Leadership | Tactical Christianity

The Story of Abigail: Taking Evasive Action

by R. Herbert | Feb 16, 2020 | Leadership, Women of Strength

If you have read the Bible’s account of King David’s life, you will remember the story of Abigail – the woman who became one of David’s wives (1 Samuel 25). Her story is a short but memorable one that tells us much about the woman and contains an unusual lesson in leadership.

When David was forced to flee from the jealous King Saul and to live precariously in remote areas of Israel, his band of warrior-supporters provided needed protection and help for the servants of the wealthy rancher Nabal over an extended period of time. When David’s men eventually asked Nabal for food in return for the protection they had given his men and flocks, Nabal rebuffed them in such a way that David threatened to kill the surly and ungrateful man.

The foolishness of Nabal (whose name in Hebrew means “fool”) that put his own life, and probably those of others, in danger was mitigated only by his beautiful wife Abigail who quickly gathered a supply of food and secretly took it to David, imploring him to accept the gift and not to act in anger that would lead to bloodshed (1 Samuel 25:31). We are told that David relented, but that when the drunken Nabal learned what had happened he suffered a heart attack in his intense anger and died (1 Samuel 25:37-38). Soon after, David married Abigail, whom Jewish tradition records as one of the four most beautiful women (along with Sarah, Rahab, and Esther) mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

Much has been written regarding Abigail’s role in this situation. She is often praised for her wisdom, kindness, generosity, and tact – all of which were clearly qualities that she exhibited. However, we should see this story in perspective. Although we might think of David as a king and Abigail as simply the wife of a rancher in the remote countryside, the opposite is true. David was a penniless fugitive at this time and Abigail the wife of a very rich man, which gave her a far higher socioeconomic status than David. Yet Abigail not only personally took the requested food to David and his men, she humbly addressed him as “lord” and acted as a servant in his presence (1 Samuel 25:28-30).

Although the Bible does not tell us much more about Abigail beyond what we read in 1 Samuel 25, her story stands in contrast to the later story of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11, 12; 1 Kings 1, 2), who was also a very beautiful woman married to another man – whom David did kill – and who also became David’s wife. But in contrast to the story of Bathsheba, Abigail’s story is one of a woman who prevented the murder of her husband through her wise actions – as David himself acknowledged (1 Samuel 25:33-34).

As a result of her actions, we remember Abigail as a wise as well as beautiful woman whose wisdom saved the day. Yet to simply ascribe “wisdom” to Abigail is to miss the leadership lesson that is so clear in her story of evasive action.

While we can summarize Abigail’s chief characteristics as being ones of “wisdom” and related qualities, those are the underlying attributes of her nature that caused her to act as she did; but the principle that she followed was very specifically that of “evasive action.” By taking the initiative when her husband was clearly endangering himself and others, Abigail’s efforts exemplified the principle of acting swiftly to counter a problem that has come into being. This is different from Abraham’s looking ahead and preparing, when possible, for problems before they occur – it is a rapid response to problems and dangers when they unexpectedly occur.

Evasive action may be associated in our minds with things such as military operations or defensive driving, but it is a principle that can be applied in every aspect of our lives. We can exercise the principle by smoothing down an argument or dispute in the making, by changing our young children’s friends when we get indications they are not good influences, and in countless other ways. Abigail’s story is a classic example of a basic leadership principle that can be remembered and utilized whenever situations arise in which evasive action might be wise. As leadership experts often stress, evasive action can help us overcome problems before the problems overcome us.

* Extracted from our new free e-book, Lessons From Old Testament Leaders. You can download a copy without registration, email, or charge, here.

Another Free E-Book for You!

by Staff | Feb 2, 2020 | Leadership, Updates

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By R. Herbert

The Bible is a book about leaders. More than 95 percent of its stories are about individuals who were leaders or who took the initiative when leadership was needed. This is especially true of the Hebrew Scriptures, and our new e-book looks at case studies drawn from the lives of numerous men and women of the Old Testament who displayed great leadership abilities and from whom we can learn much today.

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Developing Your Replacement

by R. Herbert | Mar 15, 2015 | Leadership

A recent survey published in the Harvard Business Review asked business leaders what qualities or “competencies” were most valuable for all management positions. It’s an interesting article because the results could be applied just as well to family or church leadership positions as to those of business or other areas of life.

The survey ranked sixteen skills ranging from “inspires and motivates others” at first place, to “self-development” which came in last. This doesn’t mean that self-development was not viewed as important, but that it was not seen as being as important as the qualities ranked above it. Perhaps the most surprising result of the survey was the importance placed on “develops others” which came in at the half way mark even though this trait meant those developed would move ahead – perhaps past those doing the developing, and perhaps to even become their replacements.

Developing one’s own replacement might sound scary at a number of levels – but the need to do that is a reality in much of life. When we look at the Bible we see that developing successors and replacements is constantly in evidence. Jesus developed his disciples to carry on his work, as did John the Baptist, and Moses, and Elijah, and many more of God’s servants. Often the development of a successor was commanded by God Himself: “So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him’” (Numbers 27:18). This selection of Joshua to replace Moses did not happen without background, however – the biblical record makes it clear that Moses had worked with Joshua, training and preparing him, for years before the formal commissioning occurred, just as Jesus did with his disciples.

