And David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How honourable did the king of Israel make himself to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the lewd fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!
David has just brought the ark into Jerusalem with shouting and dancing. He goes home to bless his household, and his wife meets him at the door with a sneer. Her words raise the question the whole scene turns on: was the king degrading himself, or was he worshipping?
The text does not call her David's wife. It calls her Saul's daughter, and commentators read that as deliberate.
No wonder that the Spirit of God calls her Saul's daughter. Why, I thought she was now David's wife. Yes, but what woman that day behaved less like it? She was "Saul's daughter" still. It was the genuine expression of her father. She had no right feeling towards her husband in this matter — and how near it was to his heart! Still less did she value the Lord's relation to Israel, shown by the bringing of the ark to Zion.
David came home to bless his family. What she called uncovering was only the setting aside of royal dress.
He returned to bless his own household. But Michal was in no condition to be blessed. Of course this uncovering only referred to David's removing his royal clothing. Michal was so blind in spirit that she could not see a simple truth: the greatest of human beings has no place of special honour before God. All are on the same humbled level.
Other passages use the word the same way.
Scripture often uses "naked" for the absence, not of all covering, but of the usual outer garment of one kind or another (see also 1 Samuel 19:24; 2 Samuel 6:20; Amos 2:16; John 21:7).
Her sneer was not random spite. It came from a settled preference for one side of David and blindness to the other.
"How the king of Israel honored himself today!" she exclaimed with sarcasm. David's linen robe and priestly ephod were contemptible in her eyes: the royal robes were what she valued. She could appreciate the king, but not the worshipper. And no doubt to any eye but the eye of faith, there was something ridiculous and unbecoming in the scene she had just witnessed. A king dancing, leaping and shouting in the presence of his subjects!
David does not answer on her terms. He names who he was standing before.
"It was before the Lord." Yes, that was the secret of his self-forgetfulness. To him, it was not in the presence of his people that he had acted like this, but in the presence of the Lord. Before his people it was no doubt quite right to wear his royal robes and behave with dignity — in short, to be every inch a king. But in the presence of the Lord, on a special day of thanksgiving, he was a worshipper more than a king. The plain linen garment and the priestly ephod suited him, not the splendid robes of state.
His reply also appeals to God's choice, and to what that choice says about the kind of man God wanted on the throne.
He reminds her that the Lord had chosen David as king above her father Saul and above all Saul's house. God's choice was a man who would humble himself before God, not one who always sought to proudly exalt himself.
Notice the timing. No one criticised David during his earlier failure with the ark. The sneer came after he put it right.
Earlier David had disobeyed God's command by having the ark carried on a new cart instead of by the Levites. We do not read that Michal or anyone else found fault with him then. But now he had judged his error and was acting in full agreement with the mind of God. At once Satan stirred up an adversary against him in his own home.
Marriage put her closer to David than anyone else. It did not give her his God.
Michal's heart was occupied with the thought of David's appearance. The ark of God does not have the first place in her soul, and so she is called here not the wife of David, but Saul's daughter. In her father's time the ark was never thought about, and she, brought up in that neglect, does not think of the ark now. For though she loved David (1 Samuel 18:20), she had no heart for God. The closest of earthly ties with the saints of God cannot bring the unrenewed heart into communion with Him.
- Root. Scripture names her "Saul's daughter," not David's wife. What she showed that day came from her father, in whose reign no one thought about the ark.
- Reversal. Michal saw a king lowering himself; David saw a worshipper before the Lord. She could value the crown but not the ephod.
- Ruling. David's whole defence is three words: "before the Lord." The God who chose him over Saul's house chose a man willing to be humbled.
- Reach. The sneer came only after David had corrected his mistake. When he did right, opposition rose in his own home.
- Result. Michal loved David, yet she had no heart for God. The closest earthly tie cannot bring an unrenewed heart into communion with Him.
And David said to Michal, It was before Jehovah, who chose me rather than thy father, and than all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of Jehovah, over Israel; and I played before Jehovah.
David has brought the ark of God up to Jerusalem, dancing in a plain linen garment instead of his royal robes. His wife Michal met him at the door with a sneer, and his reply points past her to the One he had been dancing before.
The first words of David's answer settle the whole dispute. He had not been performing for the crowd at all. (Jehovah is the name the ESV prints as "the LORD.")
David's reply makes it all clear. "It was before Jehovah." Yes, that was the secret of his self-forgetfulness. To him, it was not in the presence of his people that he had acted like this, but in the presence of Jehovah. Before his people it was quite right to wear his royal robes and behave with dignity — to show himself every inch a king. But in the presence of Jehovah, on a special day of thanksgiving, he was a worshipper more than a king. The grand robes of state did not suit him. What suited him was the plain linen garment and the priestly ephod.
David does not defend his behaviour by rank. He points to God's choice — a choice made over Michal's own father, Saul.
