{"id":17448,"date":"2021-07-10T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion10th-july-2021"},"modified":"2021-07-10T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T05:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-10th-july-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-10th-july-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion\u00a010th July 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Then Saul said to David, \u2018Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the Lord\u2019s battles.\u2019 For Saul thought, \u2018I will not raise a hand against him; let the Philistines deal with him.\u2019 David said to Saul, \u2018Who am I and who are my kinsfolk, my father\u2019s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?\u2019 But at the time when Saul\u2019s daughter Merab should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now Saul\u2019s daughter Michal loved David. Saul was told, and the thing pleased him. Saul thought, \u2018Let me give her to him that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.\u2019 Therefore Saul said to David a second time, \u2018You shall now be my son-in-law.\u2019  Saul commanded his servants, \u2018Speak to David in private and say, \u201cSee, the king is delighted with you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king\u2019s son-in-law.\u201d\u2019  So Saul\u2019s servants reported these words to David in private. And David said, \u2018Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king\u2019s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?\u2019  The servants of Saul told him, \u2018This is what David said.\u2019  Then Saul said, \u2018Thus shall you say to David, \u201cThe king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged on the king\u2019s enemies.\u201d\u2019 Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.  When his servants told David these words, David was well pleased to be the king\u2019s son-in-law. Before the time had expired,  David rose and went, along with his men, and killed one hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king\u2019s son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.  But when Saul realized that the Lord was with David, and that Saul\u2019s daughter Michal loved him, Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David\u2019s enemy from that time forward.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you remember the suggestion that Saul\u2019s daughter be given in marriage to whomever defeated Goliath (17:25)?  Here, Saul offers Merab, his eldest daughter, to David; but on condition that David continues to go out to battle \u2013 hoping, thereby, that he will die at the hands of the Philistines.  David responds that he is unworthy to become part of Saul\u2019s family; and Saul\u2019s duplicity is emphasised as he gives Merab to someone else!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Saul learns that another of his daughters, Michal, loves David, so he hatches another plot involving her.  David\u2019s refusal to accept her on the grounds of lowliness \u2013 his family cannot provide a marriage payment \u2013 enables Saul to suggest an alternative gift that would be acceptable, 100 \u2018trophies\u2019 of war (v.25).  He presumes that David would inevitably be killed by the Philistines while he was obtaining such intimate items; but David accepts this \u2018offer\u2019 and returns to Saul with the required gift.  Saul\u2019s plan had backfired and Michal was given to David as a wife, whereby he became Saul\u2019s son-in-law.  David seems invincible; and he has God on his side.  Saul\u2019s hold on power is rapidly diminishing and his enmity towards David increasing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But what about Saul\u2019s daughters?  Merab was given as a wife to serve her father\u2019s plans with no thought for her wishes or well being.  Michal was given to a man she \u2018loved\u2019 but nothing is said about David\u2019s feelings for her; there is no indication that he actually knows her.  Might Michal have been smitten by David\u2019s reputation as a warrior and his good looks, without knowing him as a real person?  This marriage will not end well (2 Sam.6:16-23).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Marriage cultures vary but unless a relationship is sustained by mutual love and commitment it will not flourish, nor bring joy to either party.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let us pray for any who are caught up in loveless or abusive relationships; and for those trafficked, or tricked into sham marriages, by people whose motives are criminal or self-serving.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Loving God, make us alert to recognize any who are at risk that we might act to ensure their safety.  Pour out your love wherever it\u2019s needed that all your daughters (and sons) may have life in all its fullness.
Amen<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Then Saul said to David, \u2018Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the Lord\u2019s battles.\u2019 For Saul thought, \u2018I will not raise a hand against him; let the Philistines deal with him.\u2019 David said to Saul, \u2018Who am I and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “URC Daily Devotion\u00a010th July 2021”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}