What does all this have to do with us? If we are in formal positions of leadership, church-related or otherwise, the application is obvious, but it is something we can all think about. How much do we, as husbands, prepare our wives – or vice versa – to be able to deal with situations or needs that we normally take care of? Often times one of the greatest difficulties faced by bereaved spouses is not knowing where important records are, or what needs to be done to continue key aspects of household functioning. How much do we think about the principle of developing our children to take on the adult responsibilities we hold? And finally, how seriously do we take the concept of helping and developing the young and those newer to the faith who will be the next generation of believers. Is our religion only about the work we do, or are we preparing those who will work after us? It is such a basic concept, yet one to which many of us pay little attention.

There are many ways in which we can properly shoulder the duty of preparing others for our responsibilities – it’s not a negative “preparing for the worst,” it’s a positive helping others move ahead and keeping our families and our churches moving forward. It’s part of being a good leader, because, as the saying goes: “The best leaders are also ladders.”

Instructions for Choosing Leaders

by R. Herbert | Oct 29, 2014 | Leadership

Here in the United States we approach a mid-term election which, although it will not elect a president, will doubtless affect the country in many ways. It may be instructive at such a time as this to consider the biblical instructions for choosing a leader found in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Even in a land where separation of Church and State is strongly upheld, the principles underlying these instructions still make sense:

Vs. 15A: “be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses.” Today’s voting process might seem to negate this aspect entirely, but it serves as a reminder to every Bible-believing individual to not forget the responsibility of prayer – and participation – in elections.

Vs. 15B: “He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.” Although this might be thought to mirror the “native born” requirement for the US President, the principle is broader and clearly indicates the importance of upholding the values and concerns of our own culture.

Vs. 16: “The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people … to get more of them …” Although speaking of horses, the principle is clearly one of not accruing power for oneself, and not using the office of leader in order to further one’s own interests.

Vs. 17A: “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” This is a principle reminding us that leaders should not allow themselves to be distracted by concentration on their own pleasures, as well as the importance of personal moral responsibility.

Vs. 17B: “He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” Accrual of personal wealth must not be involved in the conduct of leadership.

Vs. 18-19: When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, … It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.” By far the longest instruction, modern day leaders need to know the law of the land and need to understand the concepts of moral law which should underlie it.

Vs. 20: “and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left…” This principle stresses the vital importance that leaders not only do not see themselves as above the law, but also that their directives do not favor their own agendas, their party or administration.

The instructions given for choosing rulers in Deuteronomy may seem antiquated and irrelevant to many, but their principles can all be easily applied today. Most of these principles have been flagrantly ignored or pushed aside by many leaders throughout political history, and the people who have suffered as a result have always been the people being ruled or led. Perhaps it will always be that way in this present world, but keeping in mind the value of these principles certainly cannot hurt in choosing our leaders – and in conducting our own lives also.

Why You need the Qualities and Qualifications of a Judge.

by R. Herbert | May 22, 2014 | Leadership

“… do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)

Ask most Christians to think about the qualities the Bible lists that Christian leaders should have and the majority will likely think of the apostle Paul’s instructions regarding the qualifications for elders (1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9) and deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13). But are those the only relevant qualities that most Christians should try to emulate in terms of Christian leadership? They are certainly valuable qualities to which we should all aspire, but sometimes we may think only of these elder-deacon qualities and miss an important lesson in scripture.

Not all will be elders or deacons in their Christian lives, but Paul’s words to the Corinthians, quoted above, show that all Christians are called to eventually judge. Paul stresses that we should be able to judge small matters in this life, in our families and perhaps work and other contexts. So what are the biblical requirements for a judge? Read this week’s article: “Why You Need the Qualities and Qualifications of a Judge“

Breakfast with Washington

by R. Herbert | Apr 26, 2014 | Gratitude, Leadership

In his classic survey of intelligence gathering, The Craft of Intelligence, Allen W. Dulles, the first civilian head of the CIA, gave an interesting anecdote about George Washington.

During the Revolutionary War, Washington apparently gained a great deal of usable intelligence from a veritable army of private citizens – tradespeople and professional men and women of all walks of life who lived in New York where the British were headquartered. Because of their trades or other reasons, these people had daily contact with the British, often passing themselves off as Tories in order to obtain the British officers’ confidence and to have a better chance to listen to their conversations.

One of those many spies was Hercules Mulligan, a tailor who developed a large clientele of British officers.   Because of his work for the British, Mulligan’s neighbors presumed he was indeed a Tory or British sympathizer. As a result they made life difficult for him during the period of British control, unknowing as they were that he was actually passing important information to General Washington.

After the conclusion of the war, the reputations, livelihoods and even the lives of many such people may have been threatened by Americans who did not take kindly to those believed to have been sympathizers and collaborators. But Mulligan was spared such unjust treatment.

On the first morning of Washington’s return to New York after the war was over, it is known that the General made a point of stopping at Mulligan’s house and, doubtless to the great surprise of Mulligan’s neighbors, having breakfast with the tailor.   Washington’s simple yet deeply thoughtful action probably saved the tailor a great deal of unpleasantness at the very least, as his neighbors now understood that rather than being a sympathizer, Mulligan was, in fact, a patriot.

Washington was by many accounts a God fearing and believing man, but whether his action toward Mulligan, and likely those toward others who had helped during the war, was based on Christian concern or simply what his age called “common decency” we do not know, and it is really immaterial. Whatever his motives, Washington’s action truly helped a man who had helped him and who might now so easily have been forgotten in the General’s return to New York. It’s really an anecdote with a moral, a story that can serve as a lesson.

Do we take the thought and time to properly thank and look out for those who have helped us? Perhaps the stakes are not so high in our everyday relations with others, but sometimes a little thought will make it clear to us how others have in fact sacrificed to help us. Taking the time to think that fact through and to act on it when we can is a form of gratitude that goes well beyond simply being appreciative of what others do in helping us.

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