Sometimes you just need a woman to come in and mend fences. Abigail becomes that woman in this chapter, and she’s rewarded handsomely. Har, har. Like what I did there? While this chapter shows how women played a large role in settling matters between leaders, it also presents a little confusion on marriage. First, we know that David was married to Saul’s daughter Michal. Apparently, she was not with David in his stronghold because the end of the chapter tells us that Saul gave Michal to someone else, but before that, we see that David not only married Abigail, but he wed Ahinoam as well. What the hey??? These Old Testament chapters sure do throw loops into modern-day beliefs, don’t they??? These are the chapters we as Christians today have a hard time explaining to new believers who are taught “one man, one woman” is the way marriage ought to be. And David isn’t the only example we have to explain. Several men in the Bible had more than one wife – or they had a wife and a few “girlfriends.” We’ve seen several examples of this already, and I for the life of me, can’t give a good reason as to why this is ok. I can, however, see how these arrangements didn’t work out and the problems that resulted from them. For me, this is the bigger lesson and the best way I can explain to new believers why “one man, one woman” is important today. We can use these past chapters to see how having more than one lover can lead to big messes. We don’t know what, if any mess, will come out of David’s marrying Abigail and Ahinoam, but we can see how these actions may have affected Michal. In past chapters, we learned that Michal loved David, so much so that she betrayed her father Saul to protect her husband. Now, Saul has given her away to another man. Imagine how she must feel! One thing is for sure, women have come a long way, baby, and I’m glad my dad didn’t have a say-so about who I did or did not marry. (Though, in my case, I sorta wished I would have had a dad to steer me away from several men!)
Writing prompt: Michal
Write about Michal today and how she must have felt when Saul broke her bond with the man she loved. Or, do you have a forbidden love? If so, write about your heartbreak and pray for comfort.
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