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Turning Love Into Hate

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• Alright, let's open our Bibles today to 2 Samuel chapter 6. 2 Samuel chapter 6. And we're going to read verses 16 through 23. 2 Samuel chapter 6, verses 16 through 23. The message is entitled, "Turning Love Into Hate." And I think you will see how applicable that title is before we finish today. 2 Samuel chapter 6 and verse 16: "And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord.

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• And she despised him in her heart. And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in his place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And as soon as David had made an end of offerings, of burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

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• And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to everyone a cake of bread and a good piece of flesh and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed everyone to his house. Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, 'How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!' And David said unto Michal, 'It was before the Lord which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord over Israel. Therefore will I play before the Lord.'

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• "And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight. And of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honor." Therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child until the day of her death." That was 2 Samuel 6, verses 16 through 23. The subject is turning love into hate. Let me begin by saying that everyone enjoys a good love story, including men, especially if there's a little fighting or action and adventure involved in the love story. In the movies, it seems that there is a correlation between the greatness of the love and the greatness of the action that is needed and necessary to win one's sweetheart. Now, if you and I were to take that principle and apply it to the Bible, one of the greatest love stories of all time would be the love story between David and Michal. Now, if you're interested in suspense, intrigue, deception, action, adventure and fighting, then you need to read the story of David and Michal.

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• There is absolutely nothing on TV and nothing in the movies that can parallel the difficulties and the troubles that they encountered. In fact, theirs was a love story that almost did not happen. Well, why? Well, let's look at the scriptures because I want to lay a foundation before I get back to 2 Samuel chapter 6. Let's turn in our Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 18. In order to grasp all of the details, we must go back to 1 Samuel chapter 18. In this chapter, we're going to find that David had become a part of Saul's household. Now David was not only a military leader, he was also Saul's personal musician. Jonathan had already entered into a covenant with David. And David was well-liked and respected by the nation. For instance, if you look in 1 Samuel 18 and verse 16, the Bible says, "But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them." Now, let's go back and read verses 5-11. 1 Samuel 18 verse 5: "And David went out, and whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants."

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• "And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played and said, 'Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.' And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him. And he said, 'They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands.'"

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• "What can he have more but the kingdom?" Watch. "And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. And it came to pass on the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house. And David played with his hand, as at other times. And there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin, for he said, 'I will smite David even to the wall with it.' And David avoided out of his presence twice." Now you see how David is there in the house with Saul.

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• He's not only the mighty military leader, he's also the personal musician. Now there are three key verses in this chapter. I want you to look at them. Here's verse 12: "And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him and was departed from Saul." Now note Saul was afraid of David. Look, if you would please, at verse 16: "And all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them." Verse 15: "Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him." Now verse 29, if you would: "And Saul was yet the more afraid of David, and Saul became David's enemy continually." So the truth is, Saul greatly feared David. He knew that someday David would have the kingdom. That's why in verse 8 he asks, "What can he have more but the kingdom?" Now, if David received the kingdom, then Jonathan, Saul's son, would not be king. Moreover, if David received the kingdom, Saul knew then that there would be an end then, not only to his line, but to his royal lineage as well.

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• So according to Saul's way of thinking, David then must be exterminated. Now, we have already read in 1 Samuel chapter 18 where Saul tried to kill David. He wanted David dead, but he was unable to kill him himself. So if he wanted David dead and he was unable to kill him himself, then another plan of action must be initiated. And what Saul does is this: he determines that he's going to trap David with his daughter Merab.

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• So look down, if you would please, in verse 17: "And Saul said to David, 'Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give to thee to wife. Only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles.' For Saul said, 'Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.' And David said to Saul, 'Who am I? And what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to a king?'"

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• Now let's just stop there for a moment. What Saul wanted was the Philistines to kill David. He says, "David, look, if you will be valiant, if you will fight the Lord's battles for me, then I'm going to give you Merab for a wife."

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• Now I want you to notice how deceptive and how duplicitous Saul was and how full of intrigue you might as well see. Because what he does is he hides his murderous intentions behind a wall of spirituality. What he is saying is, "All I want is for you to avenge the Lord of his enemies. All I want you to be a good godly warrior. I want you to take care of God's battles. That's what I want." Saul did not care one thing about David winning battles. All he wanted was David dead. He wanted him killed at the hands of the Philistines.

