ABIGAIL AS TYPE OF THE ASSEMBLY
[p. 391] ABIGAIL AS TYPE OF THE ASSEMBLY
1 Samuel 25:14 - 19; 1 Samuel 25:32, 33; 1 Samuel 25:39 - 42
JT Abigail, as the brethren will know, is one of the types of the assembly in the Old Testament, and perhaps one of the most important. The prophetic ministry is in mind in this book, because Samuel, it is said, died. In view of the death of Samuel, who represents the prophetic side of the truth, David and Abigail come into view as in a sense replacing Samuel. The prophetic ministry has a great place now in connection with the assembly, and the assembly is in mind as the thought completed, the mind of God reached. Paul says it was given to him to complete the word of God, and he pre-eminently stands for the truth of the assembly.
The types begin with Eve herself, as of course most of us know, but it is of importance that we should also consider the types of Christ in conjunction with the types of the assembly. And so we have in Adam a type involving intelligence, which will be the truth entering into John’s ministry where things are named as representing life. Then in Isaac we have a type of Christ as one having peculiar characteristics, as possessing leisure time, in order to do the part of a husband towards Rebecca. The assembly is to be understood in this way in Christ taking a wife, as seen in type in Isaac taking a wife. The types require that a man taking a new wife should have a year free from special cares, and so we see Isaac as a man of leisure, as over against Joseph who was a man of great care, a man of affairs. Zipporah on the other hand (not to speak specially now about Joseph’s wife) comes in as a type of the assembly connected with Moses who represents the great feature of Christ’s administration.
[p. 392] Then we come to David as the great military man in type, representing kingly rule and military power. So that Abigail as his wife becomes peculiarly distinguished as a type of the assembly. She is seen as like David in her characteristics, a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance, her good understanding coming out particularly here in the way she meets the great emergency that had arisen in Nabal so as to make way for David, to make way for Christ. She is informed as to what is needed and she acts on information, pointing to administrative ability based on information received. It is not what is observed but what is heard, corresponding with Matthew where we have the great thought of hearing the assembly. The assembly ears are a feature, having keen hearing. And so David says to Abigail, “Blessed be thy discernment”. She is a discerning person. All this is needed for assembly care.
HD The assembly ears are a necessary feature for us all, are they not?
JT That is what I thought. We read of certain things coming to the ears of the assembly. Here a great disaster was impending but Abigail’s hearing from her servant and acting on it saved the position.
D “He that has an ear ...”. Would that meet this question?
JT I think it would. “Let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”.
P Is it in mind in all administrative matters in the assembly that the principle of adequate testimony must be present?
JT I would say that. That is the principle that is stressed in Matthew, which as we know is the gospel that affords special instruction for the assembly. So chapter 18 furnishes instruction as to where the assembly would have to act. It is peculiarly necessary to have testimony.
[p. 393] P And the testimony is based on what is observed rather than what is heard?
JT Testimony must be based on two or three witnesses. And although there is only one witness here, what Abigail does is to evade the need of disciplinary action. It is a question of food, and therefore she immediately acts as she receives the information. “One of Nabal’s young men”, we read, “told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he has insulted them. And the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we companied with them, when we were in the fields. They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them feeding the sheep. And now know and consider what thou wilt do, for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household; and he is such a son of Belial, that one cannot speak to him. And Abigail made haste ...”. That is, she acted on information that was evidently right. Abigail made haste, “and took two hundred loaves, and two skin-bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred raisin-cakes, and two hundred fig-cakes”. So that she meets the situation with food.
WW Does it seem that the young man was sympathetic with David and with Abigail? I mean the young man who informed Abigail of the position.
JT He is sympathetic with his mistress, Abigail, because he tells her what had happened and how disaster was impending and that he knew what the character of Nabal was. So although she would have known it, she would be confirmed in what he told her. It is characteristic, or should be so, of anyone in the assembly if danger is impending to inform those in responsibility. What is to be brought out now is what the assembly is in the way of influence for good,
[p. 394] and influence which would lead to the avoidance of unnecessary damage. That is to say, the assembly is here in this sense that things are to be looked after without unnecessary damage, because nothing is done to Nabal except what God does. God acts against Nabal. Abigail does not. She says certain things as to Nabal which were true but the whole position is left in the hands of God, and she is influencing David against taking an action which might be damaging generally. That, I think, is the thing to be observed in the instruction, because information received might be listened to and acted upon with undue haste, or on the other hand with undue patience. We need to act wisely. And so it is that Abigail acts wisely, meeting the need of David’s young men and saving bloodshed. Here David is below the level, we might say, of the responsible element. He would have acted hastily but she dissuades him from it. That is what the instruction would convey to us, and it is very important instruction, because we might act hastily on receiving certain information and do damage.
