I was dancing before the Lord. 2 Samuel 6:21

But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.

They brought the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And David sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.  When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  Then he gave to every Israelite man and woman in the crowd a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes.

When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”

David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord.  Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!”  So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.  2 Samuel 6:16-23

I’m a little frustrated today!  I had my post very nearly completed, I only had the spell check left to do and then it happened, the computer froze and I lost the entire post.  Very frustrating!  Anyway, I’m now going to try and re-capture my thoughts.  I’ve been waiting for the last couple of hours to see if it had saved a version of the draft, but nothing has come up yet.  So, here we go.

It is hard for me to write encouragingly to others when I feel so discouraged myself.  And when I first read this story, I thought, ‘there’s not much encouragement here.’  But, after reading Michal’s profile in my study bible, I thought it was very appropriate for how I am feeling today.  So, let me begin with her profile, then I’ll type in the notes and finally, I’ll give you a few of my thoughts.

Sometimes love is not enough - especially if that love is little more than the strong emotional attraction that grows between a hero and an admirer.  To Michal, Saul’s daughter, the courageous young David must have seemed like a dream come true.  Her feelings about this hero gradually became obvious to others, and eventually, her father heard about her love for David.  He saw this as an opportunity to get rid of his rival for the people’s  loyalty.  He promised Michal’s hand in marriage in exchange for David’s success in the impossible task of killing 100 Philistines.  But David was victorious, and so Saul lost a daughter and saw his rival become even more popular with the people.

Michal’s love for David did not have time to be tested by the realities of marriage.  Instead, she became involved in saving David’s life.  Her quick thinking helped him escape, but it resulted in Saul’s anger and her separation from David.  Her father gave her to another man, Palti, but David eventually took her back.

Unlike her brother Jonathan, Michal did not have the kind of deep relationship with God that would have helped her through the difficulties in her life.  Instead, she became bitter.  She could not share David’s joyful worship of God, so she hated it.  As a result, she never bore David any children.

Beyond feeling sorry for her, we need to see Michal as a person mirroring our own tendencies.  How quickly and easily we become bitter with life’s unexpected turns.  But bitterness cannot remove or change the bad things that have happened.  Often bitterness only makes a bad situation worse.  On the other hand,a  willingness to respond to God gives him the opportunity to bring good out of the difficult situations.  That willingness has two parts:  asking God for his guidance and looking for that guidance in his Word.

Strengths and accomplishments

• Loved David and became his first wife
• Saved David’s life
• Could think and act quickly when it was needed

Weaknesses and mistakes

• Lied under pressure
• Allowed herself ot become bitter over her circumstances
• In her unhappiness, she hated David for loving God

Lessons from her life

• We are not as responsible for what happens to us as we are for how we respond to our circumstances
• Disobedience to God almost always harms us as well as others

Vital statistics

• Occupations:  Daughter of one king, Saul, and wife of another, David
• Relatives:  Parents:  Saul and Ahinoam.  Brothers:  Abinadab, Jonathan, Malkishua.  Sister:  Merab.  Husbands:  David and Palti

Key verse

“But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window.  When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him (2 Samuel 6:16).

Michal’s story is told in 1 Samuel 14-2 Samuel 6.  She is also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:29.

Note on verse 16ff

Michal was David’s first wife, but here she is called daughter of Saul, possibly to show how similar her attitude was to her father’s.  Her contempt for David probably did not start with David’s grand entrance into the city.  Perhaps she thought it was undignified to be so concerned with public worship at a time when it was so unimportant in the kingdom.  Or maybe she thought it was not fitting for a king to display such emotion.  She may have resented David’s taking her from Palti (see the note on 3:13, 14).  Whatever the reason, this contempt she felt toward her husband escalated into a difficult confrontation, and Michal ended up childless for life.  Feelings of bitterness and resentment that go unchecked will destroy a relationship.  Deal with your feelings before they escalate into open warfare.

Note on verse 17

Only a priest could place the sacrifices on the altar.  Leviticus 1:2-13 indicates that anyone who was ceremonially clean could assist a priest in offering the sacrifice (see the notes on Joshua 3:5; 1 Samuel 20:26).  So David probably offered these sacrifices to God with the aid of a priest.  Solomon did the same (1 Kings 8:62-65).

Okay, it is saving drafts periodically like it is supposed to, so hopefully I’ll get it posted this time.  However, since it is so late in the day, I’m going to have to make this a two part post and post my thoughts tomorrow.  The question I have for myself from this scripture is this, “am I bitter and full of contempt” or am I “living out my faith?”  That is what I’ll talk about tomorrow.

I’m sorry about this half post, but this is all I can do today.  I hope to see you again tomorrow.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.  Psalm 139:23-24

May God provide the increase.