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• Now, as you think about this, you cannot help but have another thought enter into your mind. One must wonder if David learned this little deception from Saul when he had Uriah the Hittite killed in 2 Samuel chapter 11. The only difference was, where Saul failed, David succeeded. Now evidently, David fought very well. David won those battles. And yet, he was not given Merab to wife. Look in verse 18: "And David said to Saul, 'Who am I?'"

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• "And what is my life? Or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?" In other words, David said, "My family's small and my family's poor. I probably don't need to be a king's son-in-law anyhow." But look in verse 19: "And it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife." Now, David displayed a great deal of humility. And David said, "It's a great thing to be a king's son-in-law. My family is small and my family is poor. Who am I to be the son-in-law of a king?" And so when it came time for David to have Merab, then Saul, true to his own form and true to his own deceitful attitude, he did not keep his word to David, but he gave Merab to another man.

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• There is no way that you can cut it. Let me put it to you very straight. What Saul did was indeed an insult and a slight to David. David had gone out, had risked his life, did everything that Saul asked him to do, and yet Saul's daughter was given to another man. Now, David, instead of becoming angry and vindictive, just simply overlooked the provocation. It could have been several things. It could have been, first of all, David may not really have wanted Merab for a wife. It could have been also the fact that he realized that Saul was her father and Saul was the king, and Saul could do whatever he pleased in choosing a husband for Merab. But it could also have been the fact that David said, "Look, it's just not worth getting upset and fighting over." So his humility, then, brought him through this great provocation and this great insult. But since Saul's plan failed at having David killed at the hands of the Philistines in relationship to Merab, another door of hope opened for Saul.

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• Look in your Bibles to verse 20: "And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him." Look at that. Michal was Saul's younger daughter, and she loves David. And when Saul hears about the fact that Michal loves David, the Bible says the thing pleased him. I want you to know what this man was willing to do. Saul was willing to use his own daughters as bait, break their hearts, crush their hopes and desires, and their own happiness in order to accomplish his own desires.

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• Can you imagine a father using his children in such a wicked manner? And the Bible explicitly says in verse 21, watch: "And Saul said, 'I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.' Wherefore Saul said to David, 'Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law in the one of the twain.'" What was Saul's purpose? It was to destroy David.

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• And he was going to use Michal then as bait. Now evidently, Michal had loved David from the beginning. But she was willing to sit in the background and be quiet while Merab was promised to David. But when Merab was given to Adriel, she let her love be known. With her older sister out of the way, she thought, "Now I can make my love known for David." And she did so. And so Saul then says, "Here's another way that I can entrap him. Here's another way that I can destroy him." Now I want you to look at what Saul does.

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• Skip down to verse 22: "And Saul commanded his servants, saying, 'Commune with David secretly and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee.'"

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• "Now therefore, be the king's son-in-law." Saul sets the trap to catch David, and the bait, of course, is his own daughter, Michal. But I want you to note what he does. He endeavors to stay in the background like he has nothing to do with this, and he tells his servants, "You commune with David secretly. You tell David that I have a delight in him," which was an absolute lie. He didn't delight in David. He wanted David dead. So he says, "But you tell him that I delight in him, and you tell him that I want him to be the king's son-in-law." And so it could be that Saul had already lost his credibility with David. David probably would not have believed anything he said because he didn't give him Merab like he promised. But Saul understood he needed some help and so he enticed his servants then to try to get David to be the king's son-in-law.

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• Now David still maintains a humble attitude. Look at it in verse 23: "And Saul's servants spake these words in the ears of David. And David said, 'Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing that I'm a poor man and lightly esteemed?'" Now, David understood it, number one, to be a great honor to be a king's son-in-law. And he said, secondly, "You've got to understand I'm a poor man. My family could never come up with a dowry for a king's daughter." The servants go back.

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• And they tell that to Saul. Well, look in verse 24: "And the servants of Saul told him, saying, 'On this manner spake David.' And Saul said, 'Thus shall you say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies.' But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired. Wherefore David arose, went he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal, his daughter, to wife." Now, when Saul hears David's objections that he could never raise enough money to give the king a dowry for Michal, Saul said, "Oh, look, don't worry about that, all I want is a hundred foreskins of the Philistines that I may be avenged of mine enemies."

