Woman of the Week ~ Tamar (Daughter of King David)

I have decided not to continue studying the wives of King David.  There isn't enough written about them to truly study, so I'm moving on.  I will come back to Bathsheba at the end of the year when I study the women in the lineage of Christ as found in Matthew chapter 1.  But for this week, I want to look at David's only named daughter.

Verses:  2 Samuel 13:1-22

Background – parents, husband, children, siblings

What is she most known for?

Victories? Defeats?

How can I be like her?

How can I avoid being like her?

Did she reach a place when she needed to reset?  If so, did she?  For good or evil?

Abigail ~ Woman of the Week (Wives of King David)

I've left poor Abigail hanging for weeks! But here she is now...

I think Abigail is my favorite wife of King David.  She was married to a man who was called a fool who put his household in danger, but she was bold in saving her household and keeping David from shedding unnecessary blood.

Verses: 1 Samuel 25:1-42, 1 Samuel 27:3, 1 Samuel 30:1-18, 2 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 3:3, 1 Chronicles 3:1

Background – parents, husband, children, siblings
We don't know anything about Abigail's parents but there is plenty said about her first husband, Nabal "the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb." (1 Samuel 25:3)  "He was of the house of Caleb, but was indeed of another spirit.  He was a dogged man, of a currish disposition, surly and snappish, and always snarling." (Matthew Henry)

Abigail's name meant "my father's joy."  She is described as "a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance; she was not only of a good understanding in things natural, civil, and domestic, but in things spiritual, as her speech to David shows, and which, with her external form, completed her character, and greatly recommended her." (John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)

I found some interesting tidbits about her son.  In 1 Chronicles 3:1 he is called "Daniel," but in 2 Samuel 3:3 he is called "Chileab."  "“The second, Daniel, who was also called Chileab, because he was in every respect like to his father.” The Targumist refers here to the import of the word ke-le-ab, like to the father. Jarchi says the two names were given to this person because David, having taken Abigail immediately after the death of Nabal, it could not be ascertained whether this child were the son of David or of Nabal, therefore David called him Daniel, God is my Judge, and Chileab, he who is like to the father; probably from the striking resemblance he bore to David, his reputed father. “God is my Judge, I have not fathered another man’s child; this is entirely like unto myself.”" (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible)

What is she most known for? Victories? Defeats? How can I be like her? How can I avoid being like her?
1005 BC: David is living “off the land” as he encounters Nabal and Abigail at Carmel.  It's hard to tell Abigail's story without giving some background:

"David and his men lurked in these deserts, associating with the herdsmen and shepherds of Nabal and others and doing them good offices, probably in return for information and supplies obtained through them. Hence when Nabal held his annual sheep-shearing in Carmel, David felt himself entitled to share in the festival and sent a message, recounting his own services and asking for a present.  Nabal’s answer seems to indicate that the country was at the time in a loose and disorderly state. David’s own good conduct, however, as well as the important services rendered by him and his men, were readily attested by Nabal’s servants. The preparations of David to chastise his insolent language and ungrateful requital are exactly what would be done in the present day by Arab chiefs, who protect the cattle of the large and wealthy sheep masters from the attacks of the marauding border tribes or wild beasts. Their protection creates a claim for some kind of tribute, in the shape of supplies of food and necessaries, which is usually given with great good will and gratitude; but when withheld, is enforced as a right. Nabal’s refusal, therefore, was a violation of the established usages of the place." (A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown {JFB})

After Nabal's refusal, David gathered 200 of his men, ready to attack. Before he could do so, one of the servant's warned Abigal, who stepped in. "Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses." (I Samuel 25:18) "Wisdom in such a case as this was better than weapons of war. It was her wisdom that what she did she did quickly, and without delay; she made haste. It was no time to trifle or linger when all was in danger." (Matthew Henry)

Abigail met David and his men.  She fell at his feet, begging for mercy but also blessing David and telling of his future.  This is one of the longer passages of recorded words of a woman:

1 Samuel 25:24-31 "And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.  And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid."

