Michal was the daughter of Saul and David’s first wife. She was a woman of strong emotions who often found herself unable to control the important circumstances of her life. She was a woman who could think and act quickly when it was needed, but she would also lie when under pressure and allowed herself to become bitter. She would find herself ensnared in the drawn out battle between her father and her husband, which would leave her bitter and resentful. She would, for a time, share a passionate love with her husband. It is the only time in the Bible that a woman is described as loving a man (1 Samuel 18:20). But that love would turn cold. What is her story? How did she turn from a woman in love to one who hated her husband? What lessons can we learn from her story?
Her story is short, spanning decades but two main details are known about her. Her love for David and later her resentment toward him. She loved David since he was a shepherd boy who felled the mighty Goliath. There are two parts to Michal’s story. In Part 1, she is a woman in love. She helps him escape from her father’s pursuing army. Lies to her father’s guards to buy him time. In Part 2, she is queen as David is now king. She is horrified as she watches, from a window, as her husband dances and leaps as the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the city of Jerusalem. Her love has turned to loathing. She confronts him, telling him that a king should not act in such a way. David responds that he danced for the Lord and no one else (2 Samuel 6:21-22). The distance between them grew and their silence thickened like ice. The Bible’s last statement on Michal says she spent the rest of her life alone and childless (2 Samuel 6:23).
At the heart of her story is worship. Worship can take several forms in prayer, song, dancing and musical instruments. For many people, there are only right ways to worship. The person who sings off key with tears rolling down their face is truly worshipping as the person who sings perfectly and subdued. But what many people forget is that at the center of worship is the heart and a life dedicated to God. God makes it clear he won’t be satisfied with only the forms of worship, because that is not the focus. If a person’s heart is not for God, then their worship is meaningless, empty. True worship, whether it is dancing wildly as David did, or the person singing off-key, is a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100:1-2). Michal’s contempt for David’s worship shows her own lack of true dedication to the Lord. She was content to be a critical spectator rather than a true worshipper. It may also be jealousy that if David had such love and devotion for the Lord, she may have thought he didn’t love her. Maybe she wanted that love all to herself.
Michal is an example of how quickly life’s unexpected turns can make us bitter, if we do not guard our hearts with care. Bitterness will make a bad situation worse. What fueled Michal’s bitterness? Was it because she was a mere pawn in the battle between her father and her husband? The Bible doesn’t speak if she had any faith, did she go through the motions like her father? Whatever the reason, Michal grew to be more like her father than David. Like her father, her heart for David went from love to hate. She was a victim; but being a victim doesn’t excuse her behavior. Even victims have choices. The power to choose the attitude of our hearts. We are not responsible for all that happens to us, but we are responsible for how we respond. The Bible doesn’t tell us why Michal remained childless. Was it because God didn’t allow her to conceive? Or is it possible that the coldness between them, resulted in David setting her aside for one of his other wives that would follow?
In conclusion, Michal was a woman driven by love and bitterness. She helps the man she loves escape the murderous intent of her father but later becomes bitter toward the same man. She despised David, in her eyes, for his wanton worship. The heart behind worship is more important than the method of worship. Whether someone is dancing in the streets or singing off-key, as long as the heart is filled with love and appreciation for the Lord, it is pleasing to him. This concept is what Michal misses. Maybe she wasn’t a woman of faith. She may not have believed as David did. Whether way, Michal lives out her life alone, possibly forgotten. The main lesson from her story is we control how we respond to life’s circumstances. We either play the victim and sulk or we rise to the challenge and learn to move forward.
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