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• In other words, all you've got to do, David, is kill a hundred male warriors. That's it. And just simply bring me the evidence that you've killed them. And listen, David was tickled pink to hear that. Instead of David going out and killing a hundred, he goes out and kills two hundred. And delivers the evidence in full tale to Saul. And look at verse 27, the latter part: "And Saul gave him Michal, his daughter, to wife." I can assure you that Saul was probably grieved and upset that he had to do so, that David had escaped the Philistines, that David had conquered them, and David was still alive. Not only was the Lord with David, but I want you to note, if you would please, verse 28: "And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him." Now, I don't know if you've been counting, but this is twice in one chapter that we're told that Michal loved David. Okay? Now, just because David was not killed at the hands of the Philistines did not mean that Saul had given up on wanting David dead.

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• He still wanted David dead. However, now he orders not only his son, Jonathan, but all of his servants to kill David as well. Look in chapter 19, verse 1: "And Saul spake to Jonathan, his son, and to all of his servants that they should kill David." Saul said, "I want him dead. So Jonathan, you kill him. All my other servants, you kill him, whatever." Now, what happens? Jonathan intercedes with David, intercedes with his father Saul about David. Look in verse 2: "But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David saying, 'Saul, my father seeketh to kill thee.'"

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• "Now, therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning and abide in a secret place and hide thyself. And I will go out and stand before my father in the field where thou art. And I will commune with my father of thee. And what I see, I will tell thee." And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, "Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good."

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• "For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it, and didst rejoice. Wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?"

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• Now watch: "And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan. And Saul sware, 'As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.' And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past."

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• Now Saul, at this point, evidently comes to his senses. Jonathan said, "Dad, why are you going to kill him? All he's ever done to you is good. You know the great salvation that he wrought when he killed Goliath. You saw it. You rejoiced in it. David hasn't harmed you." Saul says, "You're right, son. I'm not going to kill him. I'm going to let him live. That's just all there is to it."

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• He shall not be slain. But Saul was a liar. Saul was deceitful. If you'll skip down to verse 8: "And there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and slew them with a great slaughter, and they fled from him." Now watch: "And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, and he sat in his house with a javelin in his hand, and David played with his hand. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin, but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin in the wall, and David fled and escaped that night." So once again, Saul tries to smite him to the wall with the javelin after he'd given his word to Jonathan that David would not be slain.

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• Now, I'm going to read just a few more verses, but I want to emphasize something to you. I want you to pay attention to these verses because I'm going to show you a real demonstration of the love that Michal had for David. Let's begin reading with verse 11. After David escapes from the presence of Saul, when Saul tried to smite him with the javelin, here's what happened: "Saul also sent messengers unto David's house to watch him and to slay him in the morning. And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, 'If thou save not thy life tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slain.' So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled and escaped. And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed and put a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster and covered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, 'He is sick.' And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, 'Bring him up to me in the bed that I may slay him.'"

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• "And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed with a pillow of goat's hair for a bolster. And Saul said unto Michal, 'Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped?' And Michal answered Saul, 'He said unto me, Let me go, why should I kill thee?' So David fled and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah."

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• Now, here's what I want to emphasize. Here is a clear picture of Michal's love for David. She was the one that was actively engaged and seeking to save his life. She was the one that said, "If you do not escape tonight, tomorrow you're going to be dead." It was Michal who convinced him to flee even though it meant separation for her and David. It was Michal who let him down through the window. It was Michal who put the image in bed and pretended it was David. It was Michal who lied to the servant, said, "He's sick. He can't come." And when King Saul was so angry, he said, "Bring him to me in the bed. I'll kill him while he's in the bed." When they came back, they found it was just an image. Then it was Michal who lied to her own insane father and said, "I had to let him go because he threatened to kill me." Now, what was Michal doing? Michal was protecting her husband. She loved him. And she is the one that engineered his escape from Saul.

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• Now, David was not killed by Saul nor by his servants. However, what happens now without us reading a lot of scripture is David is forced to be on the run, he is forced to flee, and basically speaking, he becomes an outlaw. His life for the next number of years is a life literally on the run, and Saul was seeking to kill David wherever he might find him. Now while David is on the run, Saul commits another sin against David, a grievous sin.

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• You say, "What is it?" Well, look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 25 and verse 44. 1 Samuel 25, verse 44. Look what King Saul does: "But Saul had given Michal, his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim." David's on the run. And what does Saul do? Saul takes his daughter and gives her to another man, knowing that she's married to David, knowing that she loved David. Why in the world would Saul be willing to do such a thing? Let me ask you another question. Why in the world would Palti be willing to take another man's wife? I mean, one thing for sure, he knew that she was married to David.

