There was a lot of celebrate! King David had successfully welcomed the ark into the City of David. God’s presence in the ark would now be close at hand. David’s spirit was clearly on fire! I can just picture David “leaping and dancing before the Lord.”
But David’s wife, Michal was less than enthused. In fact, the text says she was “filled with contempt.” What reason would Michal have to feel so strongly against David’s pure joy? From the sounds of it, David must have been dancing naked. Did I miss something in translation?
Could she have been jealous? Could she have been mourning the loss of her father, Saul, and brothers, Jonathan and Ishbosheth? She was clearly appalled at David’s lack of “culture.” She was embarrassed for him because that was no way for a king to be acting.
Family of origin beliefs may be keeping Michal from enjoying the moment that day. From the sounds of it, Michal will never bear children and have the joy of motherhood. That appears to be God’s response to her lack of support for her husband, God’s chosen king.
You can imagine the surprise David encountered when Michal had her little tantrum. After all, he was just coming “home to bless his own family.” David would have been on an emotional and spiritual high after the day of paying honor and celebration.
Even if David was buck naked, and I admit you really can’t tell from the text because he doesn’t deny revealing himself to the young women, he claims he was “dancing before the Lord,” and further digs in, “who chose me above your father and all his family!” David was in tune with God and the calling on his life when he said, “He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord.”
This text explains why David never had children with Michal and lets us know that the Ark is present and near to David. The Ark has been a blessing and a curse to those in its presence. David is confident his experience will be blessed!
So what’s your take away from today’s reading? I suppose we can all look to Michal and think of a situation where we harshly judged someone for something they did that came back and bit us in the behind. We must be careful not to judge others. We should be focused more on Jesus, what he has done for us, and how we can show others that truth.
We don’t want to be left barren without faith, without hope, without joy. Just spending a few minutes per day in communication with God will do wonders to get you into a frame of mind that can’t help but have some gratitude. With gratitude comes joy not sadness. Even if just for 10 minutes. Those will become your most precious 10 minutes of each day!
Let’s pray …
Lord, I am feeling so grateful for the love you have for me. If you are for me, I don’t care who is against me. You will give me exactly the energy, resources, words, etc., that I need for each new day. Help me start and end each day with a moment of gratitude. I am nothing without you! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
