1 Sam
21:1-9 (ESV) Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came
to meet David trembling and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one
with you?" 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has
charged me with a matter and said to me, 'Let no one know anything of the
matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.' I have made
an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what
do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here." 4
And the priest answered David, "I have no common bread on hand, but there
is holy bread— if the young men have kept themselves from women." 5 And
David answered the priest, "Truly women have been kept from us as always
when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it
is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?" 6
So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the
bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by
hot bread on the day it is taken away.
7 Now a
certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the
Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.
8 Then
David said to Ahimelech, "Then have you not here a spear or a sword at
hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the
king's business required haste." 9 And the priest said, "The sword of
Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, behold, it
is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it,
for there is none but that here." And David said, "There is none like
that; give it to me."
Note: It is sad that
David feels he must lie in order to protect himself and his men. On the other
hand, he may have felt he was protecting the priests by lying. If he told the
truth, they would have been killed for helping him (they would be killed anyway
by a raging Saul). David has a band of men who are committed to him. He needs
food and weapons. It is ironic that Goliath's large sword becomes his weapon of
choice -- gone are the days of the sling. Also, David had no idea how long he
would be exiled. It could have been many years (as it was 10 years), or it
could have been short. I'm sure his recent meeting with Samuel included a
reminder that he would someday be king. David does not attempt to hasten the
day through his actions -- he waits on God. Lord, the message to me is similar,
I need to wait on you and not try to take things in my own hand. Do what is
prudent, but no more.
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