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• And I got news for you. Had I been alive back then, and Saul had tried to give me Michal, and I understood that everybody was singing, "Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands," I think I'd have thought twice before I'd have tried to upset David. But why would Palti be willing to take her knowing that she was another man's wife? You say, "Well, Brother Weaver, what I want to know is why would Michal go to another man if she really loved David?" Well, the truth of the matter is this in all probability: she didn't have any choice in the matter.

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• Not only was her father her father, but her father was the king. And you know what Saul was doing? Saul once again was pulling the strings and manipulating his own children, in this case, Michal, destroying her home, destroying her happiness in order that he might just simply get back at David. Isn't that amazing? You cannot fathom the wickedness of man. But all that Saul did, however, did not quench Michal's love for David. Nor did he quench David's love for Michal. Now here's what happens.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 3. Because after Saul and Jonathan are killed, there is one son left by the name of Ish-bosheth. And Ish-bosheth was a very weak ruler. And there was Abner who was the captain of the host of Israel. And when Ish-bosheth accused Abner of going into one of Saul's concubines, Abner gets bent out of shape and he says, "I'm going to turn the kingdom over to David." Look at it in 2 Samuel chapter 3 and let's begin reading there with verse 6. Watch carefully. 2 Samuel 3 verse 6: "And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul," that is Ish-bosheth, his son is on the throne, "and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul. And Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, 'Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine?' Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, 'Am I a dog's head, which against Judah do show kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me today with a'"

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• "fault concerning this woman? So do God to Abner and more also, except as the Lord hath sworn to David, even so I do to him, to translate the kingdom from the house of Saul and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah from Dan even to Beersheba." And he, Ish-bosheth, could not answer Abner a word again because he feared him.

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• Now watch what he said. "You've accused me of a sin with this woman." I don't know. Maybe he was guilty. Maybe he was not guilty; in all probability was not since he got so angry. And he said, "I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to take the kingdom away from you. I'm going to give it to David. God has already promised David. I'm going to take it away from you and give it to David." Watch verse 12: "And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, 'Whose is the land?' Saying also, 'Make thy league with me, and behold, my hand shall be with thee to bring about all Israel unto thee.'" And he said, David said, "Well, I will make a league with thee, but one thing I require of thee, that is, thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face." And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Deliver me my wife, Michal, which I espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines."

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• "And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, even from Paltiel the son of Laish. And her husband went with her along, weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, 'Go, return.' And he returned." Now watch. Abner says to David, "David, I'm going to give you the kingdom." David said, "Abner, there's one thing that I require. You must bring me Michal, my wife. If you don't bring her, you're not going to see my face. It's just that simple." And then David sent word to Ish-bosheth and said, "You deliver me my wife." Now, David's demand was a righteous one, and it was reasonable that David should be vindicated from the great slur that Saul had cast upon him when he gave Michal to another man. Now, undoubtedly, there were different motivations in David for his asking for Michal. First of all, I'm sure there was a personal motivation. He loved her. He wanted her. Secondly, there was probably a political motivation. I mean, the very fact that she was the daughter of a king would help him to submit any relationships in the future with the house of Saul, especially with the tribe of Benjamin, which was in Judah, from which David was from, Judah as well.

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• There was a political motivation and probably there was also a spiritual motivation in that it would be demonstrated of David's forgiveness toward Michal and all that she had been through. So there were probably a number of motivations in David wanting his wife, but David demanded and he got his wife back.

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• Now look, if you would please, at verses 15 and 16: "And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, even from Paltiel the son of Laish. And her husband went with her along, weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, 'Go, return.' And he returned." Now, in one sense of the word, one cannot help but feeling sorry for Paltiel. I mean, evidently he loved Michal as well. And as Michal was being taken to David, he's following her and he's weeping. Until Abner says to him, "Go, return."

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• Let me just put it to you very bluntly. What Abner said is, "If you don't get out of here, I'm going to kill you." So Paltiel didn't have a choice. He had to leave.

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• Now, however, you've got to say this. Had Paltiel acted honorably and with integrity to begin with and refused to be involved in another man's wife, he would have never found himself in such a position. Let me put it plainly. Connections which are formed in sin must sooner or later end in suffering. And had he not gotten himself in that position to begin with, he would not be suffering now. The truth is no one can sin against God and get away with it.

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• Now, David loved Michal and Michal loved David. However, something happened to Michal. Michal's love was turned to hate. And the amazing thing is it really did not take that long to do so.

