ABOUT MICHAL

0. About Michal

a) Sometimes love is not enough - especially if that love is little more than the strong emotional attraction that grows between a hero and an admirer. To Michal, Saul's daughter, the courageous young David must have seemed like a dream come true. Her feelings about this hero gradually became obvious to others, and eventually, her father heard about her love for David. He saw this as an opportunity to get rid of his rival for the people's loyalty. He promised Michal's hand in marriage in exchange for David's success in the impossible task of killing 100 Philistines. But David was victorious, and so Saul lost a daughter and saw his rival became even more popular with the people.

b) Michal's love for David did not have time to be tested by the realities of marriage. Instead, she became involved in saving David's life. Her quick thinking helped him escape, but it cost her Saul's anger and her separation from David. Her father gave her to another man, Palti, but David eventually took her back.

c) Unlike her brother Jonathan, Michal did not have the kind of deep relationship with God that would have helped her through the difficulties in her life. Instead she became bitter. She could not spare David's joyful worship of God, so she hated it. As a result, she never bore David any children.

d) Beyond feeling sorry for her, we need to see Michal as a person mirroring our own tendencies. How quickly and easily we become bitter with life unexpected turns. But bitterness cannot remove or change the bad things that have happened. Often bitterness only makes a bad situation worse. On the other hand, a willingness to respond to God gives him the opportunity to bring good out of the difficult situations. That willingness has two parts: asking God for his guidance and looking for the guidance in his Word. 

1. What were her strengths and accomplishments?

a) Loved David and became his wife.

b) Saved David's life.

c) Could think and act quickly when it was needed. 

2. What were her weaknesses and mistakes?

a) Lied under pressure.

b) Allowed herself to become bitter over her circumstances.

c) In her unhappiness, she hated David for loving God. 

3. What can we learn from her life?

a) We are not as responsible for what happens to us as we are for how we respond to our circumstances.

b) Disobedience to God almost always harms us as well as others. 

4. What are the key verses?

a) 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. (2 Samuel 6:16 NIV)

b) Michal's story is told in 1 Samuel 12 - 2 Samuel 6. She is also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 15:29.