Day 127 (2 Samuel 6-7, 1 Chronicles 17) - Year 7
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. This is one of my favorite days of reading in all of Scripture. I love it. Let's go. We started with round two of the story where David brings the ark into Jerusalem and Michal is not pleased. So let's walk through that story.

After God struck Uzzah dead, David becomes afraid of God. We've talked about proper fear of the Lord before, and it's entirely different than being afraid of God. Proper fear of God, the kind that rightly understands his heart, is made up of delight and awe, and it draws you to God. But this is the kind of fear that drives a person from God. David doesn't bring the ark to Jerusalem. He keeps it at the house of Obed-Edom instead.

But then, once David sees how God is blessing the people who are near to him, his fears are dispelled and he remembers who God is. So he proceeds with bringing the ark to Jerusalem. When we get into the city, we encounter Michal and her displeasure. What's interesting right off the bat is that the text calls her Saul's daughter, not David's wife, even though she's both. But this focus gives us a bit of insight into their relationship.

She and David have a really rocky past. Her father even gave her to another husband, and then David took her back. And of course, there's the ongoing rift between David and Saul that may have affected how she viewed David and even how she viewed the Ark as well. The Ark was never important to her father when he was king, so why was David making such a big deal about it? We can't know exactly what she was thinking, but there's enough backstory for us to have a handful of possibilities.

So here's the scene. David comes dancing into the city wearing a linen robe and a linen ephod, so he's actually quite covered and not naked at all, despite what she says. She seems to be displeased that he's not covered with the royal robes. Maybe that goes against the royal protocol her dad kept? Or maybe she thinks he's trying to look humble? Or maybe she's still bitter at him for everything that happened in their marriage, or even for marrying other women? We have no idea.

David responds that he isn't concerned about what other people think. This is just about him and the Lord. That was his motivation, and she could expect that he would humble himself in even more ways that don't fit with the expectations for royalty. Scripture notes that Michal didn't have children. This could be because God thwarted her, but it might also suggest that there was a rift between her and David that never got resolved to the point of intimacy.

2 Samuel 7 is one of the most important chapters in all of Scripture. It starts out with David wanting to build a house for God. He talks to the prophet Nathan about it, and Nathan basically says, totally, do whatever you want. But it turns out that Nathan spoke too soon without seeking God. You may hear people say to follow your heart, but they don't.

But even the man after God's own heart doesn't get to follow his heart. And he doesn't always get everything he wants. We know this because later that night, God corrects Nathan's advice. So Nathan goes back and tells David, oops, don't follow your heart, follow your God. And by the way, God says the answer to this prayer is no.

But this no is followed with good news, including what's known as the Davidic Covenant. It has two parts to it—David's dynasty and Solomon's temple. God's like, I know you want to build me a house, but I'm going to build you a house. Not an actual house, but a family. And one of your sons in this Davidic dynasty will build an actual house for me. There are also parts of this prophecy that point to Christ and His eternal reign. And that's why this chapter is so important—

David basically responds with, David's humility and confidence combine beautifully in this passage. What was your God shot today? Where did you see God's character on display?

For me, this passage is always encouraging because King David, the man after God's own heart, gets a no in response to a prayer he prays. I feel like I get a lot of no's, so this made David more relatable for me. But what does this teach me about God? God doesn't respond to our prayers with a no because he's holding out on us. When I get a no from him, that is his kindest possible answer.

Because even in the no, God still has a good plan to glorify himself and to bless his people at the same time. His no is always for a greater yes. We may not always feel like it's greater. It probably won't always be an obvious upgrade like it was for David. But if we trust his heart, we can believe it even when we can't see it. He's where the joy is. ♪

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