2 Samuel 3:12

ABNER PROPOSED A COVENANT WITH DAVID

"And Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron, saying, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you." And he said, "Good, I will make a covenant with you; but one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face, unless you bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face." Then David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed at the price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines." And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go, return"; and he returned."

Payne explained this demand on the part of David as a maneuver that would, "Greatly strengthen David's claim to Saul's throne; and the fact of Ishbosheth's meek compliance is significant."[13] We agree with Tatum that, "David did not seek the return of Michal in love, but rather as a political move."[14] It is also perfectly evident that Michal and Paltiel loved each other, and there is hardly a more pitiful scene in all the Bible than that of the brutal, arbitrary separation of this man and his wife by the self-seeking, power-brokers of that era. "The feelings of Michal were not consulted here. The love which she once had for David had been fully transferred to Paltiel, because two people cannot live separate lives for as long as Michal and David had been separated, and then pick up the threads of their old affections again."[15] It is virtually certain that Michal never forgave David for his breaking up her marriage with Paltiel. This would explain her mocking reference to David at a later time.

When once the God-given law of marriage has been violated, the law which requires a man and his wife to live together "until death do us part" - once that command is broken, there is no way to repair the resulting damage to human lives. God has revealed no "remedy" to cure the mess that people make for themselves with multiple marriages, divorces, etc. Why? There really is no way to make "everything all right" after the law of God has been flouted and disobeyed.

And, since God has not given any "remedy" for such sad conditions, people should be warned against letting any church or any preacher or religious prelate lay down the rules on how to "fix the situation." Some things CANNOT be "fixed." DeHoff put it this way: "Some of the problems, no human being can solve."[16]

Young pointed out that what David did (by taking Michal back as his wife) was against God's law. "According to the law of Deuteronomy 24:1-4, David could not legitimately receive his wife back after her marriage to Paltiel."[17] This action must therefore be reckoned among the shameful sins of this "man after God's own heart." There was only one way in which David was entitled to be so-called, and that lay in his absolute refusal to love and trust any other god except the Lord God. Even when condemned for his gross and lustful sins, David continued to confess his unworthiness, seek God's forgiveness, and pledge again to walk in the paths of righteousness.

"Michal ... whom I betrothed at the price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines" (2 Samuel 3:14). The snide critical comment that, "This passage knows nothing of David's paying double the price demanded,"[18] is typical of the unfairness of much criticism. There is no contradiction whatever between what is said here and what was reported in 1 Samuel 18:25,27. What David mentioned here was not what he paid, but what the price was! And in both accounts, the price is given as a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. Compare 1Sam. 18:24,2 Samuel 3:14 here. What David actually paid is not mentioned here.