• Engage

    Was Abigail Right to Go Behind Nabal’s Back?

    One morning after I had taught a women’s Bible study on the life of Abigail, wife of Nabal, a woman hustled over to me, elbows swinging. Seeing her body language, I braced myself.    Her argument about my teaching went something like this: “You're wrong! Abigail was most definitely not righteous. By taking matters into her own hands, she shows what happens when a wife steps out from under her husband’s ‘umbrella of authority.’ If Abigail had submitted to Nabal rather than intervening, David would have felt guilty for killing him, and it would have kept him from killing later." I’d heard this interpretation once before—from Bill Gothard, among others. So how do we…