In chapter 21, David is scrambling to figure out how to live a life on the lam.
David's first stop is Nob where the priest Ahimelech is ministering before the Lord. He is immediately suspicious that David has arrived by himself, but David invents a cover story about being on a secret mission for the king. So the priest helps him with whatever he needs - in this case, food and weapons! Ahimelech gives David the bread from the altar that was only supposed to be given to the priests, and he also gives the sword of Goliath to David.
Interestingly, Jesus Himself referred to this very passage in Mark 2:23-28! When nagged by the Pharisees about His disciples breaking the sabbath laws by eating grain, Jesus directs His opponents to this passage by asking if they remember hearing about the time that David and his men ate bread that was only lawful for priests to eat. Jesus contends that religious rules like these are meant to enhance and enrich life - not burden God's people with vexing requirements. (For a discussion of how some Bible critics accuse Jesus of making a mistake here, see: https://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1830
Meanwhile, a thousand years earlier, David is still searching for a safe place from which to operate. He hatches the bold plan of joining an enemy king's forces. So David journeys to Gath, Goliath's hometown. While not the smartest move, perhaps David figured he could get hired on there as a mercenary. However, the Philistines know all too well David by reputation - he has killed his ten thousands, after all. David quickly changes tactics and, to save his neck, pretends to be insane. (I guess you could say this was a crazy idea!) At David's antics, King Achish refuses to take him seriously.
David will have to find another place to hide-out!
No comments:
Post a Comment