Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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?"
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. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."
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."
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!" 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.
Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul's head shepherd.
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."
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."
That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 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'?"
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 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. Achish said to his servants, "Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 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?"
David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, "Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?" So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
But the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
1 Samuel 21, 22:1-5
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever found yourself desperately in need? Maybe you experienced a life changing situation that taxed your finances. Maybe you fell ill and that illness drastically changed your life plans and outlook. Maybe you found yourself in danger from some circumstance. Whatever the case, we can sometimes find ourselves in matters that leave us feeling helpless and even hopeless.
In the passage today, we see David in a situation like this. He had just received final validation that his relationship with Saul had reached the point of no return. Either David would have to flee or die. He chose to flee.
And so we find David at the start of Chapter 21 on the lam…an innocent man pursued by a murderous king who would not rest until David was dead. Where would he go? Who could he trust to help him? Where would he find provisions…because he left with nothing but the clothes on his back?
All these questions would be answered by the Lord…who we will see never stopped looking after David and ensuring that he was cared for all along the way. And the good news is that He will do likewise for us as we enter difficulties ourselves.
To our scriptures…where we see David going to Nob after saying farewell to his dear friend Jonathan. Once there, we read where David seeks out the priest Ahimelech who was initially afraid of David because of his fierce reputation as a warrior. Ahimelech asked David why he came to him alone and without any men. David tells the priest that he has been sent on a special mission by the king and the mission was confidential he also tells him that his men have been given instructions to meet him “at a certain place”. And with that, David demands that Ahimelech give him “five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find." Remember that David had no food and so was in need of something to eat.
The priest tells David that the only bread he had was “consecrated bread”…that is the portion of bread that had been set aside for the priest from the sacrifices. You’ll recall that the priests were not employed in any other fashion that working for the Lord. They received no inheritance per se and it was the responsibility of the Israelites to ensure that the priests were taken care of so they would have adequate provision. The priest agrees to give David the consecrated bread as long as it wouldn’t be eaten by any of his men who might be ceremonially unclean…including David himself. Specifically, the priest wanted to ensure David’s “men (had) kept themselves from women." After David ensured Ahimelech that this was not a problem because his men had remained holy, the “priest gave him the consecrated bread”…also referred to as “the bread of the Presence”.
So David had food. Now, he needed a weapon to defend himself and so he 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." The priest told David that he had “the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah” and told him he could find it “wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod”. And so with permission from Ahimelech, David took the sword and went on his way, this time heading to Philistine territory and Achish, king of Gath. All seemed well for David…but we read where there was a sinister presence at Nob. For “one of Saul's servants was there that day”…”Doeg the Edomite” who was “Saul's head shepherd”. His witnessing David with Ahimelech will soon spell trouble for Nob as we will see later.
So David went to Achish and almost instantly faced a challenge. For we read where “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'?" In fear of being discovered and put to death by Achish, David “pretended to be insane in their presence”, acting “like a madman” by “making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard”. His ploy worked because Achish said to his servants, "Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 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?" And with this, David escaped unscathed and went to “the cave of Adullam”.
As David needed provision, we saw where the Lord provided through the priest Ahimelech at Nob. And as David needed a way out of a potentially dangerous situation in Gath, the Lord provided him with the wisdom to act crazy in order to ensure he would escape danger.
In both incidents, the Lord showed He would and could provide David what he needed when he needed it in order to get out of difficult circumstances. All because David was a man after God’s own heart…a man who had found favor and an anointing from His heavenly Father. But the Lord wasn’t done assisting David in his tough times.
For as “his brothers and his father's household heard about” David being at the cave of Adullam, scripture tells us they “went down to him there”. These people who went to David were described as being “in distress or in debt or discontented”…in other words, they were just as much in need as he was…and so the four hundred men rallied around David as their leader.
With this, David was not out on his own anymore. He was very vulnerable as an army of one. But with four hundred men looking to him for leadership, he had the start of his own force to reckon with whoever might come against him. Again, God had provided David what he needed at the very time he needed it…this time in the way of support…and He will do the same for us when we need it.
Well…maybe you would think that the Lord had done enough for David…but He was far from through yet. For we see where the Lord did two more things for David.
First, He ensured his parents were protected. For a murderous Saul surely would not hesitate to even kill David’s parents…such was his hatred for David. And so David…obedient to God’s fifth commandment…honored his father and mother and placed them in the care of “the king of Moab” at Mizpah. There they would be safe.
And finally, the Lord never stopped sending messages to David to ensure he remained safe. Before, He had used Samuel. Now, we see the Lord speaking to David through the prophet Gad who said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah." And so David did as the prophet instructed…knowing the words he spoke were words from the Lord…and “went to the forest of Hereth”.
Provision. Protection. Guidance. The Lord provided all these to David at times when he needed them. And He did because it was His will to do so.
As we face challenges in our life, we need to seek God’s will as well as to how He wants us to proceed in the midst of those challenges. Too often, we become self reliant…thinking we can handle our circumstances ourselves…only to find ourselves disappointed, discouraged and defeated when things don’t work out right. And God allows this to happen just to show us that we can’t make it through life by relying on ourselves. No…the only way we can make it is to fully rely and trust Him…that He has a plan and He will guide us every step of the way to help us through whatever trials we go through.
So how should we lean on Him? Scripture gives us the answer…for we serve a God who loves us and helps us in times of need…but does so in accordance with His will for us.
Given this, consider these verses from 1st John:
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. 1st John 5:14-15
As we go through life’s circumstances, God expects us to first seek His will for us…turning to Him for prayer. And once we receive our understanding of His will, then we can approach Him with confidence, knowing that when we ask for what we need for His will to be done in our lives, He will hear us and give us what we ask for.
Friends, God wants the best for us and sometimes it’s best for us to struggle and persevere through difficult times. It’s easy to have faith when everything is going right. When our faith is tested is when we go through challenge and trial. But we need remember that in good times and in bad, God is the constant…always there for us…always there with us…always ready to give us what we need to ensure we can succeed in allowing His will to be done in our lives.
All we need to do is trust Him…and experience His goodness, grace and love…all which He has in abundant supply. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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