Fool’s Gold

Then Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife. David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives. 1 Samuel 25:42-43 NASB

Wife – Number 2 and Number 3. Of course, we all know the story of Abigail and Nabal. We know that Abigail intervenes in David’s plan of revenge and saves her husband, Nabal. We know that Nabal dies a few days later and subsequently David takes Abigail to be his second wife. And then there’s that little extra verse. “David had also taken Ahinoam.” If you have two, why not three? Or eight, as it will eventually turn out. Plus at least ten concubines. And nineteen children (or more). But it all starts here—or maybe not. Maybe it starts with Saul’s double-dealing with Merab. Maybe it starts with the treatment of these women as trophies, exchange collateral or desire-fulfillment. It is interesting that after a rather full description of Abigail’s sense of propriety and a clear demonstration of her management abilities, David praises her for doing YHVH’s work. He blesses her for preventing him from committing evil by killing Nabal. Then he decides she would make an excellent wife. She accepts his proposal with honor. What does David do? He finds another woman to add to the collection. In a single sentence we discover that Abigail isn’t quite enough (apparently) and that Ahinoam is just an after-thought supplement.

Oh, yes, then there’s the next verse where Saul gives Michal to Palti, the son of Laish. Saul gives David’s wife to another man! What? The soap opera of the kingdom is just getting started and already we see David with three women, one who is forced into adultery by her father. Is it any wonder that, years later, a famous son of the king after Saul thinks very little of collecting a few hundred women? Family precedence prevails. Just do what your father did. Or what the king before him did.

We might chalk this up to twisted royal ethics except for the explicit command of YHVH about the obligation of a king. Don’t multiply horses or women. It seems that men are missing a particular “remembrance” gene when it comes to these two categories. Or maybe they just like the results so much that they assume more is better. What is most interesting about this progression is that the secondary players (the women) are barely mentioned by name. They are for all intents and purposes, chattel. Yes, David is involved enough with each one that he fathers a son, but until we get to the next step on the downward spiral (Bathsheba), it seems as though David’s serial monogamy doesn’t raise even an eyebrow. At the moment, both Abigail and Ahinoam become David’s wives. The construction is vattehilo leishshah. It’s interesting that the “accident” that opens these sagas (remember vayhi) is connected to vattehi-lo (literally, “and it came to pass toward him [David]”). We might translate this with an eye toward vayhi. “And it just happened that the two women became his wives” as if this is also an “accident” of history.

But it isn’t an accident, is it? David chooses—and he chooses to take a bit more, and more, and more. He chooses to flaunt Saul’s insult by multiplying his own female possessions. If Saul is going to treat his own daughter as a piece of property to be handed off to another man as a demonstration of power, then David will double the ante.

Ah, the games we play in the name of the Lord. If God gives one, we take two. After all, we are called by His name, right? And He wants us to be satisfied, right? And we should exhibit His power, right? What better way than to outdo the competition. Or is it really fool’s gold; this pursuit of proving how important I really am?

Perhaps we should note that this Hebrew story, like so many Hebrew stories, should really be read from back to front. In other words, we don’t see what is really happening, nor are we shown the consequences, until we reach the end of the line. All along the way it appears as if things are “just happening.” But once we know the end of the story, we can go back and read it properly. The choices of men and the hand of God are often opposed to each other in spite of God’s hidden sovereignty. For us the lesson is crucial. We don’t know the end of our stories yet. Perhaps we never will. But someone, some day will see what just happened and read it backwards to discover where God offered alternatives but we went the other way. Life isn’t accidental after its over, but it surely might appear to be accidental all along the way. Unless, of course, you realize that what looks like an accident is really an opportunity to choose.

Topical Index: Abigail, Ahinoam, wife, Michal, ishshah, 1 Samuel 25:42-43

TACOMA CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY

Several people have notified me that the web page of signing up for the Tacoma conference in February wasn’t working properly.  HERE IS THE LINK FOR REGISTRATION