If you want the people of the Bible, particularly King David and his wife Abigail, to come to life as flesh and blood people who live, love, and make mistakes like we do, you can't go wrong by reading the novel, Abigail. Abigail is the second novel Jill Eileen Smith wrote about some of the wives of David. I loved the first novel, Michel, and wondered if the author could write as compelling a story about Abigail. She has exceeded my expectations.

Abigail is a woman who wants to serve God but has been frustrated by what life has thrown her. She is married to an abusive man and can see no way out. But when her husband suddenly dies, she's approached by David, the man Samuel anointed as king. She follows her heart and marry David. But life doesn't get any easier when you're on the run with a future king. But it's even worse to share the man you love with other women.

Any woman who wants to honor God but has been frustrated with the men in her life or who has been thrown some curves will relate to this wonderful story. I highly recommend it and can't wait to read Jill Eileen Smith's next novel about the life of Bathsheeba.

Abigail's marriage to Nabal was doomed to failure from the beginning. A handsome man, Nabal arrested her attention from the first and gave her hope for their future together. But when he begins their marriage by behaving shamefully, she still strives to honor her husband despite his drunken revelries almost every night and his blatant disrespect of Adonai.

David and his band of men protect Nabal's herds from being harmed in the wilderness, and when Nabal hears of it, he refuses to recognize David's service to him and recompense the men for their trouble. In a fit of anger, David orders Nabal and all the men of his house to be executed. Abigail intervenes by bringing food to David and his men, successfully keeping them from killing the men of her household. When Nabal dies suddenly, she is free to become David's wife. But some serious problems remain in her way: how can God bless David if he continually goes against His commands? And how can she be happy to share her husband with all the other women David keeps on marrying? Was she really better off the only wife to a man that abused her, rather than one of the wives of one of a future king?

This was an interesting twist to the well-known story of Abigail in the Old Testament. While we do not know if the real Abigail struggled immensely with having to share the king with his other wives, it stands to reason that women have not changed much over the centuries. This being the case, it was probably very hard to share David. Somehow, it was important to have her story included in the Biblical narrative, and Smith does a wonderful job of bringing her story to life, giving Abigail a voice that clearly echoes a desire to please the Lord in all things.

Abigail's marriage to Nabal was doomed to failure from the beginning. A handsome man, Nabal arrested her attention from the first and gave her hope for their future together. But when he begins their marriage by behaving shamefully, she still strives to honor her husband despite his drunken revelries almost every night and his blatant disrespect of Adonai.

David and his band of men protect Nabal's herds from being harmed in the wilderness, and when Nabal hears of it, he refuses to recognize David's service to him and recompense the men for their trouble. In a fit of anger, David orders Nabal and all the men of his house to be executed. Abigail intervenes by bringing food to David and his men, successfully keeping them from killing the men of her household. When Nabal dies suddenly, she is free to become David's wife. But some serious problems remain in her way: how can God bless David if he continually goes against His commands? And how can she be happy to share her husband with all the other women David keeps on marrying? Was she really better off the only wife to a man that abused her, rather than one of the wives of one of a future king?

This was an interesting twist to the well-known story of Abigail in the Old Testament. While we do not know if the real Abigail struggled immensely with having to share the king with his other wives, it stands to reason that women have not changed much over the centuries. This being the case, it was probably very hard to share David. Somehow, it was important to have her story included in the Biblical narrative, and Smith does a wonderful job of bringing her story to light, giving Abigail a voice that clearly echoes a desire to please the Lord in all things.

I loved this story. Jill gives a really good image of what it must have been like for Abigail being married to a king and how hard it must have been but also how much she loved him. She really goes in depth to make you see you know the character and feel what she feels. I love the way she includes scripture and I can't wait to read her next one. Thank you for using your gift that God gave you to make us see these Biblical characters clearer.

I have really enjoyed reading this series and it has opened my eyes to the lives of some of the women of the Bible. It has given me a lot of information about Biblical customs and has made me go back to my Bible and reread so much of the life of David. I received the items quickly and was kept informed of the process through my e-mail. Thank you for a good job. I especially like being able to read excerpts from the book on your site.