Killing Words

Killing Words

Michal

Read: 2 Samuel 6:9-23

Michal must have felt like a Ping-Pong ball. When David fled for his life, Saul spitefully gave Michal away to be another man’s wife (see 1 Samuel 25:44). Years later, David became king of Israel and sent for Michal. Her second husband, Palti, followed along behind her, crying (see 2 Samuel 3:14-16). Considering the attitude toward women at the time, it’s impossible to tell whether David wanted Michal back because he loved her or because he saw her as a possession that rightfully belonged to him.

David and Michal couldn’t possibly return to the relationship they had known as young newlyweds. They had spent many years apart. Michal had been the wife of a man who apparently loved her, and David had added other wives. Still, Michal was David’s first wife. Unfortunately, Michal’s attitude toward God and her husband killed the possibility of forging a new relationship.

When David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the capital city of Jerusalem, people streamed into the streets. David joined the procession, not as king, but as a servant of God. Overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, he danced through the streets to express his feelings to God. As Michal looked out the window, she despised her husband for what she saw as a loss of dignity. Michal didn’t try to understand David’s motivation. She went out to meet him with sharp sarcasm. Her remarks probably hurt David and caused a permanent separation between them.

Even when another person controls the circumstances of our lives, we control our attitudes and words. We can blurt out any criticism or sarcastic comment that comes to mind, or we can try to understand the other person’s motivation and emotions. When we feel contempt for someone, we can ask God to help us change our attitude. That way, we won’t be guilty of killing with words.

The tongue has the power of life and death.

Proverbs 18:21 (NIV)