Editor’s Note: AMI Quiet Times from April 6-12 are written by Pastor Peter Yoon of Kairos Church.

Devotional Thoughts for Today

1 Sam. 25:32-33a; 39b

And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you . . .” 39 . . . Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

Interestingly, during the years that David spent fleeing from Saul, he meets a wonderful woman named Abigail and eventually marries her.  I know that 1 Samuel 25 was not written to provide the readers with advice on relationships or marriage; rather, it shows the bigger picture of how God is building up David’s family, military forces, and political alliances. Political marriages were common at the time, and by his marriage to Abigail, David was making important ties with influential families in Judah. And David’s kingship would be attributed to the support of the tribe of Judah, not from the existing royal court. The writer does not say so, but he plainly saw David’s marriage to Abigail as part of God’s plan for him. (Carson, D.A, New Bible Commentary)

Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that the writer takes time to develop a narrative of how David and Abigail end up getting married. And in the narrative, it’s hard to overlook the quality that is highlighted in Abigail: her sense of “discretion”—this Hebrew word טַ֫עַם (ṭǎʹ·ʿǎm) means “judgment, discretion, discernment.” Concerning the quick thinking actions of Abigail in preventing disaster to her family, commentators of 1 Samuel describe Abigail using words such as: full of wisdom, sensible, prudent, and perceptive. Personally, having been married for 15 years now, I can testify that my wife has often practiced good sensibility in situations and with people, which has helped us in avoiding some negative circumstances in life.

But in contrast, Nabal, Abigail’s husband, behaved as a fool and almost brought about disaster to his family, had it not been for Abigail’s incredible discretion. We all know that we ought to choose the path of Abigail, but if we are honest with ourselves, more often than we’d like we show ourselves to be a Nabal. Due to our sinfulness, we choose anger over patience; slander over silence; lying over truth-telling; and bitterness over forgiveness. No wonder some of our relationships end up in disaster. It can make any of us cynical to relationships.

The good news is that we don’t have to swim in that cynicism, for Jesus offers us both hope and grace. He gets to the root of all relationship disasters, which stems from our hearts, not so much our foolish behaviors. Jesus works in our hearts to make changes that help us display more of Abigail’s “discretion.”Eventually, practicing that godly wisdom helps us bear fruit in our relationships. Ask the Lord for His wisdom because He promises to give it generously to those who ask (James 1:5).

Bible Reading for Today: Jeremiah 48