«　WEEK 11　DAY 1　»

　　1 Sam. 25:28 Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, for Jehovah will no doubt make a sure house for my lord, because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah; and no evil will be found in you throughout your days.

　　Matt. 12:3 …Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, and those who were with him?

　　David is the most thorough type of Christ revealed in the Old Testament, covering the longest period of time. The New Testament also clearly reveals that David typifies Christ (Matt. 12:3). Hence, David’s wife is a type of the church. David had at least three wives: one was Michal, Saul’s daughter (1 Sam. 18:27b), and one was Ahinoam (25:43). These two, however, do not possess any features typifying the church. Only Abigail (v. 42) possesses a feature typifying the church.

　　Abigail’s previous husband shows how evil our old man is in forsaking Christ. Abigail’s previous husband was Nabal, which means “fool” (25:25). Nabal despised, rejected, and opposed David at the time of his destitution (vv. 10-11). This typifies that our nature rejects Christ, despises Christ, and opposes Christ. One day, however, Nabal was struck down, and he died. This provided Abigail the opportunity to become David’s wife. This indicates that when our corrupted nature, which forsook Christ, rejected Christ, and despised Christ, was struck down, we became Christ’s counterpart who follows Him in the midst of sufferings, fighting for the kingdom of God. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 1: The Meaning of the Church,” p. 109)

　　In 1 Samuel 25:2-9 David sought help from Nabal, a wealthy man…. In his folly, Nabal rejected David’s entreating and insulted David’s servants [vv. 10-11]…. When David’s servants told him what Nabal said, David charged each of his men to gird on his sword (vv. 12-13). Then David said, “It was certainly in vain that I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that he has; for he has repaid me evil for good. May God do so to David’s enemies, and even more, if I leave so much as one male of all that he has until morning” (vv. 21-22).

　　In this chapter we see… also the wisdom of Abigail, Nabal’s wife, in appeasing David (vv. 14-20, 23-25). She “hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two skins of wine and five sheep ready dressed and five measures of parched grain and one hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she put them on her donkeys” (v. 18). When she saw David, she fell at his feet and said, “Upon me alone, my lord, be this iniquity…. May my lord not take this worthless man Nabal to heart” (vv. 24-25a). Abigail went on to ask David to please forgive the transgression, and then she concluded, saying, “When Jehovah has done to my lord according to all the good He has spoken concerning you and has appointed you ruler over Israel, this will not be a qualm of conscience to you or a stumbling block in heart to my lord, that you shed blood without cause or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah has dealt well with my lord, may you remember your female servant” (vv. 30-31).

　　David responded to Abigail’s appeal by blessing Jehovah, who sent her to meet him, and also by blessing her, who kept him from entering into bloodshed and from avenging himself by his own hand. David then…said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have listened to your voice and have accepted your person” (v. 35). Here we see that David’s anger was appeased by Abigail’s wisdom.

　　When Abigail told Nabal all these things, “his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. And about ten days later Jehovah struck Nabal, and he died” (vv. 36-38). This chapter concludes with a word regarding David’s marriage to Abigail (vv. 39-44). Her beauty and wisdom caught David, and after Nabal’s death he took her as his wife. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, pp. 106-108)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 16