David's Plan: 2 Samuel 3:12-16
It is easy to forget the Lord’s ways when we are focused on the world. We deal with the world often, and it is easy to get sucked into thinking like the world. The world often wants actions it can justify by its own standards, so we work to those standards instead of relying upon the Lord. It can lead to catch-22 situations.
Abner defects to David, but David sets an interesting condition. David demands the return of his wife, Michal. Is this a lovesick man who wants his first wife back? Or is there more going on in this story?
When Michal was with David, she loved him very much. She saved his life from Saul on at least one occasion. In that story, though, we hear about Michal worshipping the gods of Canaan as her house gods. While she loved David, she wasn’t fully devoted to David’s God. Could her worship of other gods have brought friction to the relationship?
There is also little doubt David loved Michal. However, David now has at least seven wives and children from a good percentage of them. It’s clear David loves women in general. It would seem out of character for David to not be interested in reacquiring intimate relations with Michal if he can, even if Michal had been given to another man by Saul for the past seven years.
There is a deeper story, however. Michal is Saul’s daughter. Thus, any offspring from Michal and David would have a legitimate biological claim to the throne of Benjamin and the remaining tribes of Israel. When David asks for Michal back, regardless of any personal motivation, this is the act of a king trying to work out a legitimate claim to the throne.
When Abner comes to David seeking to switch allegiances, Abner brings a good portion of Ish-bosheth’s military might with him. He also brings a good portion of the allegiance of the elders of the other tribes. David has almost everything he needs to claim the throne of the Hebrew people. The last piece he needs is a biological tie to the throne. When Michal returns to his house, he has reinstituted his connection to Saul’s reign. He has once more married into the royal family.
David demonstrates qualities of an incredibly shrewd human leader. David is aligning as many legitimate reasons as possible for him to claim full leadership of all the tribes. He’s tied a family connection to military superiority to the leadership of the elders of each tribe. Now he can take a run at being the king over all the Hebrew people.
The only thing David has forgotten is none of this really matters. David has God’s anointing. David already has all he needs. This story is about a worldly David working out a worldly strategy instead of being confident in the Lord. It is easy to forget the Lord’s ways when we are focused on the world.
