At last, the BIG NEWS!!

Welcome to ROYAL WIVES, a scripture study that looks at David and his three named wives: Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba. In ROYAL WIVES, you will discover much you have not known or yet considered about the legendary King David. A larger-than-life biblical hero, much of the Hebrew Scriptures are given over to his story as he rises from shepherd boy to the greatest hero and king of Israel. Despite his greatness, he remains a kind of everyman, for his story is not only about his deeds; it is about his heart. Over the course of his lifetime, David takes on many roles: slayer of a giant, poet, soldier, friend, refugee, leader, singer, king, father, diplomat, even dancer. Too large a life to begin to address in the several weeks of this study, we look only at a narrow portion of that life in his role as husband, an aspect rarely focused upon. While there are many women in David’s life, we will focus on the three whose stories are told in the Bible: Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba. It is their stories that will become the lens through which we will view the scriptures in this study.

ROYAL WIVES is a light-weight compared to the two previous studies, SISTERS IN SCRIPTURE and NEVER ON SUNDAYS which were designed for use over 12-15 weeks. ROYAL WIVES is, instead, intended for use in a short block of time and adaptable to many formats. 

We have three vignettes given us: the youthful David who consorts with Michal, the daughter of Saul, who lets him down through the window to escape the wrath of her father, warrior David living life on the lam who know a good woman when he meets her and promptly proposes to the wise and wealthy widow Abigail, and David in the fullness of his power, a mighty king who spies a beautiful woman bathing and famously falls big-time. For each of these stories, two separate sets of questions are provided, one focusing on the woman involved and the other on David. Thus, the study may be done in three blocks or in six. With both female and male versions of each telling, the format lends itself well to a setting of both women and men. 

Intrigued? ROYAL WIVES is a colorful story that engages the text and is made relevant by the many modalities it presents: background, prayer, reflection questions, small group sharing, and a teaching component. Originally written some years ago, ROYAL WIVES has been edited and revised to make its debut in response to the many requests for a follow-up bible study. It was the first study to explore the dynamics of power which later became a key component in studies and at the heart of the book, WHY THESE WOMEN.