and a well done for Abigail, December 2, 2024.

Introduction.

Over the years, I've had periodic occasion to wish that more Christian women in bad situations

would show the courage and initiative shown by the biblical heroine, Abigail.

I said this again last week in a

Doug and friend's segment, with reference to wives whose husbands were going down a dank right

wormhole. That episode was a conversation with my three kids, and this point I made was gravely

misunderstood by Eric Kahn, who posted a reply, to which I replied. But I also promised a fuller

treatment, which is what

this post is. In the meantime, many in the various comment threads that popped up thought

that what I was proposing was top-tier wicked, assuming that I was somehow applauding the

sentiments expressed by various bluesmen over the years. But of course, the intention and goal

is precisely the opposite. The pastoral question is actually

this. How can you save marriages that are on the brink of implosion already? And no, they are not

on the brink because the husband and wife cannot agree on Mexican or Chinese. They are in this

parless state because the husband has taken a dark and blasphemous turn and he won't listen to

anybody and is about to disappear up an

aperture that he discovered somewhere on the internet. So let's walk through this, shall we? The biblical

story. If you're not familiar with it, the outline of the story found in 1st Samuel 25, is this.

David, together with his armed ban, were on the run because of the paranoia of King Saul. While in the countryside,

they provided an impromptu security force for the flocks of a descendant of Caleb, a man named

Nabal, who was a churlish, stupid, and hard-hearted man. He was also a very wealthy man, with thousands

...