Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Samuel 4-7.

Shortly after the death of Abner, two brothers killed Ish-Bosheth, cut off his head, and took it to David, expecting to be rewarded for doing so (at least, I assume that is what they expected).  Instead David had them executed for the murder of Ish-Bosheth.  I mention this only because it continues the pattern I referred to in yesterday’s blog.  However, I want to focus on the interaction between Michal and David after David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem.  While the ark was being transported, David became caught up in the celebration and worship, completely forgetting himself and his dignity.  When Michal, David’s wife and King Saul’s daughter, became embarrassed by David’s behavior (and perhaps a little jealous).  She appears to have felt that his behavior was beneath the dignity of a king.  Then, when David came into his palace, intending to bring the celebration to his own household, Michal rained on his parade and disparaged him and his joy.  David responded by saying that he would be humiliated in order to bring praise to God.  David also made another important point.  Michal was concerned that David had made a fool of himself in front of “slave girls”, those of lower status than herself (and David).  David claimed that he would humiliate himself even further in order to praise God, and would be honored by those “slave girls” for it.  So, we should keep in mind these lessons.  First, we should not be ashamed to express our joy as we worship the Lord.  Second, we may be surprised by how much others respect us for being willing to express our love of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.