The Priest Gave Him the Consecrated Bread

1 Samuel 21:1-15, Key Verse 21:6

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.

In the previous message, we learned Jonathan’s sacrificial friendship with David. He loved David more than his own position as the prince and the kingdom of Israel. His love resembles the love of Christ who disowned his kingdom and came down to this world in order to save sinners. As I listened to the message last Sunday, I wish that I have a human friend like Jonathan. As I sing hymn # 625, God reminded me that I have a better friend, who has borne even all my sins and griefs with his life on the cross. What a privilege to have a friend who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords and willing to listen to us! May God help each one of us to build the friendship with Christ through prayer and listening to his word! Amen!

Have you been in trouble when you have not done anything wrong. What did you at that time? What did God do for you? Let’s see what David did while running for his life and what God did for David. There are two parts. 

I.  God Provided Through Ahimelek (1-9)

Look at verse 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?” Nob is a priestly town located north of Jerusalem. David went to meet the priest Ahimelek, who was on duty at that time. David was seeking godly people and their help again. When Ahimelek saw David, he trembled and asked why he was alone. He might not know what was going on; how Saul was trying to kill David but sensed that something was going on because he was not with his army as usual but alone. What was David’s answer? 

Look at verse 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.” David lied that he was on his mission with men who will meet him later at a certain place. Why did he do that? There are two reasons; 1) it is to protect himself and 2) it is to protect the priest, Ahimelek’s innocence. There was Doeg, Saul’s chief shepherd, who would later report to king Saul and Ahimelek could defend himself that he helped David without knowing Saul’s order to kill David. 

Then, David asked the priest for 5 loaves of bread because did not have any food and was hungry. The priest didn’t have an ordinary bread but a consecrated bread, yet David’s men could have them if they kept themselves from women. What was David’s answer? Look at verses 5-6. David answered that the men are holy, while carrying out a mission, kept from women. Then the priest gave David the consecrated bread. 

Even though David was fugitive, he was holy. This part is recorded in Matthew 12:3-8, saying, “He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Jesus defended his disciples, who were accused by the Pharisees for eating the heads of grain, using the example of David, eating the consecrated bread. According to Leviticus 24:5-9, the consecrated bread lawful is only priest to eat, but the priest gave David and his men to eat if they were holy. In Matthew 18:7-8, Jesus added the meaning that God desires mercy not sacrifice. If we knew the meaning of God’s law, they would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. 

In fact, the Lord provided him the consecrated bread in his mercy when he was hungry through the priest, Ahimelek. Likewise, God gave us the consecrated bread. Jesus is the bread, as he said in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” When we come to Jesus, our spirit is satisfied through love and grace. By believing in God’s provision, we are free from worries, seeking his kingdom and righteousness first. 

Look at verses 7-8. Since there was king Saul’s chief shepherd, whose name was Doeg, David realized that he had to leave because he will tell the king sooner or later. David asked Ahimelek any weapon, spear or sword, because he needed as he had to defend himself and possibly had to fight. Since he left quickly, running for his life, he did not bring any with him. But it was unlikely place to find any weapon since priests are exempted from war. What was the priest answer? Look at verse 9. The priest told David about the sword of Goliath in the temple. He could take it, if he wanted it. David was very happy to take it because there was none like it. Moreover, the sword had a special meaning for David, as he engaged in the battle for the first time and won the victory by faith in Lord who rescued him from lions and bears while shepherding sheep. By now, he might be strong and tall enough to handle it. God was with him, reminding him the victory by faith. With this sword, he will win many battles and finally become the king as God promised.

As God gave David the sword, we must have the sword as we live as strangers on earth and have to fight the spiritual battle. According to Ephesians 6:10-17, we must have the full armor of God for our spiritual battle. Yet, even if you have all armor, you cannot kill the enemy without the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. The word of God is like a double-edged sword, penetrating and dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world but of God and his word. May God bless each one of us to receive the sword of the spirit and fight the good fight of faith until win the victory one after another. Amen! 

II. God Protected David (10-15)

Look at verse 10, “That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.” I still wonder why David went to Achish, king of Gath, where the hometown of Goliath whom he killed with his sling shot. I have seen a few south Korean soldiers run to north Korea when they got in serious trouble in law. So it may be possible: There is no place to run to Israel. Since he became the enemy of Saul, thinking that he could be treated well in the enemy land, thinking that they would honor him since he could beat their champion. By any means, I could not find any hint that David did it by faith. 

Was David treated well? Look at verse 11, “But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: “‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” Of course not! The servants of the king Achish reminded him that David killed not only Goliath but also was praised by the people of Israel for many victories, being treated like the king of Israel. 

When David heard what they were saying, he was very much afraid of the king of Gath, who might kill him for the damage David did to the Philistines or eliminate his future threat. What happened to David? Once, David was a mighty warrior, who was not even afraid of Goliath, who was a valiant soldier from young age and taunted the whole Israelites army for 40 days and made fun of their ranks, including king Saul. Now he is afraid of the servants, not even a soldier? 

Have you been in such a situation. In order to avoid one threat, you moved to another way, which got you in trouble more. What did you do at that time? Someone said that the best solution is time, saying, “Time will resolve itself!” Another said “Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be.” What did Abram do? In order to avoid famine in the Promised Land, Abram went to Egypt. When he was afraid, he lied. What did David do? David recorded what he did in the whole Psalm 34, especially in 4, 6 and 17, “I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.” Verse 17 is the generalized phrase, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hear them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” The righteous is the one who has faith in God. 

How did God deliver him then? Look at verse 13, “So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.” David pretended that he was insane, acting crazy, budding head on the doors and drooling. How humiliating it was! Is this God’s inspiration for David to do? Really? 

Let’s look at verses 14-15, “Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? ¹⁵ Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?” The king saw crazy David and told his people to send him away. As he wrote in Psalm 34, David knew that God inspired him to act crazy and answered his prayer, blinding the king to find that he was pretending it, and thus sending him away in peace. Whether it was led by God or by his own mistake, David experienced God’s protection not in a battle but in a different level, salvation in life-threatening moment. 

While we live on earth, we meet such a situation. Whether it was by God’s providence or by your own mistake, you may be in trouble, even feel life-threaten. At that time, may God help us to seek the Lord and cry out to him by faith, he will hear them and answer them with an inspiration that is from above. Yet, we have to obey even if we have to act like a crazy person, so that we may experience another level of God’s salvation and praise God, glorifying His name for the deliverance. Amen! 

Recently, there was one young man who has been delivered from the power of his sinful habit, which threatened his spiritual and even school life for many years when he simply obeyed unusual inspiration. 

Through today’s passage, we learned God provided David bread and sword, which he needed to survive and fight a battle. And then God saved him from the fear of death as he cried out to God through strange inspiration. May God help each one of us to believe in God’s provision and seek first His kingdom and righteousness. May God also help us cry out to God by faith when we are in troubles and obey his inspiration to experience another level of deliverance.