Tag Archives: Abner

Michal: The Assassination of a King

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I seriously don’t know how Michal found the will to live. She was a woman who took action though.  Her husband had multiple wives and children. Yet they might have made good allies. Still, at least one came from a family that was anti-Saul. There were conspiracies. There were those against her. If I had been Michal, I  would have been so terrified at the death of Abner.

Had she gotten physically sick after Abner’s death like her brother, Ishbosheth?

Ishbosheth’s “hands were feeble”  when he heard about Abner’s death.  Could a war start again? Could he be next? The text implies that Ishbosheth was physically sick from worry. He laid down in the hot afternoon when Saul’s former captains, Rechab and Baanah, stabbed and then beheaded him. They took his head and raced through the night to meet David in Hebron. The two assassins thought that David would be pleased to see the son of a man who tried to kill him. Did Michal see her brother’s decapitated head? Perhaps David was temporally in his wife’s favor when he put Rechab and Baanah to death. She was most likely in a state of shock. David was ensuring her protection and put Ishbosheth’s head in Abner’s sepulchre.

It still didn’t change the fact, though, that yet another family member was brutally murdered. Had she felt justice was served with the executions of Rechab and Baanah? Their betrayal was shameful because it broke the code of loyalty the tribe of Benjamin valued.

Really–who could Michal trust?

Sources
2 Samuel 4

Michal: Persuasion, Party, and Murder

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Abner presented David’s case to be king to the elders of Israel. He persuaded the Benjaminites and the rest of Israel to switch sides. Was Michal part of the things he spoke about in conversations? The daughter of Saul was pleased to be united with David and thought he was the true king–that could persuade people. Who knows, but she had to act a certain way for people to believe what Abner was saying.

“And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin.”

She must have conducted herself well. David was pleased enough to throw Abner a feast.

Did Michal attend? Would she have been allowed? Thanks to her, Abner was honored and  more people recognized David as king. It was a sort of celebration for her arrival—even if she had come back as a prop and trophy.

The feast was a signal that David trusted Abner, and Michal and other Benjaminites had security. This proved untrue, and way too soon, she was reminded she couldn’t let her guard down.

Not long after the feast, Abner was dead.

Murdered by David’s nephews, Joab and Abishai, in revenge for their brother’s death during the war between the houses of Saul and David.

How could Michal trust David now? He made it a point for all the people to know it wasn’t his fault and Joab would be responsible. David gave an emotional performance at Abner’s burial. He “wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.”

There’s a probability that Michal was one of those people.  Was she also scared?

Abner’s death was terrifying for the house of Saul. This was a warning to watch out.

Source
2 Samuel 3

 

 

Michal: Relationship Rumors and Allegiances

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Okay, the ever popular question surrounding Jonathan and David:Was Jonathan gay?

I don’t know the answer to that. But I wonder how Michal felt about the close relationship of her husband and brother.

I see the Princess Caroline of England (1713-1757) relating somewhat to Michal in this case. Caroline was childless and unmarried which caused grief—especially when it came for her love toward a certain Lord Hervey. He was married, bisexual, had affairs with the ladies at court and possibly with Caroline’s brother.

Now I think David was a noble man who followed God’s commands—including polygamy. It’s a known fact that many people in the Bible struggled with it. Though David was lawfully married to his other wives (before the real craziness), it would be difficult to know of his other wives with children. I also don’t believe David was gay, but he recognized Jonathan’s love publicly: “thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women” (2 Samuel 1:26). That may have also had a crushing effect on her heart has well.

Princess Caroline died suddenly but her goodness and sadness was well-known.

As for Michal, she still lived long after Saul and her brothers died. It’s hard to imagine how she managed. She wasn’t returned to David after Saul’s death. Rather, war went on between the houses of Saul and David—started by her cousin Abner and David’s nephew, Joab.

Abner put her surviving brother Ishbosheth on the throne. It wasn’t until Ishbosheth accused Abner of taking Saul’s concubine, Rizpah, for himself that Abner decided to switch allegiances to David, the stronger house.

David sent messengers to Abner to bring him “Michal, Saul’s daughter,” and Ishbosheth that said, “Deliver me my wife Michal” to seal the deal with Abner.

And, oh, what went on when Michal found out she had to go also sparks debate…

Michal:Trail of Tears

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The princess was going back to her beloved prince. It should have been a fairytale ending. But real stories with real princesses and princes seldom do.

In this case, the woman was being led back to her husband she was separated from for nearly two decades. In back of her, her other husband was “weeping”.

Finally the man leading the entourage addressed the weeping man. It’s a short passage:

“Go, return. And he returned.”

Michal couldn’t turn back though. She needed to go forward and gather more courage than ever.

She had experienced fearful situations. But was she fully prepared for the terrors that awaited her?

72px-Rose_of_sharon_Icon.svgNotes and Sources:
2 Samuel 3
Image: Abner sends Michal back to David from Maciejowski Bible (Morgan Bible)