Flawed Families of the Bible by Garland David E. & Garland Diana R

Author:Garland, David E. & Garland, Diana R.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2007-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

5

Michal’s Story

With a Family Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

1 Samuel 17–18:20

Michal’s story seems to begin as a love story. The narrator lets it be known, “Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David” (1 Sam. 18:20). David cut a dashing figure as a great military hero loved by all in Israel and Judah (1 Sam. 18:16), but his growing popularity threatened King Saul, Michal’s father. Saul became insanely jealous (with an emphasis on insane) and increasingly paranoid about David. That danger factor may have made David seem all the more exciting and attractive to Michal. The story begins like a fairy tale, with a princess and a handsome warrior, but we know that trouble is brewing in this relationship because he is the rival of her father the king. Instead of an evil stepmother trying to do in the princess, we have a murderous father trying to destroy the would-be prince.

Michal was the youngest of Saul’s five children (1 Sam. 14:49). She first appears in the biblical story when David had reached the pinnacle of popularity after slaying the Philistine giant Goliath. Goliath had confounded the Israelite army and threatened to turn the Israelites into slaves (1 Sam. 17:8–9). The young buck David saved the day when he felled Goliath with a single missile from his celebrated slingshot. David’s resulting fame and continuing battlefield successes may have agitated King Saul, who was used to getting all of the accolades, but they only fed Michal’s attraction to him as the reigning toast of Judah. Earlier, Saul had offered Michal’s older sister Merab to David in marriage as a reward for his courage and success on the battlefield, with the ulterior motive of keeping David loyal and under his wing. David had turned down that offer, modestly pointing out that his humble stock as a sheepherder made him unworthy to be grafted into the royal line. His humility was no doubt quite becoming. A determined, moon-eyed Michal decided to risk letting her love for David become known.

The statement that Michal was in love with David (1 Sam. 18:20) is the only one in the Bible that explicitly announces that a woman loves a man. She was evidently a strong woman, willing to go after what she wanted. And she wanted David. She must have convinced herself that though he may not have wanted Merab, he would not be able to resist her, Merab’s younger sister. Michal had known David for years. He had been hanging around her family since Saul had brought him home as a young man to be his attendant. Now, at Saul’s insistence, David had moved into the royal household permanently. Saul sent David on mission after mission, and every time he came home the victor. With each victory, Michal’s love grew. With each cheer for this youthful, handsome, victorious warrior, Saul’s resentment grew.

Why Is Daddy So Mad? (1 Samuel 15)

To understand how Saul’s green-eyed jealousy turned into red rage, we need to turn back several chapters to trace Saul’s own rise to power.

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