1 Samuel 21:1-15
David and the Holy Bread
1 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?”
2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”
4 And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”
5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day.”
6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.
7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.
8 And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”
9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.”
And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
David Flees to Gath
10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying:
‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”
12 Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
As David fled for his life from Saul, he came to Nob, where Ahimelech the priest was. David lied to the priest when he told him that he and his men who were nearby were on a secret mission for the king and needed food. He asked for five loaves of bread and the only bread was the holy showbread on display (Exodus 25:30, Leviticus 24:8, 9) there which they could partake of if they had at least kept themselves from women in holy living to be allowed to eat it the holy bread on display for the priests to eat as was provided to the servants made holy (Matthew 12:3-4, 6) by the LORD. We who are in Christ have been made both holy in His righteousness and priests to Him who is our God, and likewise are permitted to partake of the true bread of the offering He made for us in His Son. David assured the priest that they were all holy in their lives that day and that the bread sat long enough to become common anyway, so they were given it to eat. There was a spy in their midst, however; Doeg the Edomite who was a loyal servant of Saul was there and would later let Saul know what happened there with the priest, the bread, and how David also took the sword of Goliath the Philistine and so was armed. David then escaped to Gath to king Achish there but his people recognized him and he had to fading insanity to escape his reputation as a well-known slayer of Philistines. Before they could smite David, however, he caught on and so acted insane until they kicked him out. David did questionable things in our eyes to survive, yet God was with him and allowed these actions for a greater purpose in deceiving the enemy, much like spies in our armies do today to fight another day. God allowed Rahab to lie to the enemies of God’s people in Jericho and at other times to keep the righteous alive to fight another day, which may seem contradictory to the command not to lie for personal advantage. This was for a bigger purpose in God’s plan to bring righteousness in all He calls in His righteous one that we may be counted as holy in Him and partake of Him as our living bread (like manna from heaven, John 6:27, 48, 51, 58) as His priests and kings (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:10) for His kingdom and who gives us the sword of victory over the enemy and deliverance to His people, which is the word (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12) of the gospel. May we likewise partake of the Lord’s holy bread given freely to us in sacrifice of worship (Romans 12:1) in these temples (1 Corinthians 6:19) to sustain us and fulfill the great commission.
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