THE BOOK OF 1 SAMUEL
The Tyranny of the
Urgent
1 Samuel 21 SCC
3/8/15
Here is
what can happen when we feel desperate about our situation. We tend to take
matters into our own hands instead of trusting
God and creating a godly response. When we act out of fear or intimidation
or anxiety or worry or threats, we
complicate the situation we had hoped to resolve, and suffer consequences
we never anticipated or could have foreseen.
IN
DESPERATION WE BECOME CONSUMED WITH SELF PRESERVATION 1-9
VERSE 1 Nob
stood one and one-half miles northeast of Jerusalem and two and one-half miles
southeast of Gibeah.
There Ahimelech served as high
priest. Priestly activity, and evidently the tabernacle, was now there. It is
significant that David’s first place of refuge was among God’s chosen
representatives on earth. He wanted to get help from the Lord through them as
he had done in the past. Apparently Ahimelech was
trembling because David was alone. Had Saul sent him to harm the priests, or was David in some kind of trouble? Bear in mind that
David was Saul’s general, and as such he usually traveled with escorting
soldiers.
VERSE
2 1st Question:
David appears to have lied to Ahimelech v 2. He wanted Ahimelech
to think that Saul had sent him. This was deception at best and a lie at worst rooted
ultimately in need for self-preservation and lack of faith in God. David made some mistakes in his early years
as a fugitive. He handled himself better as time passed. During this time God
was training him for future service.
David proceeded to explain that the reason he was alone
was that he had sent his soldiers elsewhere. He intended to rendezvous with
them shortly and had come to Nob himself to obtain provisions, protection, and
prayer.
How does it look to Ahimelech? Here is the leader of
the armies of Saul, and he is alone. It is a Sabbath. The "Law"
forbids travel on the Sabbath. David never traveled alone. He traveled with an
army, or at least a band of bodyguards. Ahimelech,
knowing the kind of conflict going on 5 miles north, is sure to wonder what is
happening.
VERSE
3-5 David asked for the showbread that the priests ate (Ex 25:30;
Lev 24:5-9) v 3. This was the bread
that for a week lay on the table of showbread in the tabernacle. Each Sabbath
the priests replaced this bread with fresh loaves. The 12 loaves
indicated God was the total provider for all the needs of Israel. God would
surely supply for David, if only David had connected the dots at this sacred
moment.
Ahimelech was
careful that David’s men were ritually clean, not having had sexual relations
with women that day v 4. David
assured him that their bodies were clean ritually v 5. This made it permissible for them to eat the consecrated
bread.
VERSE
6 Ahimelech gave David the provisions
he needed v 6. Jesus said this was proper for David to have done Mt
12:1-4. God designed the Sabbath for man's benefit, not demanding man to
conform to the Sabbath The reason was that human life takes precedence over ceremonial law
with God. David was
probably not at the point of starvation. Certainly the Lord’s disciples were
not. Nevertheless human need should always be a higher priority than the
observance of a ritual used to worship God.
VERSE
7 The mention of Doeg, an Edomite, a ruthless opportunist who had risen high in
Saul’s government v 7, prepares the
reader for his informing Saul about what happened at Nob in chp
22. David
knows Doeg will go back and tell Saul. What desperate
position had David put Ahimelech? Remember Saul?
David’s intrigue will have repercussions for Ahimelech.
He will die.
VERSE
8 2ND Question:
David now asked for protection, namely, a sword v 8. Goliath’s huge sword, which had initially rested in David’s
tent, was now in the tabernacle wrapped in the priest’s ephod. David knew it
was there. He needed a weapon and that is why he came to Nob.
VERSE
9 David eagerly accepted it from Ahimelech
since there was no sword like it. Solomon used the same expression to describe
the Lord (2 Sam 7:22). Though there was no better protection than Goliath’s
sword physically, the Lord was an even better protector spiritually. There is none like Him.
