Monthly Ladies meetings:
People's Baptist Church, Kelowna, BC
Teacher: Mrs. Wendy Madle
March 2005
ABIGAIL : A WOMAN WHO RETAINED HONOUR
Proverbs 11:16 - "A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain
riches."
I Samuel 25:3 - "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."
Abigail means `father of joy or cause of joy". The Bible gives no indication
of her genealogy or parentage. One can conclude from the events unfolded, that
Abigail did have understanding of the teaching of the prophets of Israel.
Abigail was married to a man that was a descendant of Caleb. A man that was
"churlish and evil in his doings" may have inherited the land of Caleb but did
not learn the character of -Caleb (Numbers 14:24). The marriage of Nabal and
Abigail could have been, and most likely was, an arranged affair as was the
custom with women having no voice in the arrangement.
How Abigail retained her honour (I Samuel 25)
I. The __________of Abigail (Pr. 4:7-9)
A. A woman of ______ _____________. (v.3) Proverbs.2:11/19:10-11
Abigail had both beauty and brains. But the beauty can be marred by the lack
of discretion (Pr.11:22)
B. A woman of _________ ________________ (v.18) `:.made haste.." Time did not
allow for e to be indecisive. She needed to act quickly and not second guess
herself.
(NOTE: The context of this situation: Abigail was in a life and death
situation with her husband essentially unavailable. If she did not act
quickly, decisively and with wisdom, her whole household would be killed. The
Bible does not excuse rash, spur of the moment decisions.)
C. A woman who could cope with the _______________ of the task at hand.
(v.18-19) She was organized and executed her plan to save her family.
II. The ________ of Abigail (Ecclesiastes. 10:12; Col. 4:6)
A. _______________ - She addressed David as “my lord"
B. _____ _____ ______ ________ the blame. (v. 25)
C. _____ __________David of God's protection to him (v.28)
D. __________comes from the Lord (v. 29-31)
E. ____ ________ is granted. Deut. 32:35; Ps. 94:1 Heb.10:30 Do t have the
attitude "I will get even" when someone does wrong to you.
III The _____ of Abigail - meaning her habit. She conducted herself with
utmost humility. (Pr.15:33/22:4/29:23)
A. She addressed David as "_____ ________.”
B. She _____ herself to the ground.
C. She refers to herself as “________ _______________.”
D. She became a __________ to the servants of David by washing their feet.
(v.41)
Humility is strong-not bold; quiet-not speechless; sure-not arrogant.
–Smith
Although
the Answer Key is provided,
I
pray that it will only be used as a reference
after
you have personally looked up all verses,
and
entered in all information for yourself.
Answer key:
How Abigail retained her honour
I. The wisdom of Abigail
A. A woman of good understanding.
B. A woman of quick thinking
II. The Words of Abigail
A. Respectful
B. She was ready to accept the blame.
C. She reminded David of God's protection to him
D. Revenge comes from the Lord
E. Her request is granted.
III. The way of Abigail - meaning her habit.
A. She addressed David as “my lord.”
B. She bowed herself to the ground.
C. She refers to herself as “thine handmaid”.
D. She became a servant to the servants of David by washing their feet.
