1 Chronicles 16:43
“And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.”
David had just finished one of the highlights of his reign. One of his dreams had just been fulfilled. For months, David desired that the ark of God be placed in the city of David. His first attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem failed when he copied how the Philistines carried the ark. The second time he carried the ark the way God told them to carry it from the beginning. The arrival of the ark into the city of David was a joyous one, not only for David, but also for the people of Israel. It was a great day for David and Israel.
One can only imagine the excitement David had in his heart and how he couldn’t wait to get home and tell his wife Michal what all happened. When David went home to his wife, he didn’t get the reception he expected. 2 Samuel 6:20 tells us about the reception when it says, “Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!” Instead of his wife being excited for her husband’s success, she was spiteful and jealous of how he acted when the ark came into the city. Her response was so bad that it affected their marriage for the rest of their lives. It says that because of how she received David, she had no more children unto the day of her death.
You would wonder if the story of Bathsheba would have happened had Michal received David properly when he came home. Don’t get me wrong, I am not at all justifying David in his affair with Bathsheba. He was totally in the wrong, and he was responsible for his own actions. All I’m saying is that if he didn’t regret coming home each night, one may wonder if that would have kept him from looking around.
Many marriages are hurt because of how a spouse is treated when they come home. If the first thing a spouse hears when they come home is griping and complaining, you will run off your spouse. Men, when you come home, your wife doesn’t need to hear you griping about what she’s not doing. She has dealt with the children all day long, and for you to come home and gripe about what she’s not doing will only hurt your marriage. She needs you to come home and give a spirit of stability to the house.
Ladies, your husband doesn’t need to come home to a wife who is griping and complaining about something he has done. He has worked all day long and is tired, and he really doesn’t want to come home and deal with drama when he enters the door. He wants to come home to a place where it is a retreat from the stress he faced during the day.
I encourage you to be careful how you first receive your spouse when they get home. Let the reception of your spouse coming home be one to which your spouse anticipates. They should have an anticipation of coming home because it is a place of escape from what they have faced all day. If you must deal with situations that have happened in the day, then let your spouse have some time of calm before dealing with that stress.
Furthermore, parents need to be careful that they don’t make their children hate coming home. If all you do the second they come in the door is get on their case every day, then they are going to hate home. Home is to be a place where family enjoys coming. Let the time they walk in the house be a joyous time. Every family member needs to work on this so that home leaves a good thought in the mind of each family member.