As David victoriously returned the lost Ark of the Covenant to Israel, it was a big moment. So big, he may have gotten a little carried away- stripping off his royal garments and exuberantly dancing before the Lord. His wife, Michal, considered this undignified and embarrassing.

She and David exchange some sharp words about this, and it leaves some Bible readers wondering: who was in the wrong here? Was David in error for acting irreverently, or was Michal judging him too harshly? Let’s investigate.

Reviewing the Story

We will begin by recapping the context. David had just returned with the Ark of the Covenant, which had been captured by the Philistines decades earlier. At the start of II Samuel 6, David had been bringing the Ark home with a parade, but he hadn’t properly cared for the Ark’s transport. A man named Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark and was struck dead on the spot. (We reviewed this story in a recent episode of the Weird Stuff in the Bible podcast.)

This delayed the Ark’s return for a few months, but once David realized the error of his ways, he once again attempted to bring the Ark home, this time carried properly and with more reverence for God’s ways. We’ll pick up the story there.

II Samuel 6:12-15 – So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. ¹³ And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. ¹⁴ And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

David’s wearing of the linen ephod meant he was wearing priestly garments. We can surmise that he had stripped off his royal garments and that these were his underclothes. They would not have been immodest. However, they perhaps made David appear more ordinary or “plain” than kingly.

These paraders of the lost Ark make their way into Jerusalem.

II Samuel 6:16 – ¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.

(Clearly, bro was doing some kind of Fortnite dance.)

II Samuel 6:17-20 – ¹⁷ And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.¹⁸ And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts ¹⁹ and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.

²⁰ And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”

Michal is indignant. She accuses David of being uncovered or naked before other women. Her words essentially accuse him of being some kind of pervert or degenerate.

David’s answer is similarly harsh. He reminds her that her father, the previous king, Saul- who tried to kill David on numerous occasions- was rejected by the Lord.

II Samuel 6:21-24 – ²¹ And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” ²³ And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

David informs her that her complaint is out-of-line, that he only had worshipful intentions, and that trying to tell him to stop worshipping God like this would only make him do it more- a very Michael-Scott-thing to say.

The story ends with the sad remark that Michal never had any children with David until the day of her death.

Who was wrong?

Many Bible readers puzzle over this exchange. Had David turned a beautiful moment into Coyote Ugly, or was Michal jealous and overreacting?

The overwhelming consensus of scholars is that Michal was dealing with feelings of bitterness over the upheaval she had experienced in her life and reacted irrationally to David’s dancing. (I consulted all 7 commentaries I had on my shelf that addressed II Samuel- as well as the ESV Study Bible- and all of them unanimously concluded that Michal was in the wrong.) The reasons they give for this conclusion are as follows:

• Though David had erred earlier in the chapter in his reverence to the Lord, by all indications, he had learned his lesson and was genuinely worshipping in this moment. There is no hint in the story that he intended to sexualize his dancing. (Even J. Vernon McGee, who adamantly believes, “Any kind of a dance today…is a sex dance,” gives David a pass on this moment of emotional expression.) (Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Volume II, 1982)
• Even though Michal accuses David of indecency, it would be an exaggeration to say that he was naked just because he wore the priestly garments. These would not have been immodest, as the priests regularly wore such outfits while doing their duties.
• Several commentators note that Michal is described three times in this story as “the daughter of Saul” rather than “the wife of David.” This emphasis indicates that Michal is relating to David as an enemy, as someone with Saul’s mindset and (lack of) spiritual discernment.
• The final verse, declaring Michal’s barrenness for the rest of her life, has the flavor of a judgment against her. While it’s unknown whether this means David refused to sleep with her ever again or if God Himself struck her with an inability to conceive a child, the conclusion gives the impression of a condemnation on Michal’s actions.

While I enjoy opportunities to forge a different path than the traditional interpretations or discover a new angle on a story, I won’t do so without a good cause, I cannot find any genuine reason to disregard the scholarly consensus here.

Getting out of the Downward Spiral

However, I will make one note about how both David and Michal could have done things differently and avoided this sad ending to their story.

Marriage is not always easy. Massive life change- like losing a parent or sudden career shifts or moving into a new castle- can bring stressors on the relationship. Bitterness can creep in. Intentions can be misinterpreted.

And if not properly handled, these strains can bring marital relationships to a breaking point. In his seminal work on marriage, Love and Respect (2004), Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs says that a man’s most important need is to be respected, while the wife’s is to feel loved. (This principle is rooted in scripture- see Ephesians 5:22, 25). When a man feels disrespected, he often reacts in a less-than-loving way. This causes his wife to respond even more disrespectfully, which causes the man to respond even more hatefully, and this repetition leads to a decline in the marriage relationship.

If a marriage finds itself on the roller coaster of this downward spiral, the most important goal needs to be getting off that ride ASAP. Wives will not “disrespect” their husbands into a stronger relationship, and husbands cannot torment their wives into spiritual maturity.

Unfortunately, in II Samuel 6, David did not react to his wife’s challenges by de-escalating the situation. Instead of explaining himself to his wife, he reminded her that God had rejected her father from the throne, pouring salt on an already-festering wound. Then he doubled-down on his actions without explaining his heart behind them.

While Michal may have “started it” and was perhaps more-so in the wrong here, one can’t help but wonder how her story may have ended differently if David had not responded so sharply. If he had shown more love, and she had shown more respect, perhaps both could have danced before the Lord together.

We will end with one more quote from Dr. Eggerichs: “Ultimately, you practice love or respect because beyond your spouse you see Jesus Christ and you envision a moment when you will be standing before Him at the final judgment, realizing that your marriage was really a tool and a test to deepen and demonstrate your love and your reverence for your Lord.”

For more information about his book, visit this link to the Amazon page.

And for an episode of the Weird Stuff in the Bible podcast that goes more in-depth on Uzzah’s story and what he did wrong, listen right here: