Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba
Scripture References: (Michal) 1 Samuel 14:19; 18:20-28; 19:11-17; 25:44; 2 Samuel 3:13, 14; 6:16-23; 21:8; 1 Chronicles 15:29; (Abigail) 1 Samuel 25:1-42; 2 Samuel 3:3; (Bathsheba) 2 Samuel 11:2-3; 12:24; 1 Kings 1:11-31; 2:13-19; 1 Chronicles 3:5| Michal: Woman of Appearances |
Read 1 Samuel 18:10-30; 19:11-17; 2 Samuel 3:13-16; 6:12-23
Michal was the younger daughter of Saul.
Michal was David’s first wife.
Her name means “who is like God”
Saul was jealous of David and feared him because God was with him and was prospering all of his ways. He worked out a plan to have David marry his oldest daughter Merab so that the hand of the Philistines would be against him. However, David, did not feel worthy of such an offer.
Saul schemed up another plan after hearing that his daughter Michal loved David. David again didn’t feel worthy of such an offer and Saul presented a challenge that he hoped would bring David to death at the hand of the Philistines. God was with David and gave him victory and he won Michal as his wife.
Michal loved the idea of being married to David more than the reality of it.
David is described in the Bible as “ruddy, with a handsome appearance” (1 Samuel 17:42)
Michal cared for David enough to warn him to flee but she never obeyed Genesis 2:24 which tells us God’s intention in marriage is to “leave and cleave.” She didn’t leave her father Saul and cling to David, instead she left David and even lied about David’s character (1 Samuel 19:17) and added to the false accusations against him.
Michal was a woman who feared man more than she feared God. Her fear of man was a worldly characteristic that lead her to stay with Saul rather than her husband and even be given to another man instead of remain faithful to David.
Michal missed out on the opportunity to embrace the call of being the wife of a man after God’s own heart. It seems she only wanted the easy way out.
2 Samuel 6:16 –In this area of scripture we get to see what is going on in Michal’s heart.
2 Samuel 6:20 - This verse reveals the overflow of her heart through her words.
Luke 6:45 NASB “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
Here we see Michal’s love for appearance override her respect and submission to David, not only her husband but the King of Israel. Her influence was barren and her life bore no fruit physically nor spiritually. She worshipped at the altar of appearances and no depth of life or character became of her.
She became a woman who missed great opportunity! What opportunities is God placing before you? Are you praying through them and obtaining them or missing out?
| Abigail: Woman of Discretion |
Read 1 Samuel 25:1-42
Abigail was the wife of Nabal. She was “beauty” and he was “the beast”
Abigail means “cause of joy”
Nabal means “fool”
Proverbs 21:15 NKJV “It is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.”
Abigail is not only known for her beauty but for her intelligence. She is known as “the woman with brains and beauty.”
The Situation
“David leads his band of nomads to the wilderness of Paran, where they hope to scratch out a living by policing the area for the local ranchers. Although no contracts are signed -a custom of the day -they work hard protecting the herds of sheep from thieves and wild animals. At shearing time, the rich ranchers gather the herds to shave off their profits. Customarily, it is also the time when the owners remunerate the volunteer police for their services. Only a tightfisted miser would refuse to pay.” –Charles Swindoll
In verse 14 we notice Abigail was relational. She had good communication skills and was connected with the men who served her husband so she was able to receive an interceding message.
Proverbs 31:27 NASB “She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
A simple way to make good connections with others is to be approachable. What characterizes a woman who is approachable?
In verse 22 we notice she is wise as she thinks through was she needs to do in order to intercede successfully. She also exhibits action. Her wisdom moves her to take risks.
Proverbs 28:1 NASB “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
Abigail was a woman who didn’t allow her threatening circumstances to define her. Instead, she defined her threatening circumstances.
Verse 23 -Abigail approaches David with humility and knows her place. She refers to herself as “your maidservant” 6 times and refers to him as “my lord” 14 times.
Abigail came to David with a refined fire. An ungodly fire and zeal is born out of the flesh. A godly fire and zeal shows itself in peaceful characteristics.
James 3:13-18 NKJV “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
Abigail personifies this!
In verse 28 we see her godliness and knowledge of the Holy One.
1 Timothy 4:8 NKJV “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
In verse 29 we see her instill courage into David by reminding him of God’s deliverance of Goliath in the past! How wise! She reminded him of God’s faithfulness in the past and spoke over him of God’s faithfulness to his future.
A truly powerful woman is one who has control over her spirit.
Proverbs 25:28 NKJV “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.”
In both cases of Michal and Abigail, BOTH women spoke out of the overflow of what was going on in their hearts.
In verse 32, David acknowledges God’s hand in her actions and how God used it to prevent him from causing more bloodshed.
In verse 36 we see Abigail’s sensitivity to timing. Her communication skills were exemplary because she had the characteristic of patience.
Verse 39 -GOD takes care of the situation and David takes Abigail as his wife.
| Bathsheba: Woman of Display |
Read 2 Samuel 11:1-11
Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah, the most loyal of David’s men.
Bathsheba means “daughter of an oath”
She came from a God-fearing family and was the daughter of Eliam who was the son of Ahithophel.
Abigail was a woman of beauty and brains but Bathsheba was a woman with beauty who lacked the “brains”.
This incident with Bathsheba stained David’s character for the rest of his days.
1 Kings 15:5 NKJV “because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”
Bathsheba put herself in a position to be violated.
“Although David was to confess that his foul sin was his, and his alone, one wonders how far Bathsheba was the accomplice in such a sin, as well as its provocation. Had she been a careful, modest woman, surely she would have looked around the easily seen adjacent roofs, and if others had been looking, she would have been more appropriately modest in bathing herself. Further, when sent for David, had she been a true wife and a woman of principle she should have refused to obey the king’s summons.” -Herbert Lockyer
In contrast to Abigail who trusted God with the outcome of her marriage, Bathsheba took matters into her own hands. She used this as an opportunity to seduce rather than an opportunity to submit to God and her husband.
Godly men respect women who are a source of godliness in their life, not temptation.
1 Timothy 2:9a NKJV “in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation”
Bathsheba did however seem to learn from her mistakes and became the mother of Solomon. God gave her another chance and David’s confession of the whole incident is recorded in Psalm 51.
| Life Lessons: |
GOD GIVES US “TAYLOR MADE” TRIALS!
Michal - Trials make us bitter or better.
Abigail - You can choose to have a victim or victor mentality in your circumstances.
Bathsheba - Let pressing situations cause you to encourage rather than entice others.
Discussion Questions:
- In what ways, like Michal, are women today more concerned with the appearance of things?
- What stands out to most about Abigail and how does it affect you personally?
- In what ways are we living in a “Bathsheba” culture and how can we be women of modesty and discretion?
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