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• Now David reigned seven years and six months over Judah. Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, only reigned two years.

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• Now I don't know exactly when David sent and got Michal. So maybe he had her a year before this incident. I don't really know. But while she was away, and when she got there, things began to take a different turn. Let me make a statement. Listen carefully. Absence does not always make the heart grow fonder. Sometimes it alienates, but Michal has returned to David and is probably with him for some time.

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• But I want you to look in 2 Samuel chapter 6 at verse 16. Look what the Bible says. 2 Samuel chapter 6 verse 16: "And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David," I wish I had time to preach about the return of the ark there. But as the ark of the Lord returned to the city of David, "Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart." Michal was the one who turned.

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• She had suffered so many tests and trials, yet when it seemingly appeared that she was about to be set for life, something happened. And when I say set for life, you've got to remember David reigned another 33 years basically over all Israel. But what in the world happened? She allowed her love to be turned into hate.

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• Now how did that happen? Well, 2 Samuel 6 and verse 16 tells us. Look at it very carefully. The latter part: "and she despised him in her heart." The very first thing I want you to see is her attitude. And her attitude is revealed in the word "despised." The Hebrew word is "bazah." It literally means to despise, to treat someone as contemptible, to treat someone as a vile person, to scorn them. In other words, her attitude toward David became one that David was a despicable, vile, worthless person. In other words, her love then was replaced with what you and I would call contempt, disdain, and despicableness. She despised him. Now I want you to watch something. Verse 16 says, "and she despised him in her heart."

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• Now let me just take a moment and review a truth with you that you should already know. Well, when the Bible says that she despised him in her heart, of course, it is not referring to the physical organ in our chest. Well, what in the world does it mean? I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would follow me, please, to at least five passages.

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• The first one is the book of Genesis, chapter 6 and verse 5. Genesis 6 and verse 5. Here's the very first time the word "heart" is mentioned in the Bible. This is called the law of first mention. The very first time something is mentioned in the Bible, usually that is the way it's going to be used throughout the entire Bible, unless the context proves something different. But look in Genesis 6 and verse 5, the Bible says, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Now I want you to look what the Bible says. God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now whatever the heart is, it can think and imagine. Because God saw the imagination. God saw the thoughts of the heart. Look in Genesis chapter 27 and verse 41.

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• You remember when Jacob had stolen the birthright? Actually, he didn't steal it. He claimed it because the birthright was part of that which Esau had sold him for a mess of pottage. He took the blessing. And in Genesis 27 verse 41, when old Esau finds out that he's gotten the blessing, the Bible says in verse 41, "And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, 'The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.'" Note the Bible says that Esau said in his heart. So whatever the heart is, it can speak. It can not only think and imagine, it can speak, for Esau said in his heart. Look in Proverbs 5 and verse 12. Let me show you something else the heart is capable of. Proverbs 5, verse 12. Notice if you would please, Proverbs 5, verse 12: "And say, 'How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof?'" So whatever the heart is, it is capable of either receiving instruction or despising instruction.

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• So the heart can think and imagine. The heart can speak. The heart can either receive or despise instruction. And if you look in Matthew 5, verse 28, you're going to find that somehow the heart is intimately connected with the eyes. Look at it, Matthew 5 and verse 28. Our Lord is doing some teaching and He says this. In fact, we'll read verse 27: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery.' But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So somehow there's an intimate connection between the eyes and the heart because when you look upon a woman to lust after her, you've committed adultery in the heart. So there's a correlation then between the eyes and the heart.

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• Now, if you haven't figured out what the heart is, I want you to turn back to Daniel chapter 4. Because we're going to see it stated very explicitly in the Bible. Look in Daniel chapter 4, right before the book of Hosea, you have the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 4. And look, if you would please, at verse 16, first of all, here is God's judgment against Nebuchadnezzar. And I want you to see the charge, or the curse, I should say, that God places upon Nebuchadnezzar. Look in Daniel 4, verse 16: "Let his heart be changed from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven times pass over him." Now the phrase "seven times" just simply is the Chaldean way of saying seven years. So God says, "Let his heart be changed from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and this is going to last for seven years."

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• Now skip down to verse 28, you'll find that it happened. "All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake and said, 'Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?'" Look, "While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, 'O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.' The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws."

