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Abigail prevents a fight

Abigail prevents conflict between David and Nabal.
Contributed by Richard Gunther
Story also available on our translated websites: Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, German
1
David and his men were hiding from King Saul. They took refuge in a place known as the wilderness of Paran. – Slide 1
2
It was an area where a very rich man called Nabal lived. – Slide 2
3
Nabal many servants and owned thousands of sheep and hundreds of goats grazing in the area. David’s men did not take any of his any of Nabal’s animals for food and helped his herdsmen protect his flocks from other raiders. – Slide 3
4
After a while spent guarding Nabal’s herds David sent men to him to ask for some food. – Slide 4
5
He told his messengers to be polite and to remind Nabal how well they had protected Nabal’s herds and herdsmen. – Slide 5
6
But Nabal was so greedy and selfish he would not share his food with David and his men. He lost his temper and replied with anger, insults and scorn. – Slide 6
7
The messengers reported back to David. It was now David’s turn to be angry. – Slide 7
8
‘Arm yourselves,’ David shouted to his men. ‘We are going to pay Nabal a visit.’ David and 400 fighting men set off towards Nabal’s house. – Slide 8
9
But Nabal’s wife Abigail had heard about her husband’s rudeness. She was a very wise woman and wanted to stop the fight and protect her husband. – Slide 9
10
So, without her husband knowing, she loaded up donkeys with a huge supply of food and set off to meet David. – Slide 10
11
She met David and his men angrily marching towards Nabal’s house ready to teach him a lesson. – Slide 11
12
Abigail fell to her knees before David pleading with him to take her gift of food and spare Nabal’s life. – Slide 12
13
David suddenly saw sense and exclaimed, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me.’ Abigail had stopped a fight and spared lives. – Slide 13
14
David took the gift of food and retreated back to their hideout. Abigail returned home to find that Nabal had arranged a feast and was getting drunk. – Slide 14
15
The next day, as Nabal sobered up, Abigail told him what she had done how close he had come to being attacked by David and his men. – Slide 15
16
Nabal was so alarmed he had a heart attack and ten days later he died. – Slide 16
17
On hearing this news, David decided that he must look after Abigail and took her to be his wife. – Slide 17
18
Slide 18