me. Remember me. Him being on the run, he was not established in the kingdom and in the palace at this point. But she knew eventually he would get there. Let's speak about that too. She was knowledgeable enough to know of his fame, to know who he is, and that there was a calling on his life, and she expected him to reach that calling. Her husband, on the other hand, asked, who is this David? So does it mean he didn't know who David was, or does it mean who is he to have the nerve to ask me for something? At the end of the day, Abigail was knowledgeable as well, operating in her feminine energy. You know, we hear that terminology a lot today, but it is nothing new to that. Women of old in our own families have always said to us, you get more with honey than you do vinegar. These sayings were telling us, don't go and have an attitude of snatching, to be like a man, but to operate in sweetness and kindness. And so this woman did just that. What are the attributes about her that we, contemporary women, could learn of Abigail? She was courageous. You've got to be awfully courageous to say, okay, these are the things I'm going to do, but they could kill me too, just for GP. But no, she was courageous. The other thing we know is that she had sound thinking. All of us are thinking, but is it sound? Is it sound thinking? She had sound thinking. She was humble. How often do you see people, they do not acknowledge somebody else's shortcomings of sin. They think, hey, that's their shortcomings or sin. But to apologize for them that you are connected to. You know, even businesses understand that. You could call and tell them something that happened with one of their agents, the call before that particular call, and they will apologize for the agent before them. So how much greater is it us, should we apologize for those who fall short or who are sinful that we know? Also, Abigail was strategic. She understood, let the food go before her instead of her going before it. With her understanding collateral damage, she very well understood that yes, her husband is the head of the household, but we as wives, you being the neck of influence, is so, so very super important. It's important because Abigail, she herself was able to safeguard her household. The characteristics of her are priceless. The insight she had to speak to David as she did, priceless. She finished talking to David. She goes home to find her husband drunk as a skunk. Drunk. But this woman of intellect still did not become argumentative. She decided to say, I'll tell him the following day, all that took place. So the Bible says the next day when she told him what he didn't do, she did do, and what his thought was when her husband refused him, the Bible says he had a heart attack. He didn't die immediately with the heart attack. He was bed stricken for 10 days. For 10 whole days. Look at God. God gave Nabal time enough to reflect and repent. Gave him enough time to repent and to reflect. You can be sick, but just because you're sick doesn't mean you are not capable to think. He laid on death 10 days. 10 days with the opportunity to reflect and repent. Who's to say if he repents it? But we all can pretty much bet on the fact that he reflected. But the Bible tells us that after the 10 days, God struck him dead. That's an interesting point to bring out too. This is why the Bible tells the children of God, do not revenge yourself. Vengeance are His, the Bible says. If you stay upright, even when we're under attack, God runs and fights for you. Nabal, he didn't have a clue that what he was doing was creating a hole for himself. Even a death bed. But for those who read their Bible, remember you do not have to get upset. You do not have to get even with people. God takes care of His own. Now, David don't have a clue that this is the way God is going to handle Nabal. But David learns of his passing. And not only do he remember Abigail, but he honors her by asking for her hand in marriage. They both benefit from this action. Abigail marries a king, and David gets a hell of a woman, and the wealth of him who refused to have helped him when he was alive. Meeting people for a reason of season or a lifetime. Abigail goes on to give him a son. But she and her son, they leave the pages of biblical history. She is no longer the figure to look at as to what part she played in his life. Yes, a life lived is worth examining. Whoever you meet, remember, there may be a purpose upon it. I'm Cheryl, and this is the Who's Who Book Club Podcast. I thank you for listening. I'll be with you next week. Ciao for now. Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the discussion. Thanks for joining me. And remember, a life lived is worth examining. I'm Cheryl Termois, your host for the Who's Who Book Club Podcast. Meet you here next week. Ciao for now. www.who'swho.com