And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite.
I heard an expression recently that I had never heard before. The person used the phrase, “time poor” to describe the fact that their available time had been overextended and they lacked the time they needed for additional activities or opportunities. I liked the phrase as it got me thinking a little differently and viewing things in life as commodities. There are many things in life that we can be “rich” or “poor” in: time, wealth, knowledge, understanding and character, to name just a few. When it comes to the area(s) where we place a greater value of being “rich”, we likely won’t all pick the same. Some of us may value being “rich” in knowledge most, whereas others may value being “rich” in time most. This appears to be the case in the account of our Dark Horse of the week – Abigail.
As we step into Abigail’s account we are introduced to two characters: Abigail and her husband, Nabal. We can see right away that Nabal is “rich” in wealth, and his wife, Abigail, is “rich” in beauty and wisdom. Abigail appears to be “rich” in character, where her husband is described as “poor” in character – a harsh man who behaved badly. Nabal’s character is even displayed by his name, which means “fool”. Nabal’s priority appears to be on his wealth and not his character – whereas Abigail’s character shines through beautifully. As we go through the week, Abigail’s story will reveal whose priority leads them well and whose does not.
A good starting place for the week may be to examine what we desire to be “rich” in. Where are our priorities? What matters most and what will help lead us in a direction that honors God by our actions?
