1 Samuel 21

1 Samuel 21  •  7 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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In the preceding chapter David had shown himself to be somewhat below his usual quality of character. Here it is likewise, for he lies to Ahimelech and uses a ruse that is not to his honor in the presence of Achish. Yet nevertheless at Nob (1 Sam. 21:1-61Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. 4And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. 5And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 6So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. (1 Samuel 21:1‑6)) he presents us with one of the most important features of the rejected Messiah. This incident is noted in Matt. 12:1-81At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 3But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (Matthew 12:1‑8), Mark 2:23-2823And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 24And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? 25And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Mark 2:23‑28), and Luke 6:1-51And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; 4How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the showbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? 5And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Luke 6:1‑5).
In the first of these passages the Lord having proclaimed that true rest is found in Himself (Matt. 11:28-3028Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28‑30)), leaves his disciples free to carry out an act permitted by the law (Deut. 23:2525When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing corn. (Deuteronomy 23:25)), but which in the eyes of the Pharisees violated and profaned the Sabbath. The situation had been the same for David at Nob, for it was on a Sabbath day, the day when the shewbread was replaced (cf. Levs. 24:8), that he presented himself before the priest. Now why did the Lord act in this way? It was because like David He Himself, the Beloved, had been rejected by the people whom the legal system ordained by God had proved unable to lead to recognize their Messiah. The Sabbath, sign of the covenant between God and His people, was thus being violated by the fact that the people were rejecting their God. There was no more rest under the old legal system. Henceforth the Father was obliged to work anew, and the Son Himself was working with Him. Man’s Sabbath had ended, and the rejection of God in the person of His Son had as consequence the abandoning of the legal system of the Jews, the right of the Son of Man to use the Sabbath as He saw fit, and the introduction of a new system in which He associated His disciples and companions with Himself. Christ having been rejected, as David had been, there was no more rest for the creature in this world, but rather a rest outside of this world based upon the work of redemption and which could be possessed through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
A second fact accompanied David’s rejection. He had Ahimelech give him the shewbread which only the priests were allowed to eat once it had been removed from the table. This bread taken from before God’s presence was “in a manner common” (1 Sam. 21:55And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. (1 Samuel 21:5)). In the presence of the rejection of His king, what value could the shewbread, which presented the true Israel in Christ to God, have in God’s sight. So David could consider this bread profane. Sovereign grace rose above legal ordinances, for it was more important to feed David and his followers than to preserve that which had become old.
David asks for a weapon. Ahimelech has no arms other than Goliath’s sword. This instrument of David’s victory was kept behind the ephod wrapped in a cloth, looked after and set in a place of honor under the very eyes of God. Likewise the testimony of Christ’s victory, death, by which He conquered the prince of death, has been carried as a memorial into the most holy place where Jesus has entered in by His own blood.
David said: “There is none like that” (1 Sam. 21:99And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me. (1 Samuel 21:9)). Let us not forget that, if David is a type of Christ, he is often also at the same time a type of believers. Like David, we go weaponless to meet the enemy, but one weapon alone is sufficient for us: the death of Christ and our death with Him. We find this in the sanctuary. There is none like it and Satan can do nothing against this weapon which has vanquished him.
But it is very comforting to consider in the two psalms that are attributed to this point of his history the experiences that David had of which the historical account tells us nothing.
Psalm 56 was composed “when the Philistines took him in Gath.”1 The weakness of his faith had caused him to seek refuge with Israel’s enemies. What does he find there? Man, who instead of helping him oppresses him and would swallow him up (Psa. 56:11<<To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.>> Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. (Psalm 56:1)). He whom carnal fear had led to flee from Saul now learns what the flesh is. He whom confidence in man had made to go down to Achish now finds what man is. He finds only danger and threats. His enemies gather together, they hide themselves, marking his steps and lying in wait for his soul, wresting his words all day long, formulating their thoughts against him for evil; but he still has God. He has learned to trust completely in God: “In the day that I am afraid, I will confide in Thee” (Psa. 56:33What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (Psalm 56:3)). This is the great lesson that God had taught him. If God is for him, what can the flesh do to him? “In God I put my confidence: I will not fear; what can flesh do unto me?” (Psa. 56:44In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. (Psalm 56:4)). What will man do to him? “In God have I put my confidence: I will not fear; what can man do unto me?” (Psa. 56:1111In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. (Psalm 56:11)). Now, delivered from death, he desires to be kept from falling in the future. Nothing makes our walk steady like trial, discipline, and the experiences that are related thereto: “For Thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt thou not keep my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (Psa. 56:1313For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? (Psalm 56:13)).
Psalm 34 was composed “when [David] changed his behavior before Abimelech,2 who drove him away, and he departed.” This psalm celebrates the Lord’s tender care of the believer under trial and expresses David’s confidence, flowing out of the fact that in his affliction, God had taken his cause in hand. This man of God in seeking help from Achish had had only a broken reed in hand. Now, instructed by God, he can say: “I sought Jehovah, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psa. 34:44I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)). “This afflicted one called, and Jehovah heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psa. 34:66This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalm 34:6)). He had learned the lesson that God was teaching him through His discipline. The experience he had just had enabled him to encourage others: “Taste and see that Jehovah is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him!” (Psa. 34:88O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8)).
Moreover he learned from experience that deception and lying could not procure good: “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” (Psa. 34:12-1312What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. (Psalm 34:12‑13)).
David’s experience at the court of Achish had been deeply humiliating, for the dignity which God had conferred upon him had been compromised by his behavior. His heart was broken and his spirit overwhelmed because of this, but under this discipline he had learned to know himself and to know the Lord in a more intimate way, and what more could he desire? “Jehovah is nigh to those that are of a broken heart, and saveth them that are of a contrite spirit” (Psa. 34:1818The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Psalm 34:18)).
Thus in his prophetic songs the soul of this man of God expresses what he had learned personally through the afflictions and the discipline which were necessary for him.