Day 49 – 1 Samuel 21:1-9
Scripture Review
1 Samuel 21:1-9
"Then 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?"
(1 Samuel 21:1)
In David's trouble, he comes to the place where the Lord is worshipped. Ahimelech was afraid. David's being alone is not normal. He could tell something was wrong.
"And 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."
(1 Samuel 21:2)
David is hiding the truth. He says the king sent him and that servants are waiting nearby. David is still God's chosen servant, but in this moment he speaks what is not true.
"Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present."
(1 Samuel 21:3)
David gets right to his need, bread. He is hungry, and he asks for whatever is available. David is not asking for luxury. He is asking for enough to keep going.
"And 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."
(1 Samuel 21:4)
The priest explains the situation carefully. There is no common bread, only hallowed bread. He takes holiness seriously. He does not dismiss David. He weighs the need and asks about cleanness. Mercy and holiness are both in the room in this verse.
"And 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."
(1 Samuel 21:5)
David answers with confidence about ceremonial cleanness. He says the men have been kept clean for three days. David is desperate, he is facing hunger, haste, and danger are all at once.
"So 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." (1 Samuel 21:6)
The priest gives David the hallowed bread. The Lord provided for David in His time of need. David came hungry, and provision met him there. God can feed his servant even in strange and pressured circumstances.
"Now 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." (1 Samuel 21:7)
David and Doeg are both in the house of the LORD the same day. Even a high-ranking servant of Saul could not stop the LORD's provision for David at Nob.
"And 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."
(1 Samuel 21:8)
David now asks for a weapon. He is not only hungry. He is also defenseless. David needs strength for the body and protection for the road.
"And 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."
(1 Samuel 21:9)
The priest named the sword, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah." The weapon of past victory is now placed back into David's hand.
The Lord not only gives bread for the present need, but also puts in David's hand a reminder of what God already did before. David once faced Goliath in the name of the LORD, and now the giant's sword comes back as fresh provision.