Day 34: 1 Samuel 25:36–44

When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her,“David sent us to bring you to him as a wife” (v. 40).

David went a bit overboard in the marriage department. We could be understanding about his broken vows to Michal; after all, Saul had given her away to “Paltiel son of Laish” (v. 44). But then, who is Ahinoam? I thought we had been with David every minute! When did he come up with her?

Sometimes we can thank God not only for what He wrote in His Word but also for what He did not. We’ll just try to celebrate Abigail’s good fortune, although I’m not sure how happy you can be sharing your man with another wife!

Some things we may never understand, but one principle is definitely clear: polygamy has never been God’s will (Gen. 2:24). I found myself wondering, “Did God tolerate David’s actions? Did God make exceptions to His first commands regarding marriage in the lives of his kings?” Our dilemma calls for a brief consideration of other Scriptures.

Deuteronomy 17 contains regulations for the time when the Israelites would have kings. Kings were told not to multiply wives or else their heart “will be led astray” (v. 17). David knew that God intended him to be the next king of Israel, yet already he had disobeyed one of God’s specific commands for kings: he had taken more than one wife.

As always, God’s commands are for our sake, not for His. As we saw, kings had been commanded by God not to take “many wives.” The word “many” was the Hebrew word rabah. It means to “increase, multiply, have more.”13 The Word of God is clear from the second chapter of Genesis that two wives is “more” than God planned. God’s reason was clear: those who took many wives would have hearts led astray.

We can take a moment to inhale deeply and smell trouble brewing. God’s Word will once again prove authentic. Eventually David’s heart will be led astray. God presented the consequence as a promise, not a possibility. We will unfortunately be witnesses when David’s straying heart ruptures like a volcano.

Until then, we’ll praise the God of David who still has a fresh supply of mercy every morning, prompting hearts to ache when they are prone to stray. May we take God at His Word and not have to learn everything the hard way!