THE LIFE OF DAVID, PART 6 - 1 SAMUEL 21

 

1 Samuel 21

This chapter begins the phase of David’s life where he is a fugitive. He is hiding from Saul to stay alive. He will ultimately become a kind of warlord, still a fugitive, but with his own small army. He will stay in this state until Saul dies.

21:1-6

David Flees To The High Priest

After his meeting with Jonathan, David left Gibeah andwent to Nob. Nob was south of Gibeah. The Tabernacle was there. Many priests lived there.

David approached the priest, Ahimelech. He was the high priest and, therefore, in charge of the tabernacle. He seemed troubled by David’s appearance, although we are not told why. 

David lied to Ahimelech. He invented a story about Saul giving him a secret mission. He was going to meet some young men and needed food. He demanded five loaves of bread or whatever was available.

Ahimelech told David all he had was the “holy bread”. By that, he meant the shewbread, or Bread of the Presence, that was kept in the Tabernacle.

God’s instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings included a table made of Acacia wood and overlaid with gold. It was placed in the outer room, the Holy Place. 

Included in the items placed on the table was the Bread of the Presence. (Exodus 25:23-30; 37:10-16) There were 12 loaves, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Fresh loaves were set out every Sabbath day. The priests ate it in a holy place. 

So, Ahimelech should have told David he could not have the bread because only the high priest and his sons could eat it. Instead, he said he could give it if David’s (non-existent) young men had kept themselves from women. This may come from Leviticus 15:18, which says that, when a man and woman have sex, they are ceremonial unclean for the rest of the day (until evening). 

David assured Ahimelech that his imaginary young men were ceremonially clean. So, the priest gave him the holy bread. 

Although David was God’s man, he was not a perfect man. He had just seen God miraculously deliver him from death by causing Saul and his men to prophesy. Yet, he now does not trust God to provide for him and lies to get what he needs and puts the priests in danger. 

A Foreshadow of Trouble

21:7

The writer inserts here that Doeg, the Edomite, was present. He was a servant of Saul. This is to foreshadow later trouble.

The Second Lie

21:8-9

David also felt that he needed weapons to protect himself from Saul and his men. So, he lied again, saying he left in haste without his weapons. The priest gave him the sword of Goliath. 

Misadventure to Gath

21:19-15

David left Nob and went on an even stranger expedition. He went to Gath, the Philistine city. It was the hometown of Goliath, whom David slew. It does not seem like a likely place to take him in.

The king’s servants recognized David as the warrior who fought against them. They even referred to him as the king of Israel. 

They repeated the words Israel’s victory song which praised David for how many Philistines he slew in battle.

When David heard that he was recognized, he acted like he was crazy. So, Achish, the king of Gath, sent him away and he escaped. 

Psalms 34 and 56 are written about this incident. The titles to both psalms make this clear. 

Psalm 34 is a psalm of praise and thanksgiving for God’s protection. Even though David made a big mistake, God acted to protect him. David wrote that the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. (15) He also wrote “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all”. (19) 

These are good words of encouragement to all believers as they face problems and trials in their lives. 

Psalm 56 is in the form of a lament. David wrote of having an attacker and enemies. But, when he becomes afraid, David trusts in God. (4) He remembered that God was form him. (9) He vowed to trust God and resist being afraid, saying what can man do to me? (10-11) 

Takeaways

Worry and anxiety are natural traits for most of us. 

But the Bible tells us not to do this. 

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus taught that we should not be anxious because God will    provide for our needs when we seek his kingdom first. 

Paul, in Philippians 4:6-7, tells us not to be anxious, but rather to pray about our needs. That will bring us peace. 

In 1 Peter 5:6, Peter tells us to cast all our anxieties on God because he cares for us. 

God even saves us from ourselves, preventing us from getting into difficulties because of our decisions. 

If we seek to live for God through Christ and trust him, he will lead us, provide for us, and protect us. 

