And Michal, Saul’s daughter looked through a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 2Samuel 6:16 KJV
Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 2Samuel 6:16 NASB
The account of David bringing up the ark of God to Jerusalem is given to us in 2Samuel 6. It followed his ill-fated attempt earlier which led to the death of Uzzah. Having discovered the Scriptural way for the ark to be carried, David led the procession to Jerusalem with joy, his life-long desire nearing fulfillment (Psalm 132).
The only discordant note in the entire story is sounded in verse 16. Here, Michal, characteristically referred to as Saul’s daughter and not David’s wife, looks out of her window. As she sees the devotion and joy of David as He rejoices before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. The word “despise” carries the thought of disdain or to think someone a vile person. It was not merely that she disapproved, but that she utterly condemned him in her heart. His devotion to God evoked the strongest passions of her carnal heart.
Take that equation – the depth of devotion in a spiritual man resulting in the depth of hatred in the carnal heart – and bring it forward one millennium. Think now of the Lord Jesus. Never was there devotion and consecration to His Father as was displayed in His life. No one had ever lived “before the Lord” as did He. Can we begin then to comprehend something of what the prophet Isaiah meant when he penned, “He was despised” (Is 53:3)?
His moral perfections condemned all the moral bankruptcy around Him. Faced with a beauty that revealed our ugliness, our two options were to fall at His feet in worship or to utterly despise Him. Sadly, the natural heart chose the latter.
Whatever measure of hatred welled up in the heart of Michal, it was exceeded by the response of men to the Lord Jesus. The firestorm of hatred which He endured had an additional element: it was stoked by the malice of Satan toward Him. Its ultimate and fullest expression was seen in the “… hour and the power of darkness” at Calvary.
There is another poignant difference to be noted. Because of her behavior, Michal was rejected. David set her aside and her remaining days were barren. But, in contrast, the Lord Jesus was not only despised, but He was the One Who was “rejected of men.” But in His rejection, He was not barren or unfruitful. He always brought forth “fruit in season,” notwithstanding the treatment He was receiving from men. Though despised and rejected by men, the “pleasure of the Lord prospered” in His hand.
Consider
Can you think of any others in the Scripture who were despised by men and notice them in comparison and contrast with the Lord Jesus Christ?