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• Now look, for seven years, Nebuchadnezzar has the heart of a beast. He's out there eating grass like an oxen. His fingernails are growing like bird's claws. His hair is like bird's feathers. He's literally insane. He's crazy. The condition is known as boanthropy, but it's a man living like an animal for seven years.

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• Now what did God say in verse 16? Help me out now. "Let his what?" His heart be changed from a man to a heart of a beast. Now if you want to know what the heart is, look in verse 34. After seven years: "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine what? My reason or my understanding returned unto me."

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• "and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation." Verse 36: "At the same time my reason returned unto me." So what is your heart? Your heart is your mind. It is your understanding. Do you realize the Hebrew word for heart is the word "leb," L-E-B. It is translated in our Bibles "mind" 12 times and "understanding" 10 times. So when God says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence," He's actually telling us to keep our mind, to keep our understanding.

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• Now, what in the world happened? Michal despised David in her heart. She despised him in her mind, in her understanding, in her reasoning. Now, instead of dwelling upon David's character, David's office, and David's love, she built up a case against David in her mind. She disagreed with him. And she certainly did not like the way he acted in regards to the Ark.

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• Now, ladies and gentlemen, please listen to me carefully, especially the ladies at this point. God commands you to honor your husbands. Do you realize David was not only Michal's king, he was also her head and her husband. And she literally despised him in all three positions.

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• Now I want you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Let me show you. Very plainly stated in the scripture. 1 Corinthians 11, beginning there with verse 3. Look what the Apostle Paul writes. 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3. Here's something that he would have you to know. Alright? 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3: "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." God says here is His ordained hierarchical system. There is God, Christ, man, and woman. The head of man is Christ. The head of Christ is the Father. Now, does the woman have a head? Yes, the woman's head is her husband. That's what he's saying. If you'll turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 5, verse 23, I'll show it to you right out of Scripture, Ephesians 5, verse 23. Look at it. Ephesians 5, verse 23, the Bible says, "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."

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• By the way, the Greek word for head is the word "kephale." It literally means to be supreme, to be chief, to be prominent. It is used in connection of a husband's relationship to his wife or the Lord's relationship to the church. When the Bible says He is the head of the church, what does it mean? It means He's the prominent one. He's the supreme one. He's the head of it. Now, when the Bible says that the wife is to reverence her husband, I'm going to show you that in just a moment. It means that she is to recognize his position that God has placed him in as her head.

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• Now, look at Ephesians 5 and verse 33. Here it is: "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." You know, the interesting thing is the word for "reverence" here is the word "phobeo," which is the Greek word for fear. And it literally means to be struck with fear.

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• Now that does not mean that women should go around being fearful for their lives or fearful that their husbands can't beat them up. No, there's another way that word "fear" is used in the Bible. And it literally means to have a reverence for, to venerate, to respect or to treat with deference. So he said, "You make sure that the wives reverence their husbands." That is, you hold them up to the office and to the headship that I have appointed them.

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• Now, the wife is required to love the husband and submit to him. But the husband is also required to love the wife even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Ah, but wait a minute. In Colossians 3 and verse 19, the Bible also says this: "Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them." What does that mean? That means first of all, the wife has to make sure that she keeps her heart toward her husband and the husband has to make sure that he keeps his heart toward the wife. In other words, both husband and wife have an obligation, have a duty, have a responsibility to keep their thoughts and to keep their understanding and to keep their reasoning abilities toward each other.

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• Have you ever wondered how it is that couples who've been married 15, 20, and 25 years end up getting divorced? Now, I know that sometimes there are biblical reasons for that, but do you realize today most of the divorces that take place really have no biblical reasons behind them? They just basically get tired of each other. How in the world can someone that has been married 15, 20, 25 years end up divorced? You know they had to love each other to begin with. And they had to love each other for a while, certainly, or they would not have stayed together as long as they did. But here's the answer. Here's what happens.

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• Michal despised David in her mind. She failed to honor him. She failed to reverence him. She failed to esteem him. And the problem with most husbands and wives is this: instead of keeping their heart towards each other, they become critical of each other, emphasize each other's faults, accentuate the negatives, and they build up a case in their minds. And it really doesn't matter whether the accusations in their mind are really true or not. Those accusations are true according to their way of thinking.

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• Folks, let me tell you something. There is a vast difference between the facts and my interpretation of the facts. And what each person does is this, they put their own interpretation of the facts in their mind and they believe it to be true. Listen, people don't just wake up in the morning and say, "Wow, what a beautiful day. It's a good day to get a divorce. Let's run down and get one."