"By a present Abigail atoned for Nabal's denial of David's request. Her behavior was very submissive. Yielding pacifies great offenses. She puts herself in the place of a penitent, and of a petitioner. She could not excuse her husband's conduct. She depends not upon her own reasonings, but on God's grace, to soften David, and expects that grace would work powerfully. She says that it was below him to take vengeance on so weak and despicable an enemy as Nabal, who, as he would do him no kindness, so he could do him no hurt. She foretells the glorious end of David's present troubles. God will preserve thy life; therefore it becomes not thee unjustly and unnecessarily to take away the lives of any, especially of the people of thy God and Savior. Abigail keeps this argument for the last, as very powerful with so good a man; that the less he indulged his passion, the more he consulted his peace and the repose of his own conscience." (JFB)

She stopped David in his tracks.  "David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord — Transported by passion and blinded by revenge, he was on the eve of perpetrating a great injury. Doubtless, the timely appearance and prudent address of Abigail were greatly instrumental in changing his purpose. At all events, it was the means of opening his eyes to the moral character of the course on which he had been impetuously rushing; and in accepting her present, he speaks with lively satisfaction as well as gratitude to Abigail, for having relieved him from bloodshed." (JFB)

Did she reach a place when she needed to reset?  If so, did she?  For good or evil?
Abigail returned home to find a drunken Nabal, celebrating like a king.  She wisely said nothing to him about where she had been.  The next day "when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died." (I Samuel 25:36-37)

After Nabal died, Abigail was given a new start when she married David.  "She had no objection nor hesitation in her mind about marrying David but at once consented, and immediately prepared for her journey, having as high an opinion, and as great an esteem of David, as he of her." (John Gill)

Her life was still unsettled as they continued to lived in the wilderness.  Five years later, she is with Ahinoam when they are kidnapped from Ziklag.  They finally settle in Hebron and David is anointed king.  David builds his kingdom and his family, marrying four more wives.

We don't read anything more of Abigail, but I found one interesting "unwritten" thing in 1 Kings chapter 1.  When David was old and dying, "Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king."  Amnon was David's firstborn, but he was dead.  According the both 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles, Abigail's son Chileab (also known as Daniel) should have been next in line to the throne.   Some commentaries said he might have died young, but the Bible doesn't say that anywhere. Neither Abigail or Chileab try to assert themselves at this time.  I think this says a lot about Abigail the mother.  God had chosen Solomon to be king.  I don't know if Abigail knew this or not, but she continued to be a woman of good understanding and her son never brought shame to his father like so many of his siblings.

Intervals of Life

I have been in a complete writing slump this month.  I've posted little things here and there, but nothing much.  Nothing's wrong, I just haven't felt like writing.  I really do plan to get Abigail's post done this week - she's going to end up being my Woman of the Month!

I'm currently training for marathon #4.  When I trained for my first marathon I purchased an online training plan.  I have been able to reapply it with each new race and there have been changes made to the plan each time.  This time there was a significant change - "Interval Tuesday."  This is a very intense workout.  The distance changes every week, but the idea is the same.  Run 2 miles at an easy pace to warm up, then run the planned intervals.  Today's intervals were 800 meters (about 1/2 mile) with 400 meters recovery jogs between each one.  Repeat six times, then cool down with 1-2 miles.  Try not to collapse before the final interval!

During my warm up miles this morning, I thought about the intervals of life.  The intense times, times when you wonder if you can make it to the end of those 800 meters without your legs falling off.  When we're in the middle of one of those times, it seems it will never end, but down the road we realize some things:

Some Miles Are the Warm Up
Not every step of the journey is going to be filled with intensity.  Gather strength from those times.  Putting in the study time and prayer time on the "easy" days will make the hard days better.  I can't run the fast miles if I haven't run any miles.  Consistency is key.

You Have to Ignore the Voice of Doubt
This is week 6 of training and each week I go into my intervals a little unsure.  Can I hit those paces today?  This morning was no exception.  I ran 14 miles on Saturday and didn't feel completely recovered.   None of us enjoy pain, we don't want to step out in faith and face failure, but we have to ignore the voice of doubt and listen to the voice of truth.  When my warm up miles were over, it was "go" time and I went!  I ran my intervals in 4:00, 4:08, 3:59, 3:59, 4:23, and 4:10.  They weren't perfect, but I never would have run any of them if I had listened to the voice of doubt.

