Michal despises David

Alot can be read between the lines of this story. When Michal fell in love with David years prior, her father had been king and David was a military hero. But over seven years had elapsed, Saul was dead, and Michal had married another man. There must have been genuine love between them because her anguished husband followed her, weeping for miles, after she had been retrieved for David. So many things could have contributed to her resentment toward David. Perhaps she didn't like the idea that someone else, besides her father, was King. Perhaps she resented how much the people adored him. It is very likely that she was angry about being uprooted from her life, and possibly a husband that she loved, in order to be one of David's many wives. I imagine that would have been a tough clique to try to break into! She certainly had plausible reasons for being angry at her hubby which may have been communicated through her critical spirit and sharp tongue. That is a character flaw that plagues me as well.

What is also possible, is that it was upsetting for her to witness David's pure devotion before the Lord, as it may have uncovered a lack of devotion in her own heart. I think we are really guilty of that. It is tempting to look at those who are at a "higher level' (spiritually speaking) than ourselves and think them crazy, annoying, or worse yet... "holier than thou". Their zeal can rub us the wrong way because at our core, we are envious and lament the lack of fervor in our own lives. Michal may have been disgusted by David because his passion for God exposed her apathy.

All speculation, because the Bible doesn't say why she was so upset with him. David's reply to her was perfect. He let her know, in no uncertain terms, that he would continue to be a shameless fool for Lord! The last sentence of the chapter states that Michal remained childless her entire life. Was this infertility a disciplinary consequence put in place by God, or was the relationship between she and David so strained by this exchange that the two of them never got intimate???

Tomorrow's reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-8:14; 1 Chron. 17:1-18:13; Psalm 60