2 Samuel 6:12 – 23 “Now it was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.”
So, David went and had the ark of God brought up from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing. When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
And David, wearing a linen ephod, danced with all his might before the LORD, while he and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sounding of the ram’s horn.
As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
So, they brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Hosts. Then he distributed to all the multitude of Israel, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. And all the people departed, each for his own home.
As soon as David returned home to bless his own household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today!” she said. “He has uncovered himself today in the sight of the maidservants of his subjects, like a vulgar person would do.”
But David said to Michal, “I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me over your father and all his house when He appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD, and I will humiliate and humble myself even more than this. Yet I will be honored by the maidservants of whom you have spoken.”
And Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.”
Remember Michal? Michal was Saul’s daughter, whose hand David won by killing 200 Philistine soldiers and presenting their foreskins to Saul. At one point, Michal loved David so much that she risked her own life to deceive her father and to allow David to escape. But that was a long time ago. Later, when Saul was trying to kill David, Saul gave Michal away to a man named Paltiel, who evidently loved her dearly. When David ascended the throne, he demanded that Michal return to him as a sign of his kingship. Bad move! It broke Paltiel’s – and possibly Michal’s – heart. Although Michal was David’s first wife, by this time, there were several other wives and concubines and Michal was now only one of many members of David’s harem. What a mess!
After failing to assure that the Ark of the Covenant was handled correctly, David left the Ark in the household of Obed – edom. But once God began blessings Obed – edom and his household, David decided to re – think the situation. Perhaps it was at that point that one of the priests consulted the Law of Moses and reminded everyone of the fashion in which the Ark was actually to be carried. This time, everything went off perfectly. The priests carried the Ark as they were supposed to, and David was so thrilled that he danced ahead of the Ark wearing a linen ephod.
Was David half – naked? No. Most sources feel that David was wearing a long linen garment similar to that worn by the priests and was not exposing himself. But David was NOT behaving the way Michal thought a king should behave! Michal might have had problems with her father Saul, but Saul never let anybody forget that HE was the king! At least, Saul had dignity, but here David was making a spectacle of himself. How embarrassing!
David was leaping and dancing and making sacrifices. With the trumpets and shofars blowing, and people singing, David was transported by joy and thrilled beyond all measure. Once the Ark was in place in the lovely tent that David had constructed for it, David acted as a priest, offering burnt offerings and peace offerings and blessing the people. Then David liberally distributed cakes of raisins and dates and bread and everyone went home to enjoy their feast.
Poor Michal! It’s likely that Saul never truly worshiped the Lord, and we know that Michal had household gods available when she helped David escape. Michal had no faith of her own. Whatever love Michal had for David had died a long time ago, and now she was only one wife out of many. While the people of Jerusalem were joining in the celebration surrounding the return of the Ark, Michal could think of nothing except how ridiculous David looked. Little wonder that when David finally came home flushed and excited, all Michal could do was to reproach him. But that reproach spelled disaster for Michal, for her bitterness so tainted her body that she was never able to bear children, suffering the ultimate disgrace of barrenness.
APPLICATION: Our emotions are very powerful and they can harm us. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” While Michal once loved David, she had found a stable relationship with Paltiel. Bitter at being torn away from a loving husband, all Michal could think of was finding fault with David. Having no relationship with the Lord, Michal could not possibly understand why David would humble himself as he did. Michal cursed herself with her negative attitudes.
How powerful are emotions? Right now, in the Newborn ICU where I work, we have a set of premature twins. One twin is much larger than the other and is growing. The second twin continue to remain at the same low weight, even though she is taking relatively large amounts of breast milk for her size. We suspect that the mother of these babies wants only the larger one to survive and is literally cursing the smaller one by her negative attitude.
There have been several studies done in which cancer patients have been taught to visualize their white blood cells defeating the cancer cells in some fashion. Some of these patients have made remarkable recoveries.
How can we guard our hearts? The Bible advises us to take every thought captive. 2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5 says, “For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments, and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Our thoughts can lead us to God or to Satan. If we insist on harboring bitterness in our hearts, we will not be open to God, nor will we be able to hear His voice.
Beware of self – pity! Self – pity feels so comforting, but it is a deadly emotion. Give way to self – pity and quite soon you will find yourself descending deeper and deeper into an emotional abyss. The writer of Proverbs was quite correct! Guard your heart.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to learn from the story of Michal and to guard our hearts. Help us to appreciate those who feel free to worship You enthusiastically, even when we might hesitate. And help us also to worship You in spirit and in truth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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