Intervals Aren't Forever
Today's plan was to run 800 meters in 4 minutes.  Those are LONG minutes!  Really long minutes.  I don't speak from experience, but I think parenting must be a lot like that.  Those first weeks/months of little sleep with a baby who depends on you for everything. Terrible twos, then all of the sudden they're off to preschool.  A little recovery jog and they're teenagers, wanting to drive and driving you crazy!  And in the blink of an eye they're off to college.  Those years don't last forever. Trials seem like it when we're in them, but they don't last forever either.

Intervals Make You Stronger
I really am seeing a difference in my running.  My "easy" pace is faster.  I'm currently injury free.  Yes, they hurt, but intervals are making me stronger.  Yes, the hard times of life hurt, but we learn so much when we finish them.  We are stronger, we have more sympathy, we have faith for the next interval!

If you're in an interval today, hang on!  Your recovery time is coming.  You'll come out of this stronger if you keep pressing on.

Press On

I was down in the valley of the shadow of death
Where the passion for life drained like blood from my chest
And it took more than my will just to take a step
When the compass of hope was gone
In a silence so black that I wished for the blues
Every desperate prayer seemed like Heaven refused
And some days I found faith meant just tyin' my shoes
And it was all I could do to press on

So press on me amigo, press on mon ami
Walk on in the face of the mystery...
Though the night hides the light
And the journey is long...
Lean on me, my dear friend and press on!

On the ocean so lonesome I was not left alone
Had some heavenly friends when my heart was a stone
And they carried my heartache and made it their own
When the current of sorrow was strong
(and one said) "I pray your memories will not drag you down
Not be anchors but treasures of the love that you've found"
And His kind words turned hurt into comfort somehow
And the wind in my sails to press on

So press on me amigo, press on mon ami
Walk on in the face of the mystery...
Though the night hides the light
And the journey is long...
Lean on me, my dear friend and press on!

Though the days seem like years...
There may be giants in our fears...
Ah, but they who are sowin' tears
They shall reap in joy
They shall run and leap for joy!

So press on me amigo, press on mon ami
Walk on in the face of the mystery...
Though the night hides the light
And the journey is long...
Lean on me, my dear friend and press on!

Thursday Thoughts

I received two great quotes this week from Runner's World and I really have nothing to add, just wanted to share.

How you do anything is how you do everything. 
– Kristin Armstrong 

Growth and comfort seldom ride the same horse. 
–  Unknown

Have you read any good quotes lately?

Remarkable

It's a special day!  As I started working on this post, one word came to mind, its definition and synonyms fit my guy:

Remarkable!

adjective: worthy of notice or attention; striking.

synonyms: extraordinary

exceptional

amazing

 

astonishing

astounding

 

marvelous

 

wonderful

sensational

stunning

incredible

unbelievable

phenomenal

outstanding

momentous

out of the ordinary

unusual

 
uncommon

unique

surprising

fantastic

terrific

tremendous

stupendous

awesome

wondrous

But most of all, he's MINE!!  Happy birthday to my one and only!

Where It All Began

Twenty six years ago today, in Santa Maria, California, the last night of Camp Meeting.  I don't have a picture from that night, but I do have these from the next few days - Senior Camp in Santa Maria.

I met my true love the night before he turned 26.

He's now spent half his life as part of mine.

And I am so privileged!

Monday Funday

Today's funny page had a couple that I thought were especially humorous!

I wonder just how many teenage girls have experienced this letdown...

 And this one...

Les loves to say, "It is better to obey than sacrifice."  This usually occurs when we are in the car and I try to help him with directions.  I should know better, Les is really good with directions and I am not.

Family Therapy

Les and I have both been enjoying some family time.  Les and Lance have been cycling their way through southern Utah for the past week - visiting Bryce and Zion Canyons along the way.  I didn't get a week, but I did get a much needed weekend with Kim, and her wonderful daughters, Krysten and Lauren.

