1 Samuel 25:42-44
Verse 43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives.
David has just revealed a flaw in his humanity, his desire of women. David had been given Michal, the daughter of Saul, as his wife but had left her behind when he fled and started his running from the king. Now he has taken Abigail as his wife and in our reading today we see that he had also married a woman from Jezreel.
While it wasn’t uncommon for kings to have multiple wives as daughters were often given as tokens of peace between countries, David wasn’t yet a king and other than Michal, these women weren’t given to David as tokens. Michal had loved David and begged for her dad to give her to the young warrior as his reward. But Saul was happy to change her marriage status as soon as the chase started and gave her to another man. Whether David knew it at this time or not isn’t clear.
It seems he had taken a second wife somewhere along the line and though we don’t know much about her, we know he had willingly taken her to be his wife and we later learn that she was the mother of David’s oldest son. She was also from Jezreel which was in the northern part of Israel meaning he may have taken her as his wife prior to fleeing Saul towards the south but since there are no specifics about the beginning of their relationship we don’t know for sure.
And then there was Abigail, the wife of the rich fool. David was clearly taken with her, it could have been her beauty, wisdom or maybe her spunk. No matter the reason, she had captured David’s heart and was ready to serve him in any way possible.
No matter what he saw in each woman, this was a step away from God’s order of a man having one wife. Yes, other men in the Bible had two wives but it was never for the best of relationship. And just like Abraham and Jacob before him, problems would arise because of this stepping out of God’s natural design for marriage.
This can stand as a reminder for us that God has put in place an order to how things should be and when we don’t do life God’s way, we are only making life rougher for ourselves. Sin always has consequences – some felt right away, others felt later. We need to choose obedience to Him.
Making It Personal
What choice have you made that you knew was stepping outside His will? What consequences have you experienced? Have you repented about that choice?
Making It Personal Kids
What is something that you have done that you know Jesus wouldn’t be happy about? How do you know it is something that Jesus would be unhappy about? Have you told Him you are sorry for doing it?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for giving us the truth of how You desire us to live. Give us humble hearts that desire to obey You and Your will each and every time we make a decision. In Jesus’ name, amen.