seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 21:1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
2 David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”
4 But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.”
5 David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” 6 So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.
7 Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd.
8 David asked Ahimelek, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s mission was urgent.”
9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.”
David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
Well, it seems to have taken forever to find today's commentary. I found it. Ahimelech was afraid when he met David: It seemed unusual to Ahimelech that a prominent man like David wandered around the villages of Judea by himself. It made Ahimelech think something was wrong, so he asked David, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”
The king has ordered me on some business: This was a plain lie. David came to the house of the LORD, but he lied to protect himself. David elaborated on his lie when he put false words in the mouth of Saul to establish an environment of secrecy (Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you), and when he referred to “my young men” (David was all alone).
So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread: In giving David the bread, Ahimelech broke with priestly custom but not with God’s Word. He rightly understood that human need was more important that Levitical observance.
The sword of Goliath: David was happy to have a good weapon (There is none like it). As David held this sword, he should have remembered how he came to win it. He didn’t do it with lies and half-truths. He did it with a bold trust in God, a trust that believed God and trusted Him to sort out the consequences.
When I was growing up, I heard all about that wonderful king David. He was the one God chose, and he was the one God wanted to be king all along. He was the one that was paving the way for Jesus. Some time ago I started reading and studying the Bible on my own.
And then I read these verses.
David was a liar. He caused the chief priest in Judea to break the law as set by God and Moses.
David was a liar with no regard for the "Temple Traditions".
David was a liar.
David has been sighted though. Look at verse 7, please.
Doeg the Edomite saw him. Doeg the Edomite was Saul's chief shepherd. I keep wanting to call him "dig dug the Edomite". I know he'll pop up again as we read on and calling him "dig dug the Edomite" will keep his identity and this story tied together, right?
David told the priest that Saul has sent him on a mission. Liar!
David said his men were going to meet him at a designated place. Liar!
David said his men had not been with women. Liar!
David said he lit out on this "secret" mission so quickly, he didn't pack a sword or a spear. Liar!
David was a good liar!
