Daily Lesson for May 1, 2020

Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Chronicles 15 verses 25 through 29:

25 So David and the elders of Israel, and the commanders of the thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing. 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers; and David wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.

29 As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing; and she despised him in her heart."

If you have been around church -- especially Pentecostal church -- then you've probably heard this story preached in such a way as to condemn Michal, the daughter of Saul and wife of David, for her lack of spirit.  To many Michal has become a byword for the cold-hearted contempt for praise and worship.  This is exacerbated by certain translations which say Michal saw David Dancing and she despised him for "it""

But in her book "Womanist Midrash" Womanist scholar Wil Gafney points out that the there is no "it" in the Hebrew.  Michal simply despised David -- in her heart.  And Dr. Gafney then traces Michal's story to tell why.

Michal is what Gafney calls "a living widow", the only woman in all of Scripture who the Bible says loves a man who doesn't love her back. 

Given away as a war prize by her father the king to the young warrior David, Michal helps David escape her father's wrath by devising a plan for her husband's escape.  Her agency against her patriarchal father's brutality is inspiring and courageous.

But then Michal is left behind. Her father gives her away again in marriage to another man and her husband seems to forget about her.  In the intervening years David takes on wife after wife and concubine after concubine and seemingly sires children with them all.  But Michal has no children.  Her womb is shut, as sign perhaps of the toll of the trauma of her experience, or perhaps, her unwillingness to conceive a child with a man whose lust for other women outweighs his love for his first wife. 

And in the end, of course, that love will be David's undoing.

So no; Michal didn't dance when David brought the ark into Jerusalem -- but not because she couldn't. She wouldn't dance.

And neither would we.

NOTE: We're reading the whole Bible through this year.  Monday's Lesson will come from something found in the following:

Psalms 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68 126. Psalms 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132 127. 2 Samuel 6-7; 1 Chronicles 17