II SAMUEL 3:16

            " Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim.  Then Abner said to him, 'Go back home', so he went back."   (NIV)

     This quote is found right smack dab in the middle of a soap opera story!  And you thought that the soap opera was a modern-day invention...Didn't I tell you that the Bible has everything about everything?

the boy David, playing the harp for Saul...
the early years... artist, unknown

 

       The main character is David, the former shepherd boy, now a powerful politician who makes lots of mistakes in his personal life. (Imagine that!)  David is not yet king, but he is on his way...  Some years earlier David married king Saul's daughter, Michal, in an arranged marriage as a reward for David's bravery in battle. Then, as David's popularity increased, Saul's jealousy increased proportionately. So Saul took Michal away from David and forced her to marry Paltiel. (Ugh; I hate the way women were treated  and traded like possessions, but, that's another story...)
     David wanted Michal back.  The reasons why are uncertain.  He may have loved Michal, but later verses in II Samuel strongly hint that this was not the case.  David was preparing to negotiate for peace among the tribes of Israel;  having king Saul's daughter as his wife could strengthen his political appearance. Or, maybe it was just part of the ongoing power struggle between David and Saul...

     Meanwhile Michal's new husband, Paltiel, apparently truly loved her.  When  king Saul sent men to capture Michal and bring her back to him, Paltiel ran after her captors, weeping and pleading, until they threatened him and made him go back home. He followed all the way to Bahurim - a town midway between Jerusalem and Jericho.   Michal's captors were king Saul's sons.  They don't sound very royal to me;  no, they were rough and brutish.  What a cast we have for our soap opera!  Michal herself was quite a character.  At first she was quite smitten with David, but she didn't share David's love for God.  She mocked him and she grew to despise him.  She ended up barren and bitter.
     The book of II Samuel tells David's story.  His victories and defeats.  His strengths and weaknesses.  David governed the people using God's laws as his basis.  He was a man after God's  heart.  But he was human;  he sinned.  God forgave him, but David suffered the consequences of his sin... read II Samuel...
 you'll see....

      We can learn many lessons from David's story.  I have chosen three from our "soap opera":

     #1: No matter how popular, how powerful, or how courageous we have been, God is
           100% Holy and 100% moral;  He always rates sin as sin.
     #2:  Any personal greatness that we experience here on earth is a gift from God.  Give Him
            all the praise and glory.
     #3: Following God's plan is the best plan.  If we fail to apply God's principals in our lives,
           we will  and up making mistakes and we can expect to pay the consequences.