THE LIFE OF DAVID - PART 5 - 1 SAMUEL 20

The Final Split

1 Samuel 20

Saul’s relationship with David had been an on and off affair. But, at this point, any good will, or pretense of it, is cast aside as Saul considers David to be an enemy he needs to kill.

David Seeks Answers From Jonathan

20:1

David had fled Saul’s house to seek Samuel in his home town of Ramah. Saul tried to kill David there, but he and his men had the Spirit of God come upon them, causing them to fall down and prophesy all day and night, allowing David to escape.

David left Ramah and sought out Jonathan back in Gibeah. He wanted to know why Saul wanted to kill him since Jonathan had told him all was well. (19:7)

Jonathan Remains Loyal To David

20:2-4

  

Jonathan did not at first believe David’s accusation against Saul. He must have not known of his father’s pursuit of David in Ramah. Saul had sworn to Jonathan that he would not kill David or have him killed, even invoking the name of the Lord in his oath. (19:6)

However, after David explained that Saul knew Jonathan was loyal to David, Jonathan believed David and promised to do anything he could to help him.

David’s Plan

20:5-13

David knew he was expected to be at Saul’s table for a feast of the New Moon. In the Lunar Calendar, the New Moon is the first day of the month. The Lord had commanded that the priests blow the silver trumpets when burn offerings and peace offerings were made on the first of the month. (Numbers 10:10) 

The burnt offering was an animal from a person’s herd, a mail without blemish, which was killed, cut up, and burned on the altar. The blood was thrown against the sides of the altar. This sacrifice provided atonement for the person and his family. 

The peace offering was similar, but only the fat parts of the animal were burned. The remainder would be eaten by the person making the offering, along with his family. Since the meat would need to be cooked and eaten immediately, a feast would be held and the meat eaten in celebration of the Lord’s blessings. 

Since David had been made a member of Saul’s household, he would be expected to attend the feast. Evidently, Saul’s feasts went on for three days. David intended to be absent to ascertain Saul’s intentions toward him. 

Jonathan promised to tell David if Saul was well disposed to him or if he intended to kill him.

Jonathan and David Reaffirm and Extend Their Covenant

20:14-23

The two friends extended the terms of their covenant. Jonathan pledged to do what he could to protect David. He asked God to provide that David would ultimately succeed and even take vengeance against his enemies. 

In return, David was to continue to love Jonathan and his descendants. In other words, David would not harm Jonathan or his family at any time. 

Jonathan expected his father to fail and David to succeed him. 

David kept this promise by providing for Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son. He gave all of Saul’s former lands to him and kept him at Jerusalem, where he sat at David’s table. (2 Samuel 9) 

So, Jonathan devised a plan where he would attend the feast and let David know Saul’s disposition toward him by shooting arrows into a field where David hid and giving instructions to a kid about where the arrows were.

Saul Reacts In Anger

20:24-34

Saul noticed David’s absence and asked Jonathan about it. Jonathan responded with the story David had concocted. Saul got very angry at Jonathan for allowing David to be absent from the feast. He erupted into an angry outburst, calling Jonathan a “son of a perverse, rebellious woman”. (31) He accused Jonathan of choosing David over Saul. He pointed out that Jonathan would not be king unless David was killed.

When Jonathan tried to defend David, Saul threw his spear at Jonathan. (33) That made Jonathan realize that his father was determined to kill David. Then Jonathan got angry and left.

Jonathan Relays The News

20:35-42

Just as he promised, Jonathan went out to let David know the news. Rather than flee immediately, David came out to meet Jonathan. He showed him great respect by bowing three times. 

Jonathan told David to go, but that the peace and the covenant between them still existed. Jonathan returned to his town, but David left to become a fugitive. David had done nothing wrong. He was God’s anointed. Yet, God sent him on a difficult road and a long period of waiting before he received what God promised. 

Takeaways

The road to doing God’s will can be a difficult one. It is not always smooth and successful, contrary to the teaching of the prosperity gospel. 

God provided protection for David by providing Jonathan as a friend. 

Jonathan was not only a good friend to David, he was a believer, willing to sacrifice his own benefits for God’s will. 

