Everyone knows about King David, and probably most people who have spent anytime in church have heard the story of David's first wife, Michal, and how she mocked him in front of all the people and God struck her childless. Today, I would offer her story from a different perspective, the perspective of a woman in love.
Her story can be found in 1 Samuel 14, 1 Samuel 18, 1 Samuel 19, 1 Samuel 25, 2 Samuel 3, 2 Samuel 6.
Michal was the daughter of a King: the first King of Israel, in fact, King Saul. She had an older sister. In those days, Kings would marry off their children, daughters especially, to other powerful people so as to secure an alliance with those people and thus protect his throne.
At the time, King Saul was feeling a little threatened by a certain young hero, David, who had recently slain a giant and was favored by the people. After David killed the giant, the people were celebrating and singing a song that drove Saul nuts: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands". This lit Saul up with jealousy, envy, and paranoia and so he kept a close eye on him. At the same time, Saul's son, Jonathon, had become very close to David, in fact, best friends with him. Saul ended up putting David in charge of a huge army which did nothing but increase his fame and valor in the eyes of the people. So, when Saul realized he couldn't really kill him, he decided that he would set David up.
He came up with a scheme to give his oldest daughter, Michal's sister, to David in marriage, in return for David going out on the front lines and fighting bravely. (His secret plan was to have David in such a dangerous position that he would be killed by the Philistines). David politely declined, saying that he wasn't worthy of a King's daughter, and this infuriated Saul. Around the same time, Saul's second oldest daughter, Michal, came to him and confessed that she was head-over-heels in love with David. This is the only time in the Bible I can find where it says a woman was in love with a man:
David agrees that this is fair and heads out to collect the foreskins. He kills 200 Philistines and delivers the foreskins to his father-in-law and is subsequently married to Michal.
Saul is pretty furious that Michal betrayed him, and to save her own life, Michal tells him that she didn't have a choice and that David forced her to hide him and lie to protect him. Saul buys this and doesn't kill Michal. In the meantime, David is a fugitive. He makes no effort to contact his wife, although he sends messages to his best friend, her brother Jonathon, and even meets him on a few occassions, but he doesn't have anything to do with his wife, who was in love with him and waiting for him to send for her! Then, Michal hears through the grapevine that David has taken a couple more wives, which upsets her greatly, I'm sure.
Since it's been so long since David left, Saul decides that Michal's marriage was as good as dead, and goes ahead and marries her off again, this time to Paltiel, a semi-powerful man from another city. Eventually, her feelings for David subside and she settles into this new marriage.
Over the years, David ends up gathering enough support that he can overthrow the king. The King's sons are killed (including David's best friend, Jonathon), and the King, knowing that he is about to be defeated, commits suicide. Then David comes back. Two new wives in tow, he comes to take "what is his" - Michal. David ends up making a treaty with Sauls only living heir, and in the treaty, Ishbosheth agrees to give Michal back to David. She is ripped from her home once again, and given to this man that she hardly knows by now. It is made more tragic by the fact that she probably didn't want to go, and her husband Paltiel was desparately in love with her.
When they took her awa to give back to David, Paltiel followed the procession, weeping and begging them to stop. He finally went home when one of the more savage and evil of the army guys in charge told him to get lost.
The story continues to an unhappy ending for Michal, who is locked up in the harem for several years without seeing her husband, then when she finally DOES see David, he embarrasses her by dancing around half-naked through the town, and God is angry with her for being embarrassed and confronting him. She spends the rest of her life without love and childless. Not only that, but her husband David continues to do despicable things like kill a man for his wife and lay all of his conquests end to end to see how far they stretch out... he's not, apparently, the nicest person to be married to. All in all, I feel sorry for this strong Jewish heroine. Even if she was wrong in laughing at and confronting David, Michal was dealt a pretty rough hand and it's no wonder she was angry and bitter!
Saul sent his servants to David to tell him "Look, the King really wants you for a son-in-law. I know you said that you're not worthy to be married to a King's daughter and you're from a poor family, but here is the only price for your bride, Michal: 100 Philistine foreskins."
Her story can be found in 1 Samuel 14, 1 Samuel 18, 1 Samuel 19, 1 Samuel 25, 2 Samuel 3, 2 Samuel 6.
Michal was the daughter of a King: the first King of Israel, in fact, King Saul. She had an older sister. In those days, Kings would marry off their children, daughters especially, to other powerful people so as to secure an alliance with those people and thus protect his throne.
At the time, King Saul was feeling a little threatened by a certain young hero, David, who had recently slain a giant and was favored by the people. After David killed the giant, the people were celebrating and singing a song that drove Saul nuts: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands". This lit Saul up with jealousy, envy, and paranoia and so he kept a close eye on him. At the same time, Saul's son, Jonathon, had become very close to David, in fact, best friends with him. Saul ended up putting David in charge of a huge army which did nothing but increase his fame and valor in the eyes of the people. So, when Saul realized he couldn't really kill him, he decided that he would set David up.
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| Michal (Source) |
Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.” (I Samuel 18:20)
David agrees that this is fair and heads out to collect the foreskins. He kills 200 Philistines and delivers the foreskins to his father-in-law and is subsequently married to Michal.
When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.While Saul was trying to think of ways to get rid of David, Michal loves him even more, and when Saul finally DOES hatch a plan to kill him, Michal and her brother Jonathon warn David. Michal begs David to leave when Saul is sending his soldiers to arrest David, but it's too late for him to go through the city gates, so Michal lowers him with a rope out of her window and he flees into the darkness. No sooner does he get out, then soldiers are at the door demanding David. Michal says that he's sick and she will not send him and her dad, the King, will just have to wait. This buys enough time for David to escape properly. When the soldiers come back with the intent to bring David in his sickbed to the king, they discover that Michal has cleverly hidden statues under the covers to make it look like someone asleep in the bed, and instead they arrest her and bring her to the King.
28 When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known. (I Samuel 18: 26-30)
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| Saving David (Source) |
Since it's been so long since David left, Saul decides that Michal's marriage was as good as dead, and goes ahead and marries her off again, this time to Paltiel, a semi-powerful man from another city. Eventually, her feelings for David subside and she settles into this new marriage.
Over the years, David ends up gathering enough support that he can overthrow the king. The King's sons are killed (including David's best friend, Jonathon), and the King, knowing that he is about to be defeated, commits suicide. Then David comes back. Two new wives in tow, he comes to take "what is his" - Michal. David ends up making a treaty with Sauls only living heir, and in the treaty, Ishbosheth agrees to give Michal back to David. She is ripped from her home once again, and given to this man that she hardly knows by now. It is made more tragic by the fact that she probably didn't want to go, and her husband Paltiel was desparately in love with her.
When they took her awa to give back to David, Paltiel followed the procession, weeping and begging them to stop. He finally went home when one of the more savage and evil of the army guys in charge told him to get lost.
The story continues to an unhappy ending for Michal, who is locked up in the harem for several years without seeing her husband, then when she finally DOES see David, he embarrasses her by dancing around half-naked through the town, and God is angry with her for being embarrassed and confronting him. She spends the rest of her life without love and childless. Not only that, but her husband David continues to do despicable things like kill a man for his wife and lay all of his conquests end to end to see how far they stretch out... he's not, apparently, the nicest person to be married to. All in all, I feel sorry for this strong Jewish heroine. Even if she was wrong in laughing at and confronting David, Michal was dealt a pretty rough hand and it's no wonder she was angry and bitter!
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| David embarrassing Michal (Source) |
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