S122P5 – The man David: a blessed husband
1 Sam. 19:13-17a
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. So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats’ hair for his head. Then Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?”
He was not wanted for any real crime. Her husband had been a high ranking member of the ruling authority and seemingly on his way even further up the ranks. They enjoyed a life of fellowship with the social elite, and their reputation as a power couple was impeccable. Then, something changed. That husband who had been so lauded and valued was getting too much attention and gaining too much public favor. When they came to the door looking for him, she refused to give him up. He was guilty of nothing but greatness, and she knew it. She would rather place herself in their cross hairs than play a role in him losing his liberty or even his life.
David already had hit it big when he married the king’s daughter. That would have been an enormous honor. He certainly would have felt like he was “in” with the king at that point. He was on his way up quickly, but just as quickly he found himself running for his life. There is irony in his future when we consider what David’s wife did to save him here. She went against the king, her own father, unsure of the punishment it might bring. His wife was that good, that faithful, that supportive, and David should have known how blessed he was to have such a woman. Yet, he would go on to take the beauty of a woman and abuse it. He would pursue another more like one would pursue the possession of property.
David missed a lot of what God showed him in his life. There are several recorded events that perhaps seemed important only in the moment but that should have been a lesson for his future. God led him to a blessed marriage, but David somehow forgot about the sanctity of that union. When he pursued Bathsheba, this event could not have been at the forefront of his mind. Had it been, he would have honored her relationship with Uriah and not thought of ruining their union for the sake of his own gain. Father, give us wisdom to recognize the lessons You have for us to learn so that we can live more faithfully.