Michal's Story 1 and 2 Samuel

My name is Michal. This is my story. I was King Saul's daughter given to David to wife. I have been much ostracized over the years because of my despising David and criticizing him. Few have looked at this from my point of view and so I want to speak out now in hopes of finally being heard.

I loved David. At first, I thought my sister was going to be given to David to wife so when she wasn't and I was, I was so happy. I knew that my father, Saul, was using me as a political tool for his own purposes to snare David, but I loved David so much, I didn't care. David behaved himself very wisely in those days. He was very popular and the people loved him. My father was afraid of him but I wasn't. He was so strong and good looking. I really looked up to David and was so pleased to marry him.

I was so loyal to David. My father Saul wanted to kill him but I did a very brave thing in sticking my neck out for David by letting him down through a window so he could escape, risking my own life to do so.

I loved David, but what the scripture never says is that David loved me. There are a lot of words about him being pleased to be the King's son-in-law but nothing about his love for me at all, only for my brother, Jonathan. David's loyalty was to my father even when my father didn't deserve it and yet my loyalty was to David. I believe that this may have been the beginning of David's bad choices in life. I think he may have married me for political gain.

After my brave move of helping David flee for his life from my very own father, David rewarded me by marrying other women. He did not come for me until much later, and when he did come for me, I thought it was because he loved me but I learned that by this time, he was very wrapped up in political maneuvering and many other women. My father used me as a political pawn a second time by giving me to Paltiel. Paltiel cried very much when I was taken from him but I could never tell if this was because he loved me or he loved the power the marriage gave him.

When David brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, I was not disgusted with him for dancing naked. That never happened. He was wearing a linen ephod. The reason I despised his dancing was because I knew the darkness of his heart that was happening. He had been using women for his own personal pleasure at the expense of all of us for a very long time. He was using women for political gain. How could I not take that personally and be angry with him? And then him acting like he was some godly, wonderful person by dancing exuberantly at the return of the Ark of the Covenant? Yes, I despised him. I despised his hypocrisy.

It is true I never had any children of my own. But please understand that I never had any children the first time I was married to David nor when I was married to Paltiel so I had problems with infertility in the first place. However, the mention of my not having children is not what it seems. People say God judged me for criticizing and despising David but the reason I never had any children was because, even if I could have had any children, David never slept with me again. Looking at me was like looking in the mirror and rather than facing himself, he ran from himself and after this, took Bathsheba and murdered Uriah. I gave him a warning call and he didn't listen. I, the wife who once loved him wholeheartedly and could not bear his hypocrisy, he utterly abandoned.

What I find so interesting and fascinating is how David, who obviously murdered a man, took that man's wife for himself, had hundreds of wives and concubines is hailed with consistently being called "a man after God's own heart" in pulpits everywhere whereas I was David's loyal wife but used as a pawn in his games and somehow, I am known as a barren despiser. Why am I not remembered for saving his life? Why am I not remembered for my loyalty? David is remembered for his youthful wisdom and loyalty and the great man he started out as. When he was young, that was true. I knew him then and this is why I fell in love with him in the first place. He behaved himself very uprightly and wisely. But he became corrupt and, even after he repented for his sins of murder and lust regarding Bathsheba and Uriah, he still used women like the young virgin he took simply to get heat from when he could have chosen any of his wives or concubines. He became so corrupt, he never really made his way back. But he is remembered as a great man and I, who never murdered anyone, who never stole people for myself to do my bidding, who never sawed people asunder am the one who is despised as a bad person because I tried to tell David the truth about himself. Maybe I didn't do a great job of getting my point across but I did my best. The only choices I had in my life were to remain loyal to the situations I was put in or not. David was never loyal to me. I was tossed around at the whims of men all my life. So were all us women. And we were just supposed to accept that we were chattel and never say a peep. Pointing out the hypocrisy of men to some is obviously a sin in their minds worse than murder. I will never be sorry for trying to wake David up. I just wanted him to be the man I fell in love with.

This writing is the copyright of Lynne Johnson-Yohnk and was posted with her permission. Additional articles may be viewed here.

Page added June 26, 2025

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