Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Are you Bitter or are you going to dance?


When I was a teen I fell head over heals for this girl.  She was beautiful!  She was tall, had the figure of Barbie, long hair, was a total knock out.  She was way out of my league but God had other plans; plans that we would fall in love and later we would marry.  

God had plans that nether one of us knew about!  We surely did not see our lives to have gone down the path that we did.  Most of it good but not without struggles.  Most of it good but not without some regret. 

I am sure there were days of loneliness, days where loved ones passed, days where you felt passed by. 

These things can make us bitter.  Life is hard and we get weary! 

 

Michal – was David’s wife.   She loved him!  He was her high school quarterback that all the girls loved.  He was the hero, the knight in shining armor!  He could sing and play music which was beautiful. 

She was the Kings daughter!  Way out of his league for he was a shepherd.  A famous one though.  He killed Goliath!

Michal loved David and her Dad (the King) knew it.  He was threatened by the young man and wanted to kill him.  Know is that a nice father-in-law or what!   

Michal was able to marry David as a pawn in her fathers plan to kill him but it did not succeed.  In fact She saved David and put her own life on the line.  (1 sam 19: 11-17)

1 Samuel 19:11-17

New International Version (NIV)

11 Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head.

14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, “He is ill.”

15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him.” 16 But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats’ hair.

17 Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?”

She ended up having to live by herself for some time because David was on the run for his life. 

Michal unknowingly became part of a polygamist. 

1 Samuel 25:42-44

New International Version (NIV)

42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five female servants, went with David’s messengers and became his wife. 43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives. 44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel[a] son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

Then David, while on the run,  got involved in attacking the Philistines.  The country was at war now and Michal was home alone still.  

Michal’s Father (the King) is killed in this war with the Philistines.  So not only is she alone she now has to experience the grief of losing a parent by herself. 

David is able to come home but doesn’t right away.  He is first appointed King of Judah.  Note at this time he has the two wives he married on the run with him.  We all know how rumors spread so you can only imagine what Michal is hearing. 

The adultery does not stop there with David though and he marries another and has sons with them and his concubines.  This is all before we are told he sees Michal after his return to Judah. 

2 Samuel 3:1-5


New International Version (NIV)

3 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

Sons were born to David in Hebron:

His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel;

the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;

the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.

These were born to David in Hebron.

David will then become King over all Israel and this is all by the time he is 30 years old.  He then goes to Jerusalem and make his home there.  At some point in time while he was in Hebron he went and took Michal and brought her to live with them because we see her come back into the picture while in Jerusalem. 

Now Michal is still without children and yet her husband is having affairs with his concubines and other wives and they are bearing children left and right so we can only imagine what she thinks of them and herself. 

Put yourself in Her shoes for a minute!  Can you blame someone for being bitter at this point? 

So we then come to the boiling point and that is the final straw for Michal.  This point takes place when she sees her low life cheating husband who left her to live by herself, grieve by herself, risk her life for him come dancing into the city so happy he cannot stand himself acting like a fool and not a king which makes her want to heave!  

2 Samuel 6


14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart……………

20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Michal had every reason to be bitter

She experienced;

            Loneliness

            Betrayal

            Grievance

            Denial

We have all experienced similar things though haven’t we!  We have every reason to be bitter I am sure. 

But we are going to miss out on all that god has planned for our lives if we claim the right to be bitter. 

You have free will to claim it if you want!

What did David do?  We know the things David did form her perspective, but we also know the other half of the story.  David was being chased the whole time in an attempt to be killed.  Who was trying to kill him?  It was her father!!   Yet even when given opportunities to kill the King he chose not to.  Remember he was anointed King by the Prophet Samuel before all this even happened.  Yet He was not king and would not become king for along time. 

Yes he made some really bad choses and would surely regret some of them but He was not bitter.  He made a different chose.

Am I going to let my bitterness over take my life or my (new life in Christ) over take my bitterness?

David shoes the later.  Michal chose the earlier. 

What are you going to choose??????

No comments:

Post a Comment