“Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul remained childless until the day she died.”-2 Samuel 6:23
I have a good friend in Singapore who married about two years ago.
When I asked him if he had any children yet, this is what he said:
“We’re not planning on having kids!
Like you, I enjoy my freedom.
Having kids would mean losing that freedom,
and that kind of life just isn’t for me.”
So why am I bringing this up?
I think it perfectly reflects the cultural gap that exists between the Biblical world and our modern ways of thinking.
Because I’ll tell you right now, such an attitude would have been considered anathema in the Biblical world.
When we’re told that Mikhal “remained childless until the day she died,” to the folks in those days, that was considered a curse.
The Hebrews believed (and it fits with what the Bible teaches) that a woman’s main purpose in life was to bring new life into the world.
Women were created to have children, which is part of God’s command to be fruitful and fill the earth.
So, for a woman not to have children was very embarrassing and brought her a lot of shame because people saw it as a punishment from God, even if she didn’t know why.
I remember when I visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem a couple of years ago, one of the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) asked me if I had any kids.
When I told him “no,” he kept telling me I should have children.
Anyway, my point is that it doesn’t matter if you agree or not.
Folks in the Biblical era certainly believed it.
That’s why we’re told Mikhal remained childless.
The point is she had a sinful, rebellious attitude toward God and His chosen king…
And she paid the price by never being able to have any children.
Now, having said all that, there is an interesting interpretation one can find in the Talmud about this verse.
It asserts the real meaning of the passage is that Mikhal had no other children AFTER this particular incident.
They draw this conclusion from this verse:
“…and the sixth, Yitre‘am,
whose mother was ‘Eglah David’s wife.
These were born to David in Hevron.”
The rabbis say that ‘Eglah’ was Mikhal!
Could that be true?
Well, they do have a point.
Here’s the thing.
‘Eglah’ is NOT a name.
It’s a term of affection that means “little heifer.”
Now, if you’re a Western woman, I betcha you’re cringing right now, right?
Again, this just illustrates the huge cultural gap that exists between the ancient Hebrews and our modern ways of thinking.
Back then, a cute nickname like “Eglah” would’ve been considered sweet and loving…
And not something that would have every feminist on the planet turning over in their proverbial graves.
Now whether or not “Eglah” was Mikhal’s nickname, I’ll leave it up to you.
The evidence isn’t clear enough that I can be dogmatic on this point.
Alrighty, let’s switch over to the takeaway.
Well, come to think of it, I’ve already kind of mentioned the lesson for today.
The takeaway is to be aware of the huge gap that exists between our modern ways and the ancient culture of the Bible.
While customs and traditions may change, Scripture’s foundational principles are eternal and NEVER change!
We need to exercise wisdom to discern the difference between both.
For instance, is the phrase “Be Fruitful and Multiply” a command to be applied in every situation under every circumstance?
Or is there some context that’s gotta be taken into consideration?
Ya feel me?
I mean God had just literally created the first two humans in the Garden of Eden.
So, without a command to procreate, the world would never have become populated.
In a world that practically worshipped getting married and having kids, later on, we’ll see exceptions to this rule starting with the Messiah himself who never married and had kids.
Check out the below New Testament references to see what I mean.
See ya all next time.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Now for the matters you wrote about:
‘It is good for a man not to have
sexual relations with a woman.”
But since sexual immorality is occurring,
each man should have sexual relations
with his own wife,
and each woman with her own husband.'”
-1 Corinthians 7:1-2
“Now to the unmarried and the widows I say:
It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.”
-1 Corinthians 7:8
“I would like you to be free from concern.
An unmarried man is concerned
about the Lord’s affairs—
how he can please the Lord.
But a married man is concerned
about the affairs of this world—
how he can please his wife—
and his interests are divided.
An unmarried woman or virgin
is concerned about the Lord’s affairs:
Her aim is to be devoted to the
Lord in both body and spirit.
But a married woman is concerned
about the affairs of this world
—how she can please her husband.”
-1 Corinthians 7:32-34
“And everyone who has left houses
or brothers or sisters or father
or mother or wife or children
or fields for my sake will receive
a hundred times as much and
will inherit eternal life.”
-Matthew 19:29
“At the resurrection,
people will neither marry
nor be given in marriage;
they will be like the angels in heaven.”
-Matthew 22:30
Leave a Reply