A Prayer For You

 

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:4 et seq 

THE LIFE OF DAVID, PART 4 - 1 SAMUEL 19

Saul Orders David’s Murder

1 Samuel 19:1

Saul continued to degrade after the Spirit of God left him. Previously, he sent David into battle, hoping the Philistines will kill him. Having failed at that, he now orders his servants and his son, Jonathan, to murder David. 

There is a parallel here to the life of Jesus. Saul plotted to kill David to preserve his political power. The Sanhedrin plotted to kill Jesus to preserve their political and religious power. 

Jonathan Warns David 

19:2-3

Instead of obeying his father, Jonathan warned Dvid to hide himself. He also promised to try and persuade his father not to kill David and to tell David if he was successful.

Jonathan “delighted” in David - he saw God working through David and it brought him joy. That is how we should be also, rejoicing to see God work in and through a fellow believer and not having any jealousy. 

Jonathan Spoke To Saul

19:4-7

Jonathan kept his word and spoke to his Father about David. He emphasized his innocence, that David not only never sinned against Saul, but also did good for Saul in defeating Goliath. He asked Saul to remember how he previously rejoiced in David’s victory.

In response, Saul swore that he would not have David killed. He invoked the name of the Lord (YHWH). Jonathan reported this to David and David returned to Saul’s court. Peace, however, would be short lived.

Saul’s Jealousy Returns

19:8-17

As soon as David won another battle against the Philistines, the harmful spirit returned to Saul and he tried to kill David even while David was serving him by playing the lyre. This harmful spirit was a judgment of God and a sign of God’s rejection of Saul. 

There is a play on words in verses 8 and 10 that the English Standard Version picks up. In verse 8, David struck the Philistines and they fled. In verse 10, Saul struck the wall with the spear, missing David, and David fled. Saul treated David as if he were a Philistine.  

David managed to escape. But, this time Saul sent men to spy on David’s house to kill him the next morning. David’s wife, Michal, Saul’s daughter, persuaded David to escape through a window. 

When the assassins came in the next morning, they found that Michal had put an idol in the bed, making it look like David was in bed asleep. When Saul confronted her about it, she claimed David threatened to kill her if she did not let him go.

You see that Saul also did not care about his daughter’s happiness or well being. He knew that she loved David. (18:20) Yet he demanded her loyalty.

It is troubling that Michal had idols in the house. Pagans kept household gods to protect the house. We saw this when Rachel stole her father’s household gods when she left with Jacob for Canaan. (Genesis 31:19) So, Saul had evidently adopted this custom and passed it on to his daughter. And, also troubling, David had tolerated it. 

David wrote a psalm about this event. It is Psalm 59. We know this because the heading, or superscript, says it is a “miktam” of David, written when Saul sent men to kill David at his house. 

In most Bible chapters, there are headings supplied by publishes and editors and are not scripture. Their purpose is to tell you what the chapter or passage is about (in the opinion of the editor). In the Psalms, the superscripts, which are usually instructions to the choirmaster, are included in the Hebrew manuscripts and are, therefore, part of the scripture.

Psalm 59 begins with David’s plea for God to deliver him from his enemies. In the 4th stanza, which begins with verse 8, David declares his faith in God to protect him and his ability to defeat David’s enemies. The Psalm ends with David praising God as his strength and fortress and who shows him steadfast love.  

David Flees To Samuel For Protection

19:18-24

David fled Saul’s house in Gibeah and went north to Samuel the Prophet in Ramah. When David told Samuel what Saul had done, Samuel took him to Naioth, a camp or village where a group of prophets were living.

But Saul did not respect even Samuel. He sent messengers to take David. But, each time, the Spirit of God came on them and made them testify. Finally, Saul went there himself. But the Spirit made him prophesy all day and night also. 

Takeaways

God delivers in many ways, natural and supernatural. (Isaiah 46:4)

God’s will is not stymied by man’s will. He will always accomplish his purposes. (Isaiah 46:10)