David and Michal

David and Michal. Daughter of a king! That sounds magical and yet when we read of the life of Michal, daughter of Saul, we discover the her life was definitely not magical!

20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.”

1 Samuel 18:20-21, NKJV

David and Michal. Daughter of a king! That sounds magical and yet when we read of the life of Michal, daughter of Saul, we discover the her life definitely was not magical!

Our focus in this devotional is on Michal, so let us follow the journey of Michal as we walk through the Biblical accounts written about her.

David and Michal - Love and Marriage

As a daughter of a king, Michal's life was not her own. As was often the case, she was used by her father, Saul, to manipulate David. However, Michal was fortunate as she truly loved David.

Saul promised his daughter, Merab, to David, but when the time came for him to marry her Saul had given Merab to another man.

20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; 29 and Saul was still more afraid of David.

1 Samuel 18:20 & 28-29, NKJV

Saul, knowing that Michal loved David, chose her to be David's wife instead. Unfortunately for Michal, Saul had ulterior motives. Motives which put Michal in the middle of a very tumultuous triangle.

21 So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.”

1 Samuel 18:21, NKJV

As we can imagine, life did not move along very smoothly for Michal. She found herself in between a controversy driven by Saul's hatred of David.

David and Michal - Escape

David was so loved by the people that Saul was driven by a spirit of jealousy. That jealousy and hatred finally drove Saul to the point of trying to kill David.

9 Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand. 10 Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night.

1 Samuel 19:9-10, NKJV

Fearing for his life, David enlisted the help of his wife to aid in his escape from Saul.

11 Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. 13 And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats’ hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. 14 So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”

1 Samuel 19:11-14, NKJV

Michal now had to go through a period of years of being separated from David. How did Saul treat Michal during this period of time? In 1 Samuel 25:44 we learn, "Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim."

Again, to Saul, Michal was just a tool to manipulate as he pleased.

So, for a period of several years we do not hear any more about Michal. David continued to flee from Saul until the death of Saul and Jonathan in a battle with the Philistines. First David became King of Hebron and then, three years later, King of Israel.

David and Michal - Michal Returned to David

However, before David would make a covenant with Abner to make David King of Israel, he required one thing. He required that his wife, Michal, be returned to him.

12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, “Whose is the land?” saying also, “Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall bewith you to bring all Israel to you.”

13 And David said, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.”

2 Samuel 3:12-13, NKJV

How did Michal feel about this? Did she have a choice to marry Palti? Now, years later, did she have a choice to return to David. No! As the daughter of a king, Michal was not free to make such momentous decisions in her life.

David and Michal - The Rest of the Story

What was the life of Michal like when she returned to the palace as one of the many wives of David? We get one more glimpse into the life of Michal in 2 Samuel 6.

16 Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “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 uncovers himself!”

21 So David said to Michal, “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. 22 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.”

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

2 Samuel 6:16 & 20-23, NKJV

In the end, we find that Michal's life was a sad life, indeed. After challenging her husband, King David, David no longer came see her.

So ends the story of David and Michal.

David and Michal - Lessons to Learn

What lessons can we learn from this story? We are not kings or royalty and most often, marriage is our own choice to make. Yet we see that God allowed both Saul and David to use Michal as they pleased.

Truly, bad things happen in the lives of all people. How do we view those bad things. Are they the fault of God because He did not prevent them? No! God allows them in our lives and, if we are His children, uses these things to draw us closer to Him.

Sin, death, and hell--and bad things in our lives--are the results of the rule of Satan in this world. Although he is no match for God, we are no match for him. What are we to do? Let us go before God and plea with Him for mercy. God watches over His children and even when life is difficult, He leads them through the valley of the shadow of death.

Trust in God! He will take you through the rough times in your life and bring you into His Kingdom to live with Him forever.

What an amazing God we serve!

God Bless You,

Linda