How dignified and withering was the rebuke of her husband! David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house... and I will celebrate before the LORD." It was the service of faith. Here was the king of Israel. The more God exalted him and established him, the more he used all his exaltation as an offering to the Lord. He felt himself all the more exalted because God was everything to his soul. At that moment nearness to God meant more to David than the throne God had given him, and David judged rightly.
That choice also says what kind of man God was looking for.
More than this, he reminds her that the Lord had chosen David as king above her father Saul and above all Saul's house. God chose a man who would humble himself before God, not one who was always trying to exalt himself. Therefore David would celebrate before the Lord (v.21).
"I will celebrate before the LORD" is not an apology. It is a promise to carry on.
Dancing in public before the ark may not have been a kingly act. But the joy of the worshipper made him forget the dignity of the king. Michal taunted him for lowering himself like a worthless fellow among his servants. His answer was that he would go lower still. He would be base even in his own eyes when it was in praise to the Lord (2 Sam. 6:20). Joy and gladness have great compelling power. When this joy is from God and with God, earthly appearances and earthly concerns become worthless.
Her complaint, quoted below in an older wording, was about clothes and appearances. It showed what her eyes could and could not see.
"How glorious was the king of Israel today!" she said sarcastically. She despised David's linen robe and priestly ephod. The royal robes were what she valued. She could appreciate the king, but not the worshipper. To any eye but the eye of faith, the scene she had just watched did look ridiculous and improper. A king dancing, leaping and shouting in the presence of his subjects!
Her contempt cost her something.
Michal did not appreciate the Lord's grace in her soul. From then on she was doomed to be far from a husband she failed to honour, when he showed that his heart was set to treat all else as nothing so that he might honour the Lord.
The timing of this attack is worth noticing.
Earlier David had disobeyed God's command. He had the ark carried on a new cart instead of by the Levites. We do not read that Michal or anyone else found fault with him then. But now he had judged his error and was acting in full agreement with the mind of God. At once Satan stirred up an adversary against him in his own home.
- Before — David's whole defence is the audience he had in mind: not his people, not Michal, but the Lord. That one phrase explains the linen instead of the crown.
- Chosen — He answers the taunt with God's choice of him over Saul's house. God picked a man who would humble himself, not one bent on exalting himself.
- Offering — David handed every step up back to God as worship. The higher God set him, the more he counted nearness to God his real height.
- Blind — Michal could value a king but not a worshipper. Without the eye of faith the scene looked only ridiculous, and her contempt left her far from her husband.
- Timing — The cart that broke God's order drew no criticism. The obedient path drew an enemy at his own front door. Doing right is often when opposition starts.
And I will make myself yet more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight; and of the handmaids that thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
David's wife has just mocked him for dancing before the ark, and his answer refuses to retreat: he will go lower, not higher. The verse puts one question to every worshipper — whose opinion decides the worth of what I do for God?
David does not defend his behaviour on its own terms. He treats the crown itself as material for an offering.
It was the service of faith. The more God lifted him up and made him secure, the more the king of Israel used all that greatness as an offering to the Lord. He felt himself lifted higher still, because God was everything to his soul. At that moment nearness to God meant more to David than the throne God had given him. And David judged rightly.
His kingship was not something he had climbed to. That is why lowering himself costs him nothing.
God's choice was a man who would humble himself before God, not one who always sought to proudly exalt himself. Therefore David would celebrate before the Lord.
The phrase is not self-hatred and not a performance. It describes what happens to a person's estimate of himself when he stands in God's presence — and the same light that shows him up shows God to him.
The flesh cannot understand what is fitting in the presence of the Lord. But those who know the Lord grasp how base they are in themselves when seen in the light of God's presence. That light not only exposes what they are; it also reveals what He is in all His love and grace.
One writer turns David's resolve into a prayer for himself and his readers.
David could bear the sneer of contempt from Michal, Saul's daughter, because he was acting before the Lord... "And I will yet be more vile than this, and will be base in my own sight." Precious determination! May it be ours, through grace. Base in our own eyes — happy in God. Humbled to the very dust as we feel our own vileness — lifted up on high as we feel the grace and loving-kindness of our God.
Michal was not the last to react this way.
He made himself ridiculous. At least that is what Michal, Saul's daughter, felt and said. She saw her husband forget his dignity so that he might exalt the Lord alone. The world often calls the worship God's children give Him ridiculous. The more that worship is according to God, the more the world will despise those who offer it. This is because the worshipper makes no account of himself.
Joy is what makes the trade look easy.
Dancing in public before the ark may not have been a kingly act; but the dignity of the king was forgotten in the joy of the worshipper... What a compelling power there is in joy and gladness! When this joy is from God and with God, appearances and worldly concerns lose all their worth.
Michal threw the maidservants at David as an insult. He turns her example around and expects honour from them.
