She Acted With Discretion

 "Good in Discretion and Beautiful in Form"

Abigail and Nabal were not a good match.  Nabal could hardly have chosen a better spouse, whereas Abigail found herself married to one who could hardly have been worse. Granted the man had money. He thus saw himself as very important, but how did others view him? It would be difficult to find a Bible character who is spoken of in more contemptuous terms.  His very name means "Senseless," or "Stupid."  Did his parents give him such a name a birth, or was it an epithet that stuck to him later?  In either case, he lived up to his name. Nabal was "harsh and bad in his practices."  A bully and a drunkard, he was widely feared and disliked. - 1 SAMUEL 25:2, 3, 17, 21, 25. 

Abigail was altogether  different from Nabal.  Her name means "My father Has Made Himself joyful."  Many a father is proud to have a beautiful daughter, but a wise father is far happier to discern inner beauty in his child. All too often, a person blessed with outward beauty fails to see the need to develop such qualities as discretion, wisdom, courage, or faith.  Not so with Abigail.  The Bible praises her for her discretion as well as for her beauty. - Read  1 SAMUEL 25:3.

Some today might wonder why such an intelligent woman married such a good-for-nothing man.  Remember. many marriages in Bible times were arranged. If not, parental consent was still of great importance. Did Abigail's parents  favor this marriage, even arrange it, because they were impressed with Nabal's wealth and prominence?  Did they feel pressured by poverty?  At any rate, Nabal's money did not make him a fit husband. 

Wise parents carefully teach their children a wholesome view of marriage.  The neither urge their children to marry for money nor pressure them to begin dating when still too young to take on adult roles and responsibilities.  (1 Corinthians 7:6)  However, it was too late for Abigail to think about such things.  For whatever reason, she was married to Nabal, and she was determined to make the best of a difficult situation. 

Next time: She Acted With Discretion - "He Screamed Rebukes at Them"

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