1 Samuel 21:1-15 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 21:1-15. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Samuel 21:1-9 (NIV)
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.”
On verses 1-9: When David runs away from Saul, the first place David flees to is Nob, “the town of the priests” (see 1 Samuel 22:19). There David meets Ahimelek the priest, who gives David bread and a sword:
– The bread which Ahimelek gave David was known as “the bread of the presence” (or the “showbread”) and was supposed to be eaten by the priests (Leviticus 24:9). Ahimelek saw that David needed the bread more than he did, so out of compassion for David, Ahimelek gave his bread to David. In a way, this points to Jesus our high priest who saw our need and in compassion gave us what He had.
– Ahimelek also gave David the sword of Goliath, the very weapon which David used to kill Goliath and which David had apparently donated to the worship centre at Nob, possibly for display.
What can we learn from this? When we go to the house of God, we receive two things: bread to feed our souls and a sword to fight our battles. The bread that feeds our souls is Jesus Himself, who is the bread of life (John 6:35). The sword we get is the word of God (Ephesians 6:18), which speaks into our lives and empowers us. So that you can complete the mission God has given you, feed on the presence of God and the Word of God every day.
1 Samuel 21:10-15 (NIV)
10 That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.
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’?”
12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath.
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.
14 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?”
On verses 10-15: David, a God-fearing Israelite, flees to the Philistine city of Gath, all the while carrying the sword of Gath’s fallen hero Goliath! But David wasn’t looking for a fight; he was looking for a place to hide. Afraid that he would be seen as a threat in Gath (v12), David pretends to be insane in front of Achish King of Gath (v13), who drives him out of their town.
David didn’t find any refuge or peace in Gath. His attempt to blend in with people who did not worship his God was ultimately unsuccessful. In Psalm 34, a psalm which David wrote based on these experiences, David was just happy to get out of Gath and praises God for mercifully delivering him out of there.
What can we learn from this?
1. When you try to blend in with people who don’t worship God, you won’t find much refuge, deep friendship or lasting peace. Instead, like David, you’ll just end up worried, fearful and pretending to be someone you’re not. Eventually you’ll be crying out to God to deliver you. Fortunately, God is merciful and is able to deliver us from the messes we get ourselves into.
2. Because David was afraid, he pretended to be someone he was not (v12-13). Don’t let fear turn you into someone that you are not. Live authentically before God and people.
Thank You, Lord, for Your Word, which is bread to feed my soul and a sword to fight my battles. I feed myself and arm myself with Your Word today and proclaim that You are everything I need. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
