In the Old
Testament, the “ark of the covenant” was the most important symbol that God’s
people possessed. When this rectangular,
gold covered box with the two angels on top was nearby, God’s presence was with
them in a special way. It is easy, then,
to understand why, when David became king, he wanted the ark brought to his new
capital, Jerusalem.
As the ark
entered the city, a great celebration broke out. In fact, we are told that David “danced with
all his might” and that the people “brought up the ark with shouts” (2 Samuel
6:15). They offered sacrifices. They had a feast. The Lord’s blessing was given. Everyone was rejoicing.
Well, not
quite everyone. “As the ark was entering
the city, Michal (David’s wife)… watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and
dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart” (verse 16).
How could
that be? How could the same event make
David so excited and his wife so angry?
Why did they react so differently?
Well, Michal
and David were trying to please different audiences.
When David
came home after the celebrations, Michal sarcastically said, “How the King of
Israel has distinguished himself today!”
She thought that he had embarrassed himself by running around among the
common people. She thought it was wrong
that he was out there without his robe and crown acting like “any vulgar fellow
would!” (Verse 20) In modern language
she was asking, “What would people think?”
I love
David’s response. “It was before the
Lord… I will celebrate before the Lord” (verse 21). He goes on to say, “I will become even more
undignified than this”. In other words,
“You ain’t seen nothing yet!” David was
going to celebrate the things of God whether anyone else approved or not. As long as God was happy with him, he was not
concerned that others might think that he was “foolish”.
David’s
audience was “God”. Unfortunately, Michal’s
audience was “everyone else”.
Sadly, this
is not the only time in scripture that we see someone choosing the wrong
audience. In the New Testament we read, “Many
among the leaders believed in Him (Jesus).
But … they would not confess their faith… for they loved praise from men
more than praise from God” (John 12:42-43).
So, the
question becomes, “Where are you in this story?” If you were there, you would be on the
street celebrating with David, or would you be hiding behind the curtain in the
window with Michal?
Who is your
audience?
The answer
to that question makes all the difference.
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