29 And when the ark of the agreement of the Lord came into the town of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looking out of the window, saw King David dancing and playing; and to her mind he seemed foolish.
And when the ark of the Lord came into the town of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looking out of the window, saw King David dancing and jumping before the Lord; and to her mind he seemed foolish.
By you my sorrow is turned into dancing; you have taken away my clothing of grief, and given me robes of joy;
For if we are foolish, it is to God; or if we are serious, it is for you.
For the natural man is not able to take in the things of the Spirit of God: for they seem foolish to him, and he is not able to have knowledge of them, because such knowledge comes only through the Spirit.
Happy sounds, the voice of joy, the voice of the newly-married man and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who say, Give praise to the Lord of armies, for the Lord is good, for his mercy is unchanging for ever: the voices of those who go with praise into the house of the Lord. For I will let the land come back to its first condition, says the Lord.
And from them will go out praise and the sound of laughing: and I will make them great in number, and they will not become less; and I will give them glory, and they will not be small.
And it will come about, when your numbers are increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, that they will no longer say, The ark of the agreement of the Lord: it will not come into their minds, they will not have any memory of it, or be conscious of the loss of it, and it will not be made again.
A time for weeping and a time for laughing; a time for sorrow and a time for dancing;
Give him praise with instruments of brass and in the dance: give him praise with horns and corded instruments.
I have been wounded with sharp words because of you; my face has been covered with shame. I have become strange to my brothers, and like a man from a far country to my mother's children. I am on fire with passion for your house; and the hard things which are said about you have come on me.
And Miriam, the woman prophet, the sister of Aaron, took an instrument of music in her hand; and all the women went after her with music and dances.
Then David came back to give a blessing to his family. And Michal, Saul's daughter, came out to him and said, How full of glory was the king of Israel today, who let himself be seen uncovered by his servant-girls like a foolish person uncovering himself without shame! And David said to Michal, I was dancing before the Lord, who put me over your father and all his sons, to make me a ruler over the people of the Lord, over his people Israel: and I will go on playing before the Lord; And I will do even worse than this, and make myself even lower in your eyes: but the servant-girls of whom you were talking will give me honour. And Michal, Saul's daughter, had no child till the day of her death.
And he said, It is well; I will make an agreement with you, but on one condition, which is, that when you come before me, Saul's daughter Michal is to come with you; till she comes you will not see my face. And David sent men to Saul's son Ish-bosheth, saying, Give me back Michal, my wife, whom I made mine for the price of the private parts of a hundred Philistines.
Then in that night Saul sent men to David's house to keep watch on him so as to put him to death in the morning: and David's wife Michal said to him, If you do not go away to a safe place tonight you will be put to death in the morning. So Michal let David down through the window, and he went in flight and got away. Then Michal took the image and put it in the bed, with a cushion of goat's hair at its head, and she put clothing over it. And when Saul sent men to take David, she said, He is ill. And Saul sent his men to see David, saying, Do not come back without him, take him in his bed, so that I may put him to death. And when the men came in, there was the image in the bed, with the cushion of goat's hair at its head And Saul said to Michal, why have you been false to me, letting my hater go and get safely away? And in answer Michal said to Saul, He said to me, Let me go, or I will put you to death.
So David and his men got up and went, and put to death two hundred of the Philistines; and David took their private parts and gave the full number of them to the king, so that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. And it was clear to Saul that the Lord was with David; and he was loved by all Israel.
And when the people came back to their tents, the responsible men of Israel said, Why has the Lord let the Philistines overcome us today? Let us get the ark of the Lord's agreement here from Shiloh, so that it may be with us and give us salvation from the hands of those who are against us.
And the children of Israel made request to the Lord, (for the ark of the agreement of the Lord was there in those days,
Then you will say to them, Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the Lord's agreement; when it went over Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones will be a sign for the children of Israel, keeping it in their memory for ever.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 15
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 15 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 15
The bringing in of the ark to the city of David was a very good work; it was resolved upon (ch. 13:4), and attempted, but not perfected; it lay by the way in the house of Obed-edom. Now this chapter gives us an account of the completing of that good work.
1Ch 15:1-24
Preparation is here made for the bringing of the ark home to the city of David from the house of Obed-edom. It is here owned that in the former attempt, though it was a very good work and in it they sought God, yet they sought him, not after the due order, v. 13. "We did not go about our work considerately; and therefore we sped so ill.' Note, It is not enough that we do that which is good, but we must do it well-not enough that we seek God in a due ordinance, but we must seek after him, in a due order. Note, also, When we have suffered for our irregularities we must learn thereby to be more regular; then we answer the end of chastisement. Let us see how the matter was mended.
1Ch 15:25-29
All things being got ready for the carrying of the ark to the city of David, and its reception there, we have here an account of the solemnity of this conveyance thither from the house of Obed-edom.