Household Idol
"Michal took the household idol and laid ot on the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at its head and covered it with clothes." 1 Samuel 19:13
This quote is taken from the period of time when David is beginning to distinguish himself as a warrior on the battlefield. God is blessing the people of God with victories and Saul is becoming increasingly jealous and paranoid about David's popularity. It says that this started when Saul heard the women singing this song,
"Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands." 1 Samuel 18:7
Instead of feeling flattered that they included him in the song, which he clearly didn't deserve, he becomes paranoid that David is plotting against him. Saul tries to manipulate the circumstances so that David will die on the battlefield, but David achieves victories and ends up marrying Saul's daughter Michal.
It is unclear to me how long Michal and David had been married at this point, but David become aware that men are coming to kill him, so Michal lets him down the back window, which is apparently near the city wall. Most likely soliders were watching for David at the city gate. When they come to get him at home, Michael uses a household idol as a way or making it appear that someone is in the bed. The word idol here is the Hebrew word "Teraphyiym" and while it can mean a household shrine or idol it doesn't seem to indicate a particular size.
Up until now, we haven't heard anything about an idol. We don't know if this was Michal's idol that she brought when they got married or if it was David's. It seems clear that as the husband he would have known of its existence. How seriously he took the worship of it or if it was merely a sign of past traditions and customs is unclear.
I think though that it is an indication of a compromise in David's life with tradition. He was willing to make small compromises due to the customs of his day. I think it is a warning to us that if this was possible with a man like David, who had a heart like David, then it is possible with us as well. I think this is telling us that we need to be consistently diligent to guard our hearts and minds against all forms of idolatry, whether person, place or thing. Unfortunately, if you look at David's son Solomon, he did fall into idolatry because of idols that his wife had.
In early years, Solomon wrote these words in Proverbs 4:23-25
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put devious lips far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you."
This quote is taken from the period of time when David is beginning to distinguish himself as a warrior on the battlefield. God is blessing the people of God with victories and Saul is becoming increasingly jealous and paranoid about David's popularity. It says that this started when Saul heard the women singing this song,
"Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands." 1 Samuel 18:7
Instead of feeling flattered that they included him in the song, which he clearly didn't deserve, he becomes paranoid that David is plotting against him. Saul tries to manipulate the circumstances so that David will die on the battlefield, but David achieves victories and ends up marrying Saul's daughter Michal.
It is unclear to me how long Michal and David had been married at this point, but David become aware that men are coming to kill him, so Michal lets him down the back window, which is apparently near the city wall. Most likely soliders were watching for David at the city gate. When they come to get him at home, Michael uses a household idol as a way or making it appear that someone is in the bed. The word idol here is the Hebrew word "Teraphyiym" and while it can mean a household shrine or idol it doesn't seem to indicate a particular size.
Up until now, we haven't heard anything about an idol. We don't know if this was Michal's idol that she brought when they got married or if it was David's. It seems clear that as the husband he would have known of its existence. How seriously he took the worship of it or if it was merely a sign of past traditions and customs is unclear.
I think though that it is an indication of a compromise in David's life with tradition. He was willing to make small compromises due to the customs of his day. I think it is a warning to us that if this was possible with a man like David, who had a heart like David, then it is possible with us as well. I think this is telling us that we need to be consistently diligent to guard our hearts and minds against all forms of idolatry, whether person, place or thing. Unfortunately, if you look at David's son Solomon, he did fall into idolatry because of idols that his wife had.
In early years, Solomon wrote these words in Proverbs 4:23-25
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put devious lips far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you."