NB: Notice
that the first question is for food. The second question is for a weapon. What
does this tell you about David’s mindset at the moment? He is plotting a plan:
(1)
David knew Saul was going to hunt him down (20:3, 30-31).
(2)
David needs provisions both food and any weapons he can secure. Remember the
Philistines had controlled Israel’s weapons so there was neither spear nor
sword available (13:19-22).
(3) It
is a desperate time for David and he is attempting to find a way, maybe any
way, to survive. However, desperately taking matters into his own hands, he
compromises himself with intrigue which will get him in trouble and come back
to haunt him.
Lesson: A
believer never needs to act desperately. Find a way, yes. Take some action, of
course. Create a godly response of some kind, absolutely. Trust God with that
response, essential. What you can’t do is grasp any desperate measure possible.
David will become more seasoned, but unfortunately this will become a fatal
flaw throughout his personal life and reign. We see it with the sin of
Bathsheba and ensuing cover-up. We see it when he counts his forces. We see it
when he flees the palace because of Absalom attempted coup. Desperate solutions
become gateways for frequent resolution.
DESPERATE
ACTIONS CREATE COMPLICATIONS WE NEVER ANTICIPATED 9-15
VERSE
9-11 David’s gotten out of dodge and this next refuge proved
to be just as insecure v 9. It is a
mystery why he sought refuge with Goliath’s sword in that giant’s hometown v 10. Perhaps he went there since Achish was an enemy of Saul’s, as David was. The people
identified David at once and called him Israel’s king v 11. David’s reputation had spread. In any case Achish’s advisers viewed David’s presence as a threat. The
potential of his helpfulness against the enemy had to be weighed against the
chance that he would prove disloyal, turn on his host, and do much damage.
VERSE
12-13 David sensed his personal danger due his reputation
getting into the ears of the commander so desperate he concocts pretending to
be insane to save his life v 12.
Evidently Achish dismissed him concluding that David
was mad and could be of no help to him against Saul v 13. If you read Daniel, chapter 4, you know that is exactly what God did to
Nebuchadnezzar. He was boasting about Babylon he had built when God struck him
with madness, fulfilling a prophecy of Daniel's. Nebuchadnezzar became like an
animal. He wandered about eating grass, with fingernails like claws and hair
like fur, and no one killed him. The same with the demoniac
at the edge of town in Jesus day.
VERSE 14-15 So Achish sent David away. Psalm 34 is when David flees to the cave in Adullum
where God apparently straightens out David's thinking according to the Psalm.
Psalms express David's deep trust in and commitment to his God. Yet there is
also this strange feeling of undeserved persecution. He struggles between deep
trust in God and a feeling of unfair persecution. God is taking him through
this wilderness experience to teach him absolute faith. This is one of the
places that he learns it.
1. In both Nob and Gath David resorted to deception to
protect himself, and in each place some bad
consequences resulted. This brings back memories of Abraham, and Jacob who
deceived to protect themselves. Doeg killed the
priests, and David had to abandon Gath.
2. However, David also trusted in the Lord. He wrote Psa 34 and 56 during and after his time in Gath, according
to the titles of those psalms. They reveal that he was trusting God. His
ultimate hope for provision and protection was not the priests or Saul’s
enemies but the Lord Himself.
3. This faith undoubtedly explains the fact that God
preserved him, and some good consequences came out of these experiences. David
had two more encounters with Achish both of which
were beneficial for David. 1 Sam 21 helps us see the mixture of right and wrong
in David’s actions, but David’s psalms clarify the proper response that the
godly should make when opposition assails them.
Lets read Psalm 34 now. Could there be
echoes of 1 Samuel 21 here?
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The
humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His
name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And
delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their
faces will never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And
saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him
and rescues them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who
fear Him there is no want.
10 The young lions
do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall not be in
want of any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach
you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life
And loves length
of days that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from
speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and
pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To
cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves
those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But
the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
Not one of them is
broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate
the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And
none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.