"Good," said David. "I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me." – 2 Samuel 3:13

Today's Scripture Reading (May 5, 2022):  2 Samuel 3

American writer and civil war veteran Ambrose Bierce defined 'love' this way; "Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage." It is a cynical thought. But part of the problem with love is that it is not self-sustaining. Love has a shelf-life, an expiry date that is placed on every relationship. It lasts for about eighteen months. I am always a little nervous about anyone who gets married in that first eighteen months of knowing each other, knowing that they haven't reached the end of the shelf life of their love. Love is not something that we fall into once forever. If we are going to love someone forever, we must keep falling in love over and over again.

Bierce can argue that marriage cures love only because marriage carries us beyond the shelf life of love, and if we haven't worked at our relationship, love naturally dies. It is not that the shelf life of love can't be extended. But it takes work. And sometimes, we don't want to work at love. We seem to think that it should come to us naturally. And so, we chase after one eighteen-month relationship after another, always giving in to the fresh love that comes up naturally in our lives, and discarding the old love that has now died on the shelf.

Abner has offered to come over to David. Saul's general has lost faith in the leadership of Saul's son, Ish-bosheth. It is good news for David, an indication that the civil war between Benjamin and Judah might be nearing an end. But David has a request; if Abner is going to defect, he wants him to bring Michal, his wife, with him. But this isn't likely because of love. David married eight wives, but most of them he married for political reasons. And that included Michal, the daughter of Saul.

There is no doubt that Michal, at one point, had fallen in love with David. But Saul saw Michal's love as a way to control David, and David saw Michal as a way to legitimately grab the throne of Israel by becoming Saul's son-in-law. Michal was doomed to be never more than a pawn to be used between two powerful men. But when everything finally fell apart between Saul and David, Saul had taken his daughter back from David and given her as a wife to another man.

But now David wants her back, but likely for some very unromantic reasons. David had married her with an unusual dowry agreement. Saul had demanded that If David wanted to marry Michal, the price for her was the lives of two hundred Philistines. David had agreed and had paid the price. To have her taken away from him was an affront to David's pride. He likely even believed that Michal was his property because he had paid the price for her. But even more importantly, the political reason still stood. Being the son-in-law of Saul gave David legal cause to take the throne of Israel, especially with the deaths of the other sons of Saul. Michal continued to be a pawn used by powerful men.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 4

Personal Note: Happy birthday to my daughter, Alyssa. I am so proud of the woman you have become.