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• It doesn't work like that. No, what happens is they slowly and surely build up a case in their minds against their mate, against their spouse, and then they actually justify that case based upon their interpretation of the facts.

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• Now, look back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 6 and verse 16, because there's an interesting truth given to us here. In 2 Samuel 16, verse 16: "And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal," what's the next two words? "Saul's daughter." Not Michal, David's wife, but Michal, Saul's daughter. Why in the world would she be called here Saul's daughter? The answer is because she's displaying the pride and the arrogance and rebellion of Saul, her father. In other words, here's what happened. Undoubtedly, Michal had been boiling against David for some time. I don't know the answer or the reason why, but undoubtedly she had.

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• But when she looked out the window and saw him leaping and dancing around, uncovering himself—that doesn't mean that he was naked, it just means he did not have on his royal robes—and acting like a commoner, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She despised him in her heart. She said, "This is it. This is it. This is it. I can't take any more of it."

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• I'm not going to put up with it anymore. Michal took offense at David's humility and his pious enthusiasm. Moreover, she did not want him acting like a commoner. After all, he was king. Look in verse 14. 2 Samuel 6, verse 14. Watch it: "And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod." All he had on was a linen garment. Why would David lay aside his royal robes?

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• I mean, the Ark is being brought into Jerusalem. Why would he lay aside his royal robes? I'll tell you why. Because David was saying before God, "I'm just like anyone else. I'm just a sinner. Doesn't matter whether I'm a king or not. Doesn't matter whether I'm a president or a congress. I am a sinner standing before God and I'm equal to others who are sinners before God."

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• And by the way, there may have been a little bit more to this because the priests and the Levites also wore linen garments. And Michal's contemptuous remark concerning David's dress and his dancing before the Lord may have also been a slap in the face of the priests and the Levites. She was revealing her attitude towards spiritual things when she said—look at it in verse 20: "Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David," and listen to the sarcasm.

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• And she said, "How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!" Oh, are God's priests and Levites dressed in linen garments vile and shameless? What was she doing? She was ridiculing, belittling and berating David and holding him in contempt instead of treating him with reverence and honor.

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• Undoubtedly, she'd been doing it for some time. This was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Do you realize there are multitudes of husbands and wives who belittle and berate each other constantly? Hold each other in contempt constantly. It is wicked. It is wrong. It's a method of turning love into hate.

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• Now I want to show you David's stinging rebuke to Michal. Look in verse 21: "And David said unto Michal, 'It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.'" Let me just stop there. Here's what he said: "You better remember something. God rejected your father. God rejected your family. And God chose me in the place of your father and your family. And the reason why was your father was proud and arrogant and rebellious and disobedient. And what you're doing, Michal, you're acting just like your father." And then he said in verse 22: "And I will yet be more vile than thus."

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• "And I will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour." David said, "You haven't seen anything yet. I'll be as humble as I can before God. I realize I am what I am only by the grace of God and those people that you despise, they will hold me in honor." What a stinging rebuke.

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• Look, if you would please, at God's judgment against Michal: "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death." You know, I know that was God's judgment against Michal. But I cannot help but wonder if along with God's judgment whether or not David ceased treating Michal as a wife. I mean, the truth is, how in the world could one be intimate with a woman with such a contemptuous and hateful attitude and disposition?

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• Who would even want to be around her? And it could be that David just avoided her as well.

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• Now, let me make some applications. The first one is this: God commands husbands to love their wives. But the command is equally applicable to the wives. Love is an act of the will. Thankfully, there are emotions connected with love. But the truth of the matter is this, you will to love your mate. And people who do not love their husbands or wives actually will not to love them, building up this contemptuous attitude. And they justify their failure to love them by some action or actions and their interpretation of those actions in their own mind. And they think therefore they are just in not loving their mate. Since love is commanded in the Bible, it has to be an act of the will. You can't command feelings, you can't command emotions, but you can command an act of the will. You can command an act of the mind. And when we refuse to love our spouses, we're in rebellion against God, it's plain and simple.

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• You cannot get away from it. God says, "Husbands, love your wives." Likewise, wives are to love the husbands. The second application is this: we must learn to be thankful for our spouses and think upon and dwell upon their good points and not dwell upon their faults. You know what the Bible says in 1 Peter 4, that love covers a multitude of sins. It is imperative that all of us understand one simple truth, and that is this, there is no such thing as a perfect husband, and there is no such thing as a perfect wife.