Not only did we get to visit, but we got our ocean fix!  We made our way to Santa Barbara on Saturday and proceeded to sit on the pier for about 3 hours, talking, laughing and catching up on our lives.

There's just nothing like time with family.  People who share your history and just "get" you. We don't get enough of it!

Thank you for coming, my dears!  Come back soon.

Unbroken Promises

I know I disappeared for a few days, we are home from Missouri and I have lots to catch up on!  Before I do, I have to write about our Sunday morning service.  Pastor Justin Prather preached a message about unbroken promises.  He gave a simple, yet powerful example.  He asked for volunteers to crack an egg over their head and smear it on their face.  There were no volunteers until he offered $20 - then he had ONE taker!  A second volunteer joined and the first volunteer was joined by a friend who said he would do it for free.  My pictures aren't the clearest but here they are:

Rubbing egg on their faces...

Really rubbing it on their faces!

When it was all rubbed in, Pastor Prather said, "I'm not giving you the money."  The young men sat with egg on their faces in stunned silence...

Pastor Prather went on to preach about how often we break our promises to God and when we do it's like rubbing egg on God's face.  The young man in the middle was the first volunteer and he was NOT happy about not getting the money.  I hadn't seen him or his friend before and after asking several others, as far as we know this is the first time he'd ever been in our church.

At one point during the message, Pastor Prather went back to the young man and said, "Have you ever made a promise to someone and not kept it?"  The young man nodded his head.  Pastor Prather said, "Now you know how they felt."  I was sitting across the aisle and had a perfect view of his face, I could tell this really hit home.

Right at the end of his message, Pastor Prather gave the young man the $20, "I keep my promises," he said.  I don't know where he's been or what experiences he's had at any other churches, but I don't think he'll ever forget this message!

I'm so glad God always keeps His promises!

Woman of the Week ~ Abigail (Wives of King David)

I'm continuing my study of King David's wives.  I am taking the names from 1 Chronicles chapter 3:

1 Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:
2 The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith:
3 The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife.
4 These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.
5 And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel:

Verses: 1 Samuel 25:1-42, 1 Samuel 27:3, 1 Samuel 30:1-18, 2 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 3:3, 1 Chronicles 3:1

Background – parents, husband, children, siblings

What is she most known for?

Victories? Defeats?

How can I be like her?

How can I avoid being like her?

Did she reach a place when she needed to reset?  If so, did she?  For good or evil?

Ahinoam ~ Woman of the Week (Wives of King David)

Ahinoam is one of David's lesser known wives.  There are no recorded words of Ahinoam in the Bible.  She is practically a blank slate, just mentioned in passing, overshadowed by Abigail whom David married around the same time.

Verses: 1 Samuel 25:43, 1 Samuel 27:3, 1 Samuel 30:1-18, 2 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 3:2, 1 Chronicles 3:1

Background – parents, husband, children, siblings
1005 BC: David is still on the run from King Saul.  We don't know anything about Ahinoam's background other than she was from the town of Jezreel.  There is no mention of how she met David.  I thought she might be a sister of one of his followers, but the Bible does not say so.  She had one son, Amnon.
"Many think that this was his wife before he took Abigail; she is always mentioned first in the list of his wives, and she was the mother of his eldest son Amnon."  (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible)

What is she most known for? Victories? Defeats? How can I be like her? How can I avoid being like her?
1003 BC:  Two years of marriage had been spent in hiding, running from King Saul.  David and his clan are now settled in Ziklag.  There are 600 men with their wives and children.  David has aligned himself with Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath (1 Samuel 27:2.)  "This measure of David's, in uniting himself to the enemies of his God and people, was highly blameable; was calculated to alienate the affections of the Israelites; and led to equivocation, if not downright falsehood." (Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by Canne, Browne, Blayney, Scott, and others {TSK})

1000 BC: David and his clan dwelt with the Philistines for a year and four months.  He and his men invaded the Geshurites, Gezrites, and Amalekites.  When it came time for the Philistines to invade Israel, Achish expected David and his men to come along.  The lords of the Philistines refused to let him come.  Achish sent them back.  Upon their return to Ziklag, they find the Amalekites have invaded, burned Ziklag and taken the women and children.  David and his men smote the Amalekites and recovered all, including his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail.