CET Would the report of those of the house of Chloe in 1 Corinthians 1 perhaps be something like this?
JT Quite so. And there is the report, too, that was general in chapter S. There are two reports referred to in that epistle, one from the house of Chloe, the other was general. What was needed in the assembly at Corinth was a general intervention to deal with wickedness. The general report was that there was evil in the assembly and it was not acted upon; they were puffed up, the apostle says. But there was nothing of that kind with Abigail or her servants. She was calm and quiet, and provided what was needed. Here the danger was that David would act hastily against Nabal, against the insult, and Abigail provided food to steady the position and to prevent bloodshed, to prevent unnecessary damage.
GCB [p. 395] Would she suggest the true shepherd spirit?
JT I think so. She was wise and cautious. The information she received was undoubtedly right, but she discerned that it would lead to bloodshed; it would lead to disaster against her house, for she was part of Nabal’s house yet. The whole household was in danger, whereas the only one who should have been affected or disciplined was Nabal himself.
Ques Does she correspond with the word in the third epistle of John, “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good”? Does Abigail not shine in that, not only not imitating evil but positively doing good? I was thinking of her action in providing food. Is not that a characteristic of the assembly?
JT Quite so.
WR We see the feature of haste with Abigail; this matter requires haste, but balance goes with it. Are these two features we have to bear in mind?
JT Yes, there should be balance. So that everything is to be weighed according to Matthew 18, “That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established”. That is what Paul introduces, too, at Corinth. It is because there is so much danger of extremeness and want of balance in such matters, and personal prejudices, too. So that the truth in the passage is undoubtedly typical. It is illustrative of how the types may be used in discipline. It is clear that when discipline is needed, the final word should first be considered, the final word from God as to any point. We should begin with the latest information, the latest light we have. And so if an action of discipline is taken up and executed on the basis of an Old Testament scripture there may be great danger of damage because we must go by the apostles. It says, “They persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles”, Acts 2: 42. The latest word in regard of dealing with a thing is from [p. 396] the apostles. Their epistles are the latest word we have from the Lord.
WW That would be confirmed in the apostle’s word in 1 Corinthians 14: “If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment”.
JT That is very good. It has often come to one’s mind. It is in the singular, as you know, so that the whole epistle is in mind, the Lord’s commandment. So that if anything comes up, well, what does this epistle say about the matter? Because that should have the first consideration in assembly discipline.
JWW Has the passage in Hebrews 10 speaking of one who has insulted the Spirit of grace any connection with this? “I will recompense, saith the Lord”. And it goes on to speak of those who suffer loss and how the Lord will take it up.
JT Quite so. And also in Romans 12, “I will recompense, saith the Lord”. But when we have something that is incumbent on the assembly, then, of course, we go by the facts relative to that, and Matthew is the feature of Scripture that deals with the truth of assembly discipline, that the assembly has authority. And then 1 Corinthians would be confirmatory of that, because it is the Lord’s commandment which we are to recognise.
WW Is that where this question of discernment comes in? David says to Abigail, “Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me. And blessed be thy discernment, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me this day from coming with bloodshed”. The Lord would give discernment, would He not?
JT He would. And another thing is that the authority of the assembly must be based on the truth. It sometimes happens that a local assembly will act rashly and not according to the truth; the fact that [p. 397] an assembly acts is not in itself conclusive, because the truth must be involved. And so it was that in 1889 an important matter of doctrine was before the saints and a certain assembly in this country acted contrary to the truth of that doctrine but claimed that as it was an action of the assembly its action must be recognised. Whereas it was not according to truth and caused a tremendous loss to the saints. So here Abigail is acting, but she is acting according to truth. She makes much of David. Although her influence was to dissuade David from something he had in mind, yet she was recognising him in the remarks she makes. And so she says (verse 25), “Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; and I thy handmaid did not see the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. And now, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah has restrained thee from coming with bloodshed, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal”. So that she is thoroughly right as to the whole point. She is right as to the condition of Nabal and as to his conduct towards David. And so she proceeds, “And now this blessing which thy bondmaid has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men that follow my lord. I pray thee, forgive the transgression of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a lasting house”. That is to say, she is thoroughly with the truth. “Because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil has not been found in thee all thy days. And if a man is risen up to pursue thee and to seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out from the hollow of the sling. And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall do to my lord according to all the [p. 398] good that he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee ruler over Israel, that this shall be no stumbling-block to thee”. She is persuading David rightly but at the same time asserting the full truth both as to him and his house. So that whatever action is taken it is to be based not simply on any authority the assembly might have but on the truth. What is done is to be according to truth.
