Originally Posted by Theognome

Abigail is a woman who truly demonstrates fierce submission. She disobeyed her husband, insulted him and declared another man as her lord. Doesn’t that sound submissive?

Well, it was. Not only was she submitting to the Lord, but in all of the actions described above, she was submitting to her husband Nabal. Woman was made for man in Genesis 2 as a helper- and Nabal had his perfect helper- a woman who was not only beautiful but also possessed the wisdom that he plaintively lacked. He may have been a fool, but that doesn’t mean Nabal was stupid. He was smart in his spouse choosing.

Now let’s look at the actions of Abigail more closely. First, she defied her husbands orders… or did she? He did not want to support David, but she knew that not only had David’s men earned his favor, but that his life was in danger because of his decision not to support them. Thus, using her gifts, she submitted to her husband by preserving him through his folly. She literally saved his life, and through this submitted to his continued headship.

Second, she gave a speech in which she tells David that her hubby is a fool. Was she insulting him? No, she was explaining that a leopard can’t change its spots. Being a fiercely submissive wife, she showed David that she loved, understood and respected her husband so much that she was willing to sacrifice herself on David’s chopping block for him. Don’t forget that she was accepting Nabal’s folly as her own, for he was her head- and therefore she was as much an offense as he was to David.

Finally, she calls David her lord. Of course she did, for after she made plain the nature of her husband, she made the profession that he failed to make- that David was the anointed king of Israel being pursued by a madman. The text strongly implies that Nabal supported Saul- indeed, you could say ‘voted’ for him. Yet Abigail cast her vote for David behind her husband’s back. This is perfectly reasonable within the realm of fierce submission, for it relates to the second point of her actions. David was the chosen one of the Lord, and so she was ‘covering’ the folly of her husband by serving his interests in the Lord. This is not unlike Ruth’s actions on the threshing floor with Boaz in principle, and is again submitting to the preservation of her covenant head.

Admittedly, Abigail’s situation was extreme in that her husband was an ungodly man, but this did not stop her from being fiercely submissive to him. How much more so can a fiercely submissive woman support in union a man who loves the Lord?