To those who have read the story of David and are familiar
with the account of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, the
name Michal calls up a feeling of resentment. To those unfamiliar with the
story, David has recently become king of Judah and Israel. He has already tried
to bring the Ark of the Covenant into his new capital (probably to help unite
his kingdom) but failed due to putting it on a cart as opposed to having it
carried by four Levites (as God instructed in the Torah). Having realized his
error, and having repented, David tries again to bring the Ark in to his
capital, Jerusalem. Everything is going perfectly, no accidents, no one has
died, and God’s presence will be in Jerusalem! David is ecstatic and is singing
and dancing with all of his might. In the meantime, his wife Michal, the
daughter of his former king and enemy Saul, looks on with disgust and
criticizes David for publicly disgracing himself before his servants while
worshipping. Thus, many dismiss Michal as an evil woman. However, it might be
beneficial to look at what has been going on in Michal’s life before jumping to
conclusions.
To begin with, Michal was Saul’s youngest daughter, by his
only wife. This means many things, but the main factor is that her father was
not the best patriarch in living a godly life and teaching the Torah. This is
clearly seen in two passages in I Samuel. The first is in I Samuel 13:8-14
where Saul is preparing to go to war against the Philistines, but is dealing
with desertion; therefore, instead of waiting for Samuel to arrive, Saul offers
sacrifices to God; note: Saul is a Benjamite performing a duty that only
Levites were allowed to do. The second example is when it comes to Saul making
a vow that no one is to eat until after the Philistines have been thoroughly
defeated, then vows again, after realizing someone has broken the fast, that
the offender shall be put to death. Saul then discovers that it is his own son
Jonathan, who has become a hero for routing the Philistines in God’s power.
Saul is ready to kill him, but is dissuaded by the men in the army and goes
home. This is not to say that Saul should have killed Jonathan, but it is to
say that he should have at least paid the necessary fee for the broken vow(s)
prescribed in Leviticus 27. It is also important to point out that Michal is
most likely terrified by her own father, at least after marrying David; how is
this seen? Unlike Jonathan who confronted Saul on his hatred of David, Michal
lies to her father when he asks her why she has betrayed him to help save his
mortal enemy, David.
Now, another matter is to explore what Michal was like. Not
much is said about her, except for what her father says about her in I Samuel
18. In this passage Saul has been and is still plotting to get rid of David
through indirect means; he has with held his oldest daughter from David (though
she should have been his wife due to David’s victory over Goliath) and keeps
sending David on near suicidal missions. However, when Saul hears that his
youngest daughter loves the man he wants killed, it is a pleasant sight to him
(I Samuel 18:20). Saul develops a plot to have David killed by the Philistines
while sending David out on a dowry mission to kill one hundred Philistines.
However, Saul also says this concerning his own daughter, “I will give her to
him that she may become a snare to him”[1].
Clearly, something is going on here. She is probably not some base young woman
(her father is one of the most handsome men in the land [I Samuel 9:2] and
David is pleased to become Saul’s son in law through marrying her), so what
does Saul mean by Michal being a snare to David? Perhaps it is connected with
the fact that she “happens” to have a household idol available when she is
helping David escape. It is quite possible that, due to her father’s lack of
being a good spiritual leader for the family, she has been living in
syncretism, worshiping the local gods in addition to the LORD of the Hebrews.
It would also make sense for this to be the case since throughout the Torah God
has warned the Israelites repeatedly not to take unbelieving spouses lest they
be led astray into idolatry.
Furthermore, it is important to look at Michal’s love life.
She is introduced as loving David and is allowed to marry him. After marrying
him she still loves him, as is seen in the fact that she warns David of the
peril and helps him escape from the wrath of her father. However, after this,
her marriage is apparently considered void and is forced to marry another man,
named Palti(el). Essentially, she has been forced to commit adultery against
the man she loves. Years go by and David is now king of Judah and is on his way
to becoming king of Israel too. However, he must contend with Saul’s heir
Ish-Bosheth. During this time, one of Ish-Bosheth’s generals defects to David,
and David requests that Michal be returned to him. Here it is difficult to say
what the relationship between Michal and her most recent husband is; the text
says in II Samuel 3:14-16 that her husband follows them all of the way to the
border of Judah weeping. It does not say if she shared this emotion or if she
was indifferent or even hateful of her second husband. If Michal’s second
husband’s name Paltiel(deliverance of God[2]) has any indication as to their relationship,
it would imply that he was a blessing to her and helped her. However, that is
mere speculation. Regardless of whether she loved, liked, despised, or loathed
Paltiel, Michal was once again being taken out of a marriage and put into another.
It is important to note here as well that if her wedding to David had
officially been revoked via divorce, her being returned to David was against
the Torah (see Deuteronomy 24:14). Putting that aside, Michal is now returning
to her long lost love in a political bargain only to find that David now has at
least six other wives (see 2 Samuel 3:1-5). Certainly, this was a crushing
blow; however, and oddly enough, the Bible does not describe the reunion
between these parted lovers, so one must wonder if it was a truly cold and
heartless or else agonizing meeting, which is perhaps why Michal despised
David’s reckless rejoicing in Jerusalem, seeing something that she had longed
to see him feel for her in private done for another (granted it was for God,
but jealousy and heart ache hardly acknowledges rightful levels of importance)
in public.
In the end, Michal is left barren all of her life, despised
by David, actually burned by him (see 2 Samuel 6:21, especially “who chose me
above your father and above all his house, to appoint me
ruler” [emphasis added]) who had been the love of her youth, whom she had
risked her life for. After having her love manipulated by the schemes of her
wrathful and wicked father, after being separated from her husband and love,
after being torn from her second marriage only to find she was one of seven
wives her lover had, she looks on at David’s ability to act as if everything is
perfect with contempt and dies in disgrace as a barren woman. Am I saying she
was right to rebuke David? No. Am I saying she should be excused? No. What I am
saying is that perhaps David was to blame in part for her bitterness; and more
importantly, rather than criticize Michal, those reading this passage ought to
be aware of how they might be creating Michals, people who have hoped and
loved, only to be manipulated and abandoned; be on the lookout for these people
and be there to help provide healing for them in the midst of their heart ache.
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