Saul represents to us the world. The devil working through the world is always against us. Saul says to David, you can have Merab my eldest daughter to be your wife. Then he says you can have Michal, and again, the old writers all say similar things along these lines: ‘When you have a great gift, think of the purpose of the gift, not just the value of it.’ In the old days when people used to be able to talk to their bank manager, a small business man might meet his bank manager in the street, and the manager might say, ‘Oh, you must join me for a spot of lunch.’ If the businessman was sensible, he wouldn't be thinking about the value of the lunch; he would be wondering what the bank manager wanted to sell next: what service, whatever. You do not get a free lunch for nothing. You look at the purpose behind a gift, not the value of it. That's what David did. When he was offered the hand of Michal in marriage, and Michal loved him, he thought, ‘Yes, this is entry into the royal family. I will be a royal. Surely this is the Lord's will. This is what I'm anointed for, and I shall have status, and wealth, and position, and a place, and all the rest of it.’ But he also thought, ‘What is the purpose of the gift? What is the objective? It is to get me killed. Number one, it is to get me distracted.’ That is here in the chapter. ‘I shall now be a married man, and Michal will be wanting me at home all the time, and I won't be the valiant captain of Israel, and I shall have this constant distraction.’ This isn’t an argument against marriage. ‘Number two: in order to get her, I have got to go out, and win even more battles, and be even more at risk. Saul is giving me something of great value, but the reason he is giving it to me is to get me killed.’
When the world gives you something special, don't think, ‘Oh, the value of this. This wonderful promotion, this wonderful opportunity!’ Or if you are young and your parents say, ‘We don't want you to struggle with this and with that. We are going to give you this, that, and the other: be careful; they may be good parents, but they may be wanting to own you, and direct you. Consider that. I don't want to malign anyone's parents, of course not, but be careful. Look at the purpose behind the advantage or behind the gift. The Christian has to be careful. Don't lease out your life, or lose it, because you are offered something of great value. It may be okay and wise; it may not be. And that's another principle you are learning from this. David took account, as we will see, of what was behind every gift, every preferment, every advantage.