Ques Does the food in this connection suggest the grace with which everything should be done, even in discipline?
JT I would say that. And the action is supported. Whatever action is done according to truth it is supported by food, food being an evidence of grace, and Abigail furnishes that.
JC Is Abigail here seeking to maintain peace, you might say, through the truth?
JT That is the point. Truth is asserted, as well as bloodshed avoided.
ED That is the way she handles the truth and uses the truth.
JT It shows that she was of good understanding.
It is her character: she understands. And she was of a beautiful countenance. A beautiful countenance of itself would not succeed, but good understanding with it does succeed. Paul says to Timothy, “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding”. We are to consider what is said. The apostolic authority and Paul’s doctrine are to be maintained in matters of discipline.
JWW Would you say she was also characterised by faith? She believed the report and she was an accredited witness.
JT Very good. So our care meetings are of great importance. The Lord has given them a place which earlier had been taken by eldership. Eldership is right in its place, but we have the care meeting, that is the care of the brethren, the use of the word ‘care’ [p. 399] being attached to what we call meetings-care meetings. And what Abigail does is in accordance with that; it is in accordance with truth. Eldership is of course ordained for the care of the assembly in Acts 14. That is where we get it first, where the apostles Paul and Barnabas chose elders in each assembly. Whereas earlier the assembly was governed by a metropolitan system. The apostles and elders came together of course, and it was right, but in more recent times God is blessing these care meetings which are held now almost everywhere amongst the brethren, especially as the younger men are brought into them.
FP The young men here get food out of this.
JT Quite so. That would mean that the food here is understood as supporting strength. As well as indicating grace, food is needed for strength in carrying out discipline.
GCB Is there a special interest in the care meetings on the part of the sisters at home?
JT They should ask their husbands at home and find out what has been done. And they should be with them and show their sympathy with them, not having personal feelings about any matter, because sisters as wives are apt to be affected according to the way their husbands are treated. Whereas the truth should govern them.
JWW John writes in his second epistle to “the elect lady”.
JT Yes, I often wonder about the elect lady. It is very like what was said to Theophilus by Luke.
John is saying that this woman is an elect lady. Peter too at the end of his first epistle says, “She that is elected with you in Babylon salutes you”. We have to understand who the “she” is, but anyway she is greeting the assembly.
ME Do the raisin-cakes in verse 18 suggest assembly food, as in the Song of Songs: “Sustain ye me with raisin-cakes”
JT [p. 400] I suppose the element of stimulation is in the raisin. These raisin-cakes would help to stimulate as well as build up as food. I think there is an allusion to this in connection with the young man found in the field in chapter 30 of this book.
J Would you say that every element of food is available to us to maintain the rights of Christ?
JT I think that is how it is. We need to be fed, to be built up in our constitutions. We need power to act. The Lord says to Philadelphia, “Thou hast a little power”. That arises from food.
-. S. As Abigail was coming down by the covert of the hill, David and his men came down opposite to her.
JT They both came down and met on the plain, which would be the principle of mutuality. There is no assertion of special priority in either case. And I think the mutual feeling is in our care meetings, because the young men are allowed a place in them. At the same time the old brethren are there and they have their place, but mutual feeling is now recognised. You notice here that the informer of Abigail is a young man, one of Nabal’s young men or servants, and also of course Abigail’s servant. There is clearly an assertion of what is right in what Abigail says and does, and what verse 32 shows is that David recognises this. He is carried by it. He says, “Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me. And blessed be thy discernment, and blessed be thou”. So the position is clarified and balanced. And then Nabal is dealt with. Evil is dealt with. God does that. It shows that when things are progressing rightly according to the mind of God and according to truth God comes in for us, which is a feature of the assembly.
FP And does it show that the exercise of one person can have a great effect in that [p. 401] regard? This young man speaks to Abigail and Abigail speaks to David.
JT You have often seen that in your history, I am sure. The influence of one man or one woman. How much influence any one of us can exert for good if we walk rightly.
