The tragic life of michal

By Bill Valine

In 1697 the English dramatist William Congreve premiered his play, The Mourning Bride, the story of Zara, daughter of King Manuel of Granada. She secretly marries Alphonso, the son of her father’s hated enemy, King Anselmo of Valencia.

The play contains the immortal lines, Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d /Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorn’d, which has come down through the years as, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

To be scorned is to be openly disliked and disrespected or mocked, often with indignation. These sentiments can be fittingly applied to Michal, the daughter of King Saul of Israel.

Michal was the first wife of David, King Saul’s hated rival. She is most often remembered for her sarcastic words to David after he brought the Ark of the Covenant with great ceremony into the city of Jerusalem. The event is described in 2 Samuel 6:14-23: “David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. When Michal saw David leaping and whirling before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. She said to him, ‘How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovering himself!’ David’s response was filled with scorn: ‘It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore, I will play music before the Lord, and I will be even more undignified than this and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.’ Therefore, Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.”

To truly understand this tense exchange between Michal and David, we must back up to where their story began.

Saul began as a humble king, but his pride grew to the point that he disobeyed God. After the prophet Samuel brought God’s message to Saul that He would remove the kingdom from him, he became paranoid and violent – even against his own son, Jonathan.

Saul was king of Israel, but David was the slayer of Goliath of Gath (1 Samuel chapter 17) and the champion of the people. In 1 Samuel chapter 18 it says, “David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people.”

When the people began to chant, Saul has slain his thousands, and David has slain his ten thousands, his fear and anger were directed more and more toward David (1 Samuel 18:7).

As a leader of Saul’s army, David continued to be successful, but the more David succeeded, the more Saul saw him as a threat.

Saul tried to undermine David’s success repeatedly, encouraging him to take greater risks in battle so he would die at the hands of the Philistines, the enemies of Israel. He went as far as to use his older daughter Merab as a tool against him. He offered to give her to David as his wife, as if she were just another prize to be handed out!

His schemes to have David die in battle had failed, so at the time when David and Merab should have been married, Saul insulted David by marrying her off to another man: Adriel the Meholathite.

Through all of this, Michal had watched David and loved him – and that love caught her squarely between her father and David. Saul was delighted when he found out that Michal loved David: here was another opportunity to entrap him.

Saul offered to give Michal to David as his wife. All David had to do was to go out, kill one hundred Philistine soldiers, and bring back proof of their deaths. Saul hoped once more that the Philistines would kill David for him, and again, David survived and fulfilled Saul's requirements.

So, this time Saul had to keep his promise and give Michal to David.

Saul moved on from depending on the Philistines and attempted to kill David himself. He tried to pin him to the wall with a javelin. He sent men to kill David in his sleep but David escaped with the help of Michal.

As he had done with Merab, Saul then used Michal to insult David by giving her to Palti, the son of Laish. He had given Merab no say as to whether she wanted to marry David, giving her to another man instead. He treated Michal even worse - forcing her to live in adultery simply out of his hatred for David.

To him, his daughters were simply tools in his arsenal against his enemy. Saul lived a life of intimidation - disregarding the concerns of those around him. He is a good example of the fact that you do not love someone you are dominating.

Michal had no control over her life. After she helped David escape her father, Saul gave her no choice: she had to live with Palti.

David did not give Michal a choice as to whether she would stay with Palti. When Abner, the commanding officer of Saul’s army, offered to make him king over all Israel, David demanded that Michal be given back to him – even though by that time he already had six other wives (2 Samuel 3:2 -5).

With all she was forced to do by both Saul and David – and with all the subsequent years she felt ignored and slighted – is it any wonder that by the time David danced openly as the Ark was brought into Jerusalem, she had come to despise him in her heart?

It is obvious that Michal was bitter over how she was treated. She had looked to the men in her life for love and had found only heartache.

Perhaps when you read about the life of Michal, it strikes a familiar chord in your heart: the very people who you expected to love you have caused you pain instead. You are not alone.

Another woman in the Bible could also identify with Michal.

One day a religious leader invited Jesus to share a meal in his home. A woman, knowing that Jesus was there, came in and disrupted the gathering.

She was crying, and as she cried, she washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

She also kissed His feet, and took expensive oil and poured it on them.

When the host saw what she did, he was disgusted with the woman and with Jesus. He thought, This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner (Luke 7:39).

Jesus, on the other hand, said to her, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

We are not told, nor do we need to know, what terrible things she had done or suffered. All we know from her actions and from Jesus’ words to His host concerning her is that she had had an earlier encounter with Jesus, and that she was overwhelmingly grateful for being forgiven of her sins and of having her dignity restored by Him.

This woman’s reputation preceded her. People saw what that host saw: a sinner to be scorned and shunned. In contrast, Jesus did not scorn her, but treated her with respect. He saw her as a woman to be loved and restored.

As a result, she had come to have faith in Jesus. She trusted His love and His forgiveness and her trust in Him set her free from guilt and shame.

You may feel the scorn of others, but to Jesus you, too are someone with value whom He loves and desires to set free.

You simply need to ask Him for forgiveness and trust in His love. To that end, here is a prayer that you can pray for salvation:

“Jesus, I know that I have sinned and that You died to pay the price for my sins. I understand that You were raised from the dead that I might have eternal life. Forgive me. Free me from guilt and shame. Restore my dignity. Fill me with Your love. I trust in You and dedicate my life to following You. Be with me and give me the strength I need to live the way You want me to live. Take control of my life.”

If you have sincerely prayed for Jesus to forgive you, and have dedicated your life to following Him, congratulations on your new life in Christ!

The next steps in your new life are to tell someone about what Jesus did for you, to read God’s word (the Bible) every day and to pray (talk to God in your own words) – and to gather with other Christians, who are your new family in Jesus.

If you do not know any Christians personally, we here at Door Church in Tucson, Arizona would be glad to help introduce you to a gathering of Christian believers wherever you might reside. Please contact us on the web at: www.door.church.