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• Those creatures do not exist. No matter how beautiful your neighbor's wife is, she's full of sin and faults. No matter how handsome your neighbor's husband is, he's full of sin and faults. When he sweats, he stinks like everybody else. I mean, that's just all there is to it. You can say, "Well, Brother Weaver, you know, my wife is just not as slim and trim as she used to be when we got married," but neither are you. I mean, come on. "Well, my wife is not as pretty as she used to be," neither are you. I mean, be honest, there's no such thing as a perfect wife or a perfect husband.

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• God has given us our mates and he demands that we love them. And when you start thinking the grass is greener on the other side, you've just messed up. I usually, I like to say it like this, you know, well, I'll go ahead and use this. I remember when I was in school, I was put, we were seated alphabetically and I was seated by a girl. When I looked at her, I thought that was the ugliest girl that I'd ever seen in my life. And I thought, "Why in the world did I have to be seated by this girl?"

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• Although she had a beautiful figure, but she kind of had a hawk nose. And I thought, "Oh my, that nose just messes up everything." Well, let me tell you. I got to know that girl. That girl became one of our best friends. She was engaged to a boy. We had him over to our house. And I said, "Sarah, I want to tell you something. If I was not already married, your fiancé would have a run for his money because I'd do everything I could to take you away from him and marry you myself." That girl that I had thought was so ugly became so beautiful because of her disposition, her attitude, her godliness.

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• On the other hand, I was preaching at another church. I knew the pastor, but I'd never met his wife. He picked me up at the motel to take me to supper. His wife was in the back seat. And when I saw her, the first thing that hit my mind was, "My, what a beautiful woman. I've never seen a woman so beautiful." I wasn't in that car five minutes before I was saying, "Thank God I'm not married to that woman." You understand what I'm saying? The truth of the matter is this folks, we need to learn to be thankful for whom God has given us.

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• Let me go a little bit further. Whenever you're tempted to think of the faults of your spouse, whenever you're tempted to become upset and begin to criticize, you need to stop and reflect upon one simple truth. And that is this: it is only by the providence of God that you have a mate at all. God could remove your husband or your wife, or even more, He could remove you. You see the fact of the matter is we need to dwell upon the good points of our mates and they all have their good points. They all have something for which we can admire them and respect them, and that's what we need to emphasize.

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• Fourthly, you must refuse to become bitter and resentful toward your spouses. You know where most bitterness and resentfulness comes from? Because our mates do not fit and fulfill our expectations. I mean, we want them to be a certain way and we can't make them that way and we become frustrated and then we become bitter and resentful. Listen, you are not going to change the personality or the way God created your mate.

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• That's all there is to it. I've been married to Alice for 42 years and she hasn't speeded up yet. And I don't guess she ever will, but I haven't slowed down yet either. You know, I'm just saying, listen, folks, what we must understand is that God made us with different personalities. He made us differently. And although there are things that I might not like about my wife, there are things that she might not like about me, there are a multitude of things I do like and love about her. And I'm not going to waste my time thinking about the little things that would tend to upset me. Why should I? Why should I?

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• And I tell you what, someone says, "Well, pastor, are you having trouble in your church?" "Yeah." "But what you need to do is resign that church and go to another one." Well, the pastor does that. And guess what? He finds out when he gets to the new church, no, he didn't have the problems that he had in the old church, but there's a different set of problems. You know, you say, "Well, I'm going to divorce my wife and marry this beautiful woman over here." You're going to find out there's going to be a whole different set of problems over there. Why are you going to leave one set of problems that you already know about and that you can handle for a new set that you don't know about and you can't possibly handle?

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• You see, we need to understand we cannot, we cannot, and we must not become bitter and resentful towards our spouses. We cannot change the way God made them. So we must just simply accept them the way they are and live with them. And then fifthly, we must refuse to act unbiblically and to keep our hearts and to treat each other with love and respect and honor and admiration. If we don't,

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• we'll do exactly what Michal did. We'll turn love into hate and will destroy ourselves and our homes and our families. She despised him in her mind. Keep your heart, keep your mind with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful that Thou art the sovereign God of heaven and earth. And we're so thankful that Your word is truth. We pray that You would teach us, Lord, not to turn our love into hate, not to build up cases in our minds against each other. But to always love and respect and admire and reverence each other as Your word demands. Give us grace to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:58:22Z