King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 7 notes
1Then 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.
But is that what the law says? I thought 💭 hallowed bread was for the priests only.
But at this time, the law of God had been so watered down 👇.
But the Lord understood that times had changed, so no one died for eating hallowed bread.
Jesus actually alluded to this moment to show that he was greater than the Sabbath, and the law was made for man, not the reverse.
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.
Why did God tolerate this lie, and allow him to eat his hallowed bread by lying — a lie that would cost the priest his life and that of other priests?
Jesus later referenced this eating of hallowed bread as a sign that...
times had changed and his people were not following him to the letter. Many laws were broken, and so I believe God excused many things. And why strike he down his man after his own heart, David, who was his next king? Not to mention that God had it in mind to ultimately make all these people holy, and king-priests.
Later we see David go to the king of Moab — a thing which was forbidden, because the Jews were not to have any relations with the people of the land, but that had also been broken.
We see the same with Ruth, who was a Moabite.
Many things had changed.
Not to mention, the death of Ahimelech was in connection to the curse of the house of ELI prophesied earlier.
Note that in all these laws of God broken, it had to do with rituals and ceremonies, not with his unbendable and infallible moral laws.
The laws broken were things he himself had instituted with the intention of changing them later.
So as Christians we ought to really be careful to keep the eternal laws of God, even as we adapt to changing needs and cultures. Many things we can change and adapt to, but not to his infallible law and word.
6So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
7Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.
Doeg, an interesting character. He came to enquire of the Lord, and yet afterwards personally killed the priests of the Lord.
This shows how men can come before the Lord in seeming worship, but their hearts are far from the Lord.
This also should be a lesson for pastors and leaders of the flock.
Some seem to love the Lord, but when push comes to shove, will sell out and destroy their own pastor.
Saul was himself a herdsman before he became king, and now he continued in that same business but had someone head it whiles he attended to kingly duties.
8And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.
9And 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.
How did the sword end up with the priests?
Was it dedicated to God to show the supremacy of the God of Israel to other gods?
Let's not forget Goliath came in the name of his gods, and so did David.
10And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
11And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
No, far from it, David was the king of the land. :)... Even the enemies knew he was king of the land, and this was no error, for they knew Saul was also king of the land.
They could discern that David was king material, having won victory for the people of God and for the king.
12And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
13And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
Hmm... No be easy.
Anything to stay alive and survive this world.
14Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
15Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?