”Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.” And Saul commanded his servants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ” So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” And the servants of Saul told him, saying, “In this manner David spoke.” Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.“ I Samuel 18:20-25 NKJV
a. Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David: Saul was happy to hear this (the thing pleased him). It doesn’t surprise us that Michal was attracted to David, because of his character, qualities, and fame. But as is evident later in David’s marriage to Michal, she was not really attracted to David’s heart for the LORD.
b. That she might be a snare to him: This may be meant in two ways. First, Saul obviously wanted David to be snared by the dowry. But it may also be that Saul knew Michal’s character and heart and knew that she would be a snare for him as a wife, as turned out to be the case in some regard (2 Samuel 6:16-23).
c. The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines: Now, Saul builds on his clever plan. “David won’t marry Michal because he doesn’t have a big enough dowry. He’s too humble to ask me for terms, so I will suggest them.” Even the way he phrases it is clever: “The king does not desire any dowry.” That makes it sound like Saul doesn’t want anything from David. “But one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” That makes it sound like Saul isn’t asking for much, when he is really asking for something far greater than a lot of money. He asks David to put his life in great jeopardy because Saul wants him dead.
i. Even the specific request – one hundred foreskins of the Philistines–was manipulative. It was designed to goad David on (“Go get those uncircumcised Philistines”). It was designed to be difficult because the Philistines would obviously have to be dead. And it was designed to make the Philistines completely outraged at David, because from their perspective, not only were their men killed but also their dead bodies were desecrated. (Guzik)
“Here is a fair glove drawn upon a foul hand.” (Trapp)
Snare-Goad
Snare: often serves as a metaphor for physical, spiritual, or ethical traps throughout the Bible.
Goad: an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen.
Jesus used the term kicking against the goads. Acts 9:5
The devil will often use the ungodly to snare and goad a godly person into doing something that causes them to fall from grace.
”looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;“
Hebrews 12:15 NKJV
Bitterness is an easy snare for many. Praying for the Lord to remove it helps cleanse the soul.
Blessings
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