Attitude is everything. 

When you study the life of David, how does he have a heart after God's own heart? 

David was still a man of the flesh which lead him to some really bad decisions in life, but he loved God and always returned to God when he went astray.  When you mention the Psalms, people automatically think of David.  When you mention Bathesheba, people think of David.  When you mention Goliath, you think of David.  David is a figure fixed in our minds.  David loved God. 
Open your bibles to . . .

1 Samuel 13:11-14
11 But Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, 
12 therefore I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord.'  So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering." 
13 Samuel said to Saul, "You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 
14 But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." 

Saul had his shot, but he did not obey God. 

Saul was more concerned with what the people thought about him than with obeying God.  What about you? 

Saul did not really understand God or who he was in relationship to the Living God.  This is not very different from Moses as we studied last week.  At first, Moses rejected God's direction to seek the release of His people from Egypt.  He did this at least three times.  Then Moses questioned God's plan after the Pharaoh rejected Moses' initial requests.  It took time for Moses to grow into his personal knowledge of the Living God. 

Saul's heart grew hard toward God.  Moses heart grew soft.  How is your heart?  Are you growing hard in rebellion or soft in submission?  Your attitude makes all the difference.
Open your bibles to . . .

1 Chronicles 21:26-30
26 Then David built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Lord and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. 
27 The Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath. 
28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there. 
29 For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time.
30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 7:1-3
1 Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. 
2 The priests could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. 
3 All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting."

David saw fire come down from heaven and light up his offering. 

Solomon saw fire come down from heaven when he dedicated the temple. 

David saw an Angel with His sword drawn which terrified him.  Do you remember the Angel who spoke with Joshua who called Himself the Commander of the Lord's Armies?  He had a sword drawn and told Joshua to remove his sandals because the place he was standing was holy ground just like when Moses went to the burning bush.  This is not just any angel.  This is the Angel of the Lord.  This is Jesus before He took on flesh and set aside His glory for a time in order to redeem mankind back to Himself. 

David had a healthy fear of the Lord.  Do you have a healthy fear of the awesomeness of our Living God? 
Open your bibles to . . .

2 Samuel 6:12-23
12 Now it was told King David, saying, "The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God." David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. 
13 And so it was, that when the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 
14 And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. 
15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet. 
16 Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that 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. 
17 So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 
18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 
19 Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one.  Then all the people departed each to his house. 
20 But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today!  He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!" 
21 So David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. 
22 I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished." 
23 Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. 

David had the correct attitude toward God.  David fears God.  David loves God.  David had the Holy Spirit of the Living God upon him. 

We, as Christians, must humble ourselves and recognize who we are in Christ.  Do you fear God?  Do you love God?  Does the Holy Spirit of the Living God guide your daily life? 

David made a decision to celebrate before the Lord.  This approach caused conflict with those closest to David.  David was all right with that.  Are you comfortable with creating conflict?  What about from those who are close to you?  Are you willing to deal with the conflict that will arise when you choose to follow God?  Are you willing to turn away from friends and family to follow Jesus? 
Open your bibles to . . . 

Psalms 27
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; 
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O Lord, I shall seek."
9 Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes.
12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

David saw God as his light and salvation.  David had killed a lion, a bear and a giant.  David was not afraid of man or beast, but he was afraid of the Sword of the Angel of the Lord.  Notice in verse 4 how David describes the beauty of the Lord.  Does your heart long to look upon the beauty of the Lord? 

Remember how Moses asked to see God's face, but the Father told him that no man could look upon Him and live?  Moses did speak to the Lord face to face, but that was the Angel of the Lord (Jesus prior to human birth). 

Do you seek the Lord?  Do you ask Him to teach you His ways?  Do you wait on the Lord and His timing for your life?  Remember 1 Samuel 13 where Saul did not wait.  Not only did he not wait, but he crossed a line and burnt incense which was not allowed for anyone except the Levitical priests.  He disrespected God by his actions.  Do you disrespect God by your actions? 

Psalms 51 is in response to 2 Samuel 12 where Nathan exposes David's sin to David.  David was King.  Kings do not get exposed.  Kings have people killed if the King just says the word.  Justice has nothing to do with the desires of a King.  A King does whatever he wants to do.  Nathan had taken his life and placed into David's hands when he told David he had sinned. 

Tough situations do not mold character.  Tough situations exposes the existing character.  David had a good man killed just to hide David's adultery with his wife.  David repented.  Here is his response.
Open your bibles to . . .

Psalms 51
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak 
And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
18 By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Psalms 51 is thought to be written after David had Uriah killed so he could have Bathsheba.  Have you ever asked yourself why God describes David as a man after His own heart?  David has the right attitude.  David knows he is a sinner and David knows he needs God for salvation. 

Verse five says David recognizes that he is born a sinner.  David needs a Savior.  In verse ten, David says create in me a clean heart.  Verse eleven begs God not to take away the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirteen is David's response.  He will put his faith into action by teaching and preaching. 

Verse seventeen is key.  God wants a broken heart.  This is one of the main reasons I love prison ministry.  Inmates have been broken and they seek the face of God with a contrite heart.
Open your bibles to . . .

John 3:5-8
5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 
7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 
8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going;so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Jesus is talking to a Jewish religious leader.  This is the same concept David is describing in Psalms 51.  David killed in his flesh, but repented and was seeking the face of God in his spirit.  David committed adultery in the flesh, but repented and is seeking his Savior for redemption. 
Open your bibles to . . .

