The Consequences of Pride: 2 Samuel 6:16-23
As they say, pride goes before the fall. How many people, myself included, are down-to-earth rational human beings until they get a dose of popularity? When notoriety comes around, we want more. It changes us. It alters who we are and what we desire.
As the ark comes to Jerusalem, Michal, David’s wife, looks upon David with scorn. A sacrifice is made, a celebration ensues, people are fed. After the people leave, David and Michal get into an argument in which David argues spirituality and Michal argues behavior. The argument turns bitter, becoming the basis for David and Michal no longer having intimate relations. The result of this argument is Michal dies without being allowed to produce an heir to the throne.
Many people look at Michal’s comments as a blot against her character. They see her as judgmental, rigid, and unspiritual. Some people argue the final sentence in the chapter paints her barrenness as God’s judgment and proof David was right. She probably is bitter about being his first wife and having to watch as he develops a harem and produces children with them. Yet, I think there is more here to study than a woman’s bitterness.
Remember the context. David moves his capital to Jerusalem. He wants the Ark of the Covenant to be there, and he moves it without consulting the Lord. As a result, Uzzah dies. David then steals God’s blessing from a regular man in his kingdom and after doing so dances in a way that offends his wife. When the husband and wife discuss the issue, David refuses to listen and uses his spirituality as a means for divisiveness in their relationship.
In the argument, David emphasizes how the Lord chose him over Saul, which is true from a certain point of view. God did choose David over Saul. However, God chose David over Saul after Saul proved himself disobedient with a lack of repentance. It isn’t like God only backed Saul until a better candidate came along. God supported Saul until Saul left God in disobedience. Once Saul turned from God, God chose David.
Listening to David’s arguments, there is a sense of David losing his humility. He hasn’t come before the Lord to seek His will in any of this. The desire to forgive and find relationship he demonstrated earlier with Abner and the Hebrew elders is gone from David’s character. In the past, David worked hard to make sure his actions didn’t cause people to stumble in their relationship with God or with him. The humble David we knew hiding in the wilderness is changing to a proud king accustomed to getting his way.
David is full of himself. David is not the man he was while Saul was king. Moving the ark, stealing God’s blessing from other people, making a show of himself dancing, and ultimately abandoning his wife are all evidence of his growing pride. As they say, pride goes before the fall.