HD What should we gather from Abigail’s having all this food available? She had it all ready to use, had she not?
JT It is wonderful the food we have now! Although it is largely in books yet it is food. And there is also what is fresh: the weekly and monthly Bible readings and the reading on the Lord’s day afternoon, such as the present, are characterised by freshness, so that we have a word from the Lord at any given time. Especially at what we call prophetic meetings where the word of God has its place in a prophetic sense, we have a word for the moment; it may be dealing with a local matter.
W W. Giving this a local setting, does it not show the importance of the food question bearing on the situation?
JT I think we should all be impressed with this, that where there is spiritual food there is sure to be influence, and therefore what we have in ministry becomes influential.
WW There may be those amongst us who are able to use what the Lord is giving in the locality as spiritual substance, and that would be a great asset. I was thinking of the meeting for ministry.
JT Just so. So that it could be pointed to. Fresh food is bound to be influential.
FP Is it not striking that following the Supper in Luke the Lord should speak about the twelve apostles eating and drinking at His table in His kingdom before He speaks about the twelve tribes of Israel?
JT So it is in all the references to the Lord’s supper in the gospels that you have as a preliminary [p. 402] thought that the twelve are there. That is a noticeable thing. The twelve were with Him, it says. Although one of them was Judas, the twelve were there. Hence the authority was there, because twelve refers to the power for administration. And so especially in Luke we have, “When the hour was come, he placed himself at table, and the twelve apostles with him”. Not simply the twelve, but the twelve apostles with Him, showing that the Lord had that in mind, that the twelve would be there to deal authoritatively with all matters in connection with the assembly. It was in view, no doubt, of the controversy that would arise, especially in connection with the Lord’s supper, because the Lord’s supper implies food as well as a memorial.
Ques What are we to learn from David praising Jehovah at this juncture? He says, “Blessed be Jehovah ... who sent thee ... and blessed be thou”. Does the thought of Christ and the assembly come in there?
JT It is to eulogise what is in the assembly. The Lord’s supper involves eulogy. “The cup of blessing which we bless”: you speak well of it. Well, it was right that Abigail should be spoken well of; she had done so well. Why should we not speak well of what is so successful? Therefore David says, “Blessed be thy discernment, and blessed be thou”. Sometimes you hear things discredited because other things can be said, but if a thing is successful according to truth, it is deserving that it should be spoken well of.
Rem The Lord says to Simon Peter in Matthew 16, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona”.
JT Quite so. It is in the sense of eulogy. The Lord said to His disciples, “But ye, who do ye say that I am? And Simon Peter answering said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Peter [p. 403] was coming into a blessing in making such a wonderful confession; he says the right thing.
HD There was the recognition with David that Abigail had been sent of Jehovah to meet him.
JT Yes, he saw it himself. He came round to it. He would have had recourse to bloodshed but it was not necessary. That reduces David here from the level of the qualities which are a type of Christ.
WR It says in the last chapter of Proverbs, “Who can find a woman of worth?”.
JT Yes, and if you do find her you should eulogise her.
P It is interesting to see that he says this to Abigail herself.
JT It shows that we should speak well of one another where it is deserving. We do not want to be flattering one another; flattery is dangerous. But speaking well of one another where this is due is right.
CET Would Revelation 21 be something like this? It says in verse 24, “The kings of the earth bring their glory to it”. Is that recognising the position?
JT Very good. Whatever the nations have is brought to the assembly as in that way honouring it. And so the Lord says to Philadelphia, “Behold, I make them of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie; behold, I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet, and shall know that I have loved thee”. That is in keeping with what we are saying now. The “thee” is the assembly, and it is a question of the Lord speaking well of the assembly, that He loves her; and those who say they are Jews, and are not, are serving the enemy; He says of them, “I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet”. Not ‘my’ but “thy” feet, meaning that they are forced to recognise what is there and to revere her.
[p. 404] Rem I was wondering whether it would be just to suggest that the assembly coming into view before Christ would stimulate Him in connection with the praise of God.
JT Well, quite so, only we must of course make allowance for the fact that David at this particular point was below the level of the qualities of Christ, and Abigail has the advantage because she is the one spoken well of, not David. Although Abigail does speak well of David, too-that he would rule. But David speaks well of her, and he says to her, “Blessed be thy discernment, and blessed be thou”. Surely it is right to bless persons whom God is using. Not to flatter, of course, as I said before, but to bless them.