The only right way to celebrate before the Lord was to humble himself. David would be willing to be more undignified than this for the honour of the Lord. As to the maidservants Michal spoke of, he knew that this would not lessen the honour they would give him. They had more sense than Michal. They would recognise that the man who takes a lowly place before the Lord is the man you can trust with authority over people.
The chapter calls Michal "Saul's daughter," not David's wife. That name is the key to the scene.
David's heart overflowed with joy. Michal's heart was busy with how David looked. The ark of God does not have first place in her soul, so the text calls her here not the wife of David, but Saul's daughter... though she loved David, she had no heart for God. Even the closest family ties with God's people cannot bring an unchanged heart into fellowship with Him.
- Chosen — David's answer rests on God's choice, not on his own record. A man God lifts up can afford to go low.
- Lowered — God's presence makes a man low in his own eyes. The same light shows him what God is like.
- Despised — worship that suits God looks ridiculous to the world. The worshipper has stopped counting himself.
- Honoured — the servant girls Michal sneered at are the ones who will honour David. You can trust a man who is low before God with authority over people.
- Divided — one house, two hearts. Joy filled David; appearances filled Michal. Close family ties cannot bring an unchanged heart near to God.
And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.
This chapter opened with celebration: the ark of God carried into the city with shouting, dancing, and a gift of food for every household. Its last line names the one person who stayed outside that joy, and the mark it left on her for life.
The verse names her by her father, not by her husband. One writer treats that name as the whole explanation.
No wonder that the Spirit of God calls her Saul's daughter. Why, I would have thought she was now David's wife. Yes, but what woman that day behaved less like it? She was "Saul's daughter" still. It was the genuine expression of her father. She had no right feeling towards her husband in this matter — and how close it was to his heart! Still less did she value what the bringing of the ark to Zion showed: the LORD's relation to Israel.
Her father's reign had neglected the ark, so the day that thrilled all Israel meant nothing to her.
Jerusalem was keeping high festival that day. All seem to have been of one accord except Michal, Saul's daughter, who did not enter into her husband's joy. "She despised him," we read, "in her heart" (1 Chron. 15:29), when she saw him dancing and playing before it. During her father's reign that ark had been neglected. Clearly its entrance into the city of David meant nothing to her. But that only showed how far she was from the current of God's thoughts. In this matter a wide gulf divided her from David. She had no part in his joy.
One short entry ties her barrenness straight to her scorn.
She did not share David's zeal for the Lord. When he brought up the ark and danced with joy before it, she despised him in her heart and even reproached him for it. Because of this she was barren the rest of her days. Michal shows how far beyond the natural mind the leadings of the Spirit of God are: compare 1 Cor. 2:14.
One writer reads the barrenness as God's own act, with a kindness hidden inside it.
God's government also stepped into this serious matter. He decided that Michal would have no children to the day of her death. A woman who ignores the things of God, shows little respect for her husband, and has no children must have a miserable life. But it is a mercy she had no children, for she could not have taught them the humility of true faith in the living God.
David had just blessed the people and handed food to every person there. One writer reads that scene as a picture of two kinds of kingship.
At the end he blesses the people, therefore, in the name of the LORD of hosts, and gives them all portions. We see the shadow of the Melchizedek king, the opposite of Saul and his independence — and we find Saul reproduced in the pride of his daughter. But Michal is therefore without children to the day of her death. The spirit of independence must be barren. The spirit of service is the royal one, as surely as "the lesser is blessed by the greater."
The verse closes more than a womb. Another writer traces where her contempt came from, and where it left her.
Michal stays in her proud isolation, and barrenness marks her until her death, to her shame. From that time on she is a stranger to David. The character of this daughter of Saul reflected that of her father. Saul showed hatred; Michal showed contempt for the LORD's anointed. There can be no more fellowship between her and the king.
Marriage to a man of faith did not make her a woman of faith. Other marriages in Scripture show the same gap.
The wives of men of faith have not always been on the same level as their husbands. Sarah advised Abraham to use human methods to secure the promises. Zipporah clearly stood in the way, for a time, of Moses acting faithfully in his family (Ex. 4:24-26). Michal mocked when David showed the joy and liberty that a sense of grace always gives. Faith must be a personal matter between the soul and God. No one can receive it second hand.
- Heart — Contempt started inside her, at a window, before she said a word. The ark had meant nothing in her father's house, so the day meant nothing to her.
- Name — Scripture still calls her "Saul's daughter," not David's wife. The name is the diagnosis: her father's pride came back in her.
- Womb — God's government closed her womb; chance did not. There was mercy in it: she could not pass on to children a faith she never had.
- House — Barrenness matches the spirit behind it. Independence bears no fruit; the serving spirit of David is the royal one.
- You — Faith is never inherited from a marriage or a family. It is personal, between one soul and God.