The Priest’s Help

30. July 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

Our story now picks up with David being officially on the run from Saul.   After he leaves Jonathan, his first stop is to find some food and a weapon.   Let’s look at our text and see where he goes.

Here is the text:

I Samuel 21:1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” 2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.’ 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 things 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 head shepherd. 8 David asked Ahimelech, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s business 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.”

As you can see from our text, David goes to the priest and the priest was concerned that David was alone.  David lied and said he was on the king’s business and the priest gave him the bread that had been consecrated which wasn’t supposed to be given out but to the priests. 

David asked for a weapon and the priest told him that the only weapon available was the sword of Goliath which David had killed earlier.   David took the sword and went on his way.

Tomorrow’s story takes an interesting turn as we see what happens when Saul’s people found out David was with the priest.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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