1 Samuel 18:17-30--David Marries Michal

1 Samuel 18:17-30
English Standard Version

David Marries Michal
17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD's battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father's clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” 19 But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

20 Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.” 22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law.’” 23 And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” 24 And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” 25 Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.’” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28 But when Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, 29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually.

​30 Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

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Saul tries to change his tactic and desires to bring David down through marriage, for if David marries someone like Saul, then perhaps she will turn his heart and the LORD will no longer bless David and he will die in battle against the Philistines so that Saul will not have to lift a finger to attack David--he simply would have to offer the hand of his eldest daughter to David in marriage, which would even look like a good gesture to the people.  However, David is humble and knows that he hasn't done anything deserving of this kind of move--to become the son-in-law of the king, and there's also a problem that the daughter that Saul wanted to promise to David is already betrothed to be married to another man named Adriel the Meholathite.

So, another of Saul's daughters named Michal loved David (and I assume David loved her because it says in verse 20 that "they" told Saul and it pleased him).  And Saul says in his heart, "Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." For Saul knows that his daughter is very much like him.  He also knows that having a family can be a distraction in battle, especially for a newlywed who was not supposed to have to go out to war because his first duty was to be with his wife and the LORD did not want newly married wives to become widows because of war.

Saul then uses all of his servants to continually talk to David about the idea of marrying Michal and reported back to Saul the things that David said, but Saul did not approach David himself, but did send official messages this way.  One of the messages he sent was to negotiate the bride-price for his daughter.  He knew David was poor and could not pay the standard dowry price for a king's daughter, but Saul instead negotiated the price of 100 Philistine foreskins (meaning that David would either have to get 100 Philistines to be circumcised and willfully give them his foreskins, or he'd have to kill them and then circumcise them after death.  The later was the more likely scenario).  Saul's plan here was that maybe David would go into battle so distracted that he would make a mistake and that the Philistines would be able to kill him.

However, David arose and went out to battle and killed two hundred Philistines and brought the foreskins of them to Saul (twice as much as he required), and Michal was given to David as a wife.  This now made Saul even more afraid of David, because it would have been impossible for David to accomplish this task unless the LORD was with him to keep him safe and bless him.  No matter what plans Saul had for the marriage to turn David's heart, he is now not sure that even that will work.

So, every time that the Philistines came out to make war with Israel, even though David led only a small company of 1,000 men, he and his men had more success than all the other commanders of the Israelite army combines so that David's name continued to be highly esteemed among the military and the people (and it is likely that the Philistines also began to know his name and would become afraid of facing him in battle).