Matthew 22:41-46
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 
42 "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?"  They said to Him, "The son of David." 
43 He said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying, 
44 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet"'?
45 If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his son?" 
46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. 

Hebrews 1:13-14
13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, "Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies A footstool for Your feet"? 
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? 

The Pharisees said the Christ is the son of David.  Christ is Greek for the Hebrew word Messiah.  Christ and Messiah refer to the Anointed One.  This is the Anointed One from God who will make things right between man and God.  That is the God-man, Jesus.  David knew that a man born of the seed of man was born a sinner from birth.  Genesis 3:15 describes the seed of woman which is a reference to the virgin birth of Jesus because women do not produce seed.  Jesus is the seed and the Anointed One. 
Open your bibles to . . .

Psalms 110:1-4
1  The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."
2 The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, "Rule in the midst of Your enemies."
3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

Michael Jordan was such a dominate basketball player with the Bulls that people tend to ignore the supporting cast.  Pippin and Rodman were critical to the Bulls' success and to the legacy of Michael Jordan.  Michael would not be Michael without them.  Scripture is kinda like that.  Psalms 110 is known for verse one and verse four.  Verse four talks about being a priest from the order of Melchizedek.  Those are both big verses with big references for man to consider, but do not miss verses two and three.  Rule in the midst of Your enemies.  Who is the enemy of God? 
Open your bibles to . . .

2 Samuel 12:13-16
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."  And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. 
14 However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die." 
15 So Nathan went to his house.  Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. 
16 David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. 

Open your bibles to . . .

2 Samuel 12:22-25
22 He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.' 
23 But now he has died; why should I fast?  Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon.  Now the Lord loved him
25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him Jedidiah for the Lord's sake. 

I will go to him, but he will not return to me. 

Do you understand what David just said?  David is talking about death.  So David is saying that this child went to the same place that he would go when he died.  So the question is; did David go to heaven or hell?  This is David.  Of course, he would be with the Lord when he dies.  David just told you that kids go to be with the Lord when they die. 

Several years ago I mentioned this story to a man who believed in baby baptism.  I told him that baby baptism is not scriptural and pointed to this passage.  Needless to say, he got mad and was ready to fight.  Salvation is by grace.  Simply dunking a person in water does not force the hand of God to save that person.  That activity is man trying to play god.  The first step toward true salvation is knowing that you are not God.  God is God and He provides grace to those who come to Him in the way that He prescribes. 

What about the phrase 'in the day of your power' from Psalms 110:3?  More on this day later.

Open your bibles to . . .

Matthew 18:1-11
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 
2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 
3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 
4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

7 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!  For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! 
8 "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 
9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell. 
10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 
11 [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.] 

Hebrews 1:14 told us that angels were ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.  Jesus just said that these little ones have their angels.  The bible does teach an age of accountability.  When the nation wander in the wilderness, those twenty and over died.  When a census was taken those twenty and over were counted.  When God instructed the nation to pay a redemption fee, those twenty and over had to pay.  What does that say about children who die? 
Open your bibles to . . .

2 Samuel 7:8-13
8 "Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 
9 I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. 
10 I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, 
11 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. 
12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers,I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 
13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 

God is in control.  Do not miss the references to My people, My name, I took, I have, I will, I command, I give, etc. 
Open your bibles to . . .

1 Kings 8:54-61
54 When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven. 
55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 
56 "Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. 
57 May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, 
58 that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. 
59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, 
60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no one else. 
61 Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day." 

When Solomon started out he looks like he was walking right.  He did not end well.  How are you walking?  How will you end? 
Open your bibles to . . .

2 Chronicles 7:1-3
1 Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. 
2 The priests could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. 
3 All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting."

Ecclesiates 7:20
Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. 

We mentioned this earlier, but just think about seeing fire come down from heaven and witnessing the glory of the Living God fill the temple.  God is good.  God is loving.  God is kind.  God is patient. 
Open your bibles to . . .

1 Kings 11:1-13
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 
2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon held fast to these in love. 
3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 
4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. 
6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. 
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 
8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 

9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 
10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. 
11 So the Lord said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 
12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 
13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen." 
 

David and his wives
1 Samuel 18:22-28
Then Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David secretly, saying, 'Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now therefore, become the king's son-in-law.'"  So Saul's servants spoke these words to David.  But David said, "Is it trivial in your sight to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?"  The servants of Saul reported to him according to these words which David spoke.  Saul then said, "Thus you shall say to David, 'The king does not desire any dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king's enemies.'"  Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.  When his servants told David these words, it pleased David to become the king's son-in-law.  Before the days had expired David rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines.  Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law.  So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife.  When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, then Saul was even more afraid of David. Thus Saul was David's enemy continually.

1 Samuel 19:9-17
Now there was an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand.  Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.  Then Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning.  But Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death."  So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped.  Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.  When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."  Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death."  When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats' hair at its head.  So Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I put you to death?'" 

1 Samuel 25:42-44
Then Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.  David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives.  Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim. 

2 Samuel 3:1-5
Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David grew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker continually.  Sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, by David's wife Eglah. These were born to David at Hebron. 

2 Samuel 3:12-16
Then Abner sent messengers to David in his place, saying, "Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you."  He said, "Good! I will make a covenant with you, but I demand one thing of you, namely, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see me."  So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines."  Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.  But her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go, return." So he returned.