Gospel Reflections #1002: A Profound Intercession

1 Samuel 25:23, 24 “When Abigail saw David, she quickly dismounted from her donkey and bowed down before him on the ground. She prostrated herself at David’s feet and said, ‘My lord, I have done wrong. Please listen to me; hear what your servant has to say.’

This is a highly dramatic and significant scene in which the wise woman Abigail prostrates herself before the furious David, taking responsibility for her husband Nabal’s wrongdoing and interceding on his behalf. 

Because her husband Nabal had insulted David’s messengers, David was intent on slaughtering Nabal’s entire household.

Abigail respected David as ‘the man destined to be king’ and sought to appease his anger by treating him with the utmost courtesy. 

She took full responsibility for her husband’s discourtesy, in which she had no direct involvement, by declaring, ‘It is my fault.’

This is an example of profound intercession, in which she sought to save her family even at the cost of her own life. 

This intercession also served to protect David from committing the error of ‘shedding blood through vengeance’.

Through her words, David regained his composure and was able to return to God’s guidance.

We tend to focus solely on judging the right or wrong of another’s actions and correcting them, but we too should choose, like Abigail, to take full responsibility ourselves in order to soothe the other person’s emotions.

To do so, we must set aside our pride and sense of justice, and place God’s will at the centre of our hearts.

Since we cannot do this by our own strength, it is essential that we pray to God and entrust ourselves to Him.

Our God is a God who hears our cries and surely answers them.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.