Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Mismatched Mates

Reflections on 1 Sam. 25:36-44

Just as the boy wearing mismatched socks remarked that he had another pair just like them in his dresser at home, so also David had mismatched mates at home. David’s marriage to Abigail stands in contrast to his marriage to Michal. Although Michal was the daughter of a king and Abigail was the wife of a rich man who feasted like a king, the similarities end there.

Michal loved David, but Abigail respected him. David won Michal by killing 200 men, but he won Abigail by sparing the lives of many men. Michal preserved David’s life by lying while Abigail preserved David’s integrity by keeping him from taking revenge. Michal brought an idol into his house (1 Sam. 19:13), but Abigail brought five handmaids. Michal would later resent David praising God with female servants (2 Sam. 6:20), but Abigail was willing to wash the feet of David’s servants. Michal would call David a vulgar fellow (2 Sam. 6:20), but Abigail called him “lord” fourteen times (Bergen, 1996, p. 251).

Actually, the mismatched wives did not live together in the same home. When Saul was seeking David’s life, Michal had helped him escape. Saul then gave her to another man, Palti, who was less of a threat to his throne. Abigail was not, however, the only wife in David’s home. David had previously married a woman from Jezreel by the name of Ahinoam (NASB and NIV have “had also taken/married” for the Hebrew perfect tense). Jezreel was a settlement in the same area of Judah as Carmel (Josh. 15:55-56). It was not the village with the same name in Issachar (Josh. 19:18). Having two wives probably indicated that David had become a man of great importance though not yet recognized as king.

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