Did she reach a place when she needed to reset?  If so, did she?  For good or evil?
978 BC:  Ahinoam has been married to David for 25 years, but there is no silver anniversary celebration, instead turmoil is coming.  Ahinoam's son, Amnon, became infatuated with his half-sister, Tamar.  I'll write about her soon, but when Amnon listened to the advice of a friend, destruction followed.   Even David was pulled in to the plot when Amnon requested Tamar to come.  2 Samuel 13:7 says, "Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him meat."

After Amnon raped Tamar, 2 Samuel 13:21 says, "But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth."  There is no mention of Ahinoam, Amnon's mother.  Her son was in his early 20s, he was old enough to have his own house, but I'm sure this news broke her heart.

976 BC:  Two years pass and Amnon has not been dealt with by his father, David.  Absalom, the brother of Tamar and son of Maacah, finally takes the punishment in his own hands and has Amnon killed.  As far as we know, this was Ahinoam's only child. David mourned for his son, Amnon, but eventually still longed for Absalom.  Ahinoam had no one that was just hers to turn to for strength and comfort.

Even though there is so little written about Ahinoam, I feel very sorry for her.  My guess is she was not outgoing or outspoken, perhaps she felt very lonely in this large extended family.  I'm starting to feel like a broken record, but God got it right when He planned for one man and one woman.

The Katy Trail

We are settling in here in O'Fallon, Missouri.  Les and his team are working hard and I'm reminding my legs that running in heat and humidity will not kill me!  I ran three miles yesterday morning right from our hotel.  This morning I was looking for something a little longer so I drove... and missed my turn... and drove... and turned around and drove some more!

I finally reached my destination - The Busch Greenway Trail Head.  From there I followed the trail, climbing over a downed tree...

and after less than a mile I was on the Katy Trail.  The Katy Trail runs 240 miles of the former Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad.  Running largely along the northern bank of the Missouri River, it is the country's longest Rails-to-Trails trail. The nickname "Katy" comes from the phonetic pronunciation of 'KT' in the railroad's abbreviated name, MKT.

Since I got a late start, I only ran 5 miles, but I plan to do a lot more running in the area now that I know where to go.   As long as I'm faster than this guy, I'll be happy!

Woman of the Week ~ Ahinoam (Wives of King David)

I'm continuing my study of King David's wives.  I am taking the names from 1 Chronicles chapter 3:

1 Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:
2 The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith:
3 The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife.
4 These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.
5 And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel:

I don't know if this was the order that David married them, but I'm going to go with the birth order of his sons.  I wonder how he kept it all straight!

Verses: 1 Samuel 25:43, 1 Samuel 27:3, 1 Samuel 30:1-18, 2 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 3:2, 1 Chronicles 3:1

Background – parents, husband, children, siblings

What is she most known for?

Victories? Defeats?

How can I be like her?

How can I avoid being like her?

Did she reach a place when she needed to reset?  If so, did she?  For good or evil?

Saturday Surprise and Another Adventure!

It's raining! We need this and a whole lot more!

Things started getting crazy around here on Wednesday.  Les has been on a huge project since the first of the year.  It is THIS close to being finished and that means lots of work and pressure!  The teams have been working across six time zones - from Virginia to Hawaii.  They decided to bring everyone together for the final sprint.  We thought it was only going to be a week then realized Les was going to need to be gone for two weeks.  We don't like spending any time apart, but two weeks is just too long.  So we booked flights for both of us!

We are off to St. Louis, Missouri in the morning.  I've only been there once, it was years ago for a national Bible Quizzing tournament so all I saw was quizzers, coaches and buzzer systems.  We will have one full weekend and the Gateway Arch is on my list of things to see!

I'll be taking my laptop, so I'll still be blogging.  I'll also kick off marathon training with two weeks of heat and humidity!