1 Samuel 25

18 Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel£ of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys 19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.

20 As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her.

21 David had just been saying, “A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good.

22 May God strike me and kill me if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!”

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him.

24 She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say.

25 I know Nabal is a wicked and ill -tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent.

• KJV – consider the source…. 25 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.

• Abigail bowed before David and acknowledged him as her lord and king; in fact, she used the word “lord” fourteen times in her speech.
• In taking up Nabal’s cause and asking David to spare his life, Abigail proves herself to be a righteous, caring woman. At great risk to herself, she approaches David, an angry man bent on revenge, and intercedes for her husband, despite his bad behavior.

26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is.

27 And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men.

28 Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The LORD will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the LORD’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.

29 “Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the LORD your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling!

30 When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel,

31 don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the LORD has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!”

Propitiation:

Her request: a picture of Christ, who offered Himself as a sacrifice to save sinners from the consequences of their own actions and who continues to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Appeasement or satisfaction for wrong-doing, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act: it involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.

1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.