1 SAMUEL 21
Read 1 Samuel 21:1-15
David’s plight is now desperate. Saul is out for his blood and it seems that those on his side, his friend Jonathan, his wife Michal, have done all they can. David is alone. He went to the sanctuary at Nob but the priest there, Ahimelech, is suspicious and David is evasive. Perhaps David was trying to protect Ahimelech from Saul’s retribution and rather say that he was on the run from Saul he said he was on a secret mission. Anyway, Ahimelech provided David with bread and a weapon (Goliath’s sword). The bread was consecrated; that is, set aside for use in the service of the Lord, it was the Lord’s bread now and not for ordinary everyday use. Should David have left it alone? Normally consecrated things would be considered taboo, but David was in need and the Old Testament tells us that the normal prohibitions could be overturned when there is an extreme case (Sabbath laws on work can be suspended if a farm animal needs to be rescued, for example). David was in desperate need of food and we could read this incident as God giving David his daily bread.
Why on earth did David then flee to Gath? Gath was Goliath’s home town, and the citizens would not have forgotten that it was David that killed their military hero. And here was David going into Gath and with Goliath’s sword! Apparently, he was looking for sanctuary, for diplomatic immunity. Perhaps he thought that the King of Gath, Achish, would welcome having such a high-ranking official from Saul’s court. Whatever the reason it shows how desperate David was that in escaping Saul that he took refuge in the lion’s den that was Gath. David was recognised by some of Achish’s attendants and detained (v13). How to escape? He acted as a madman, and Achish deciding that he had enough of them and did not need one more, let him go on his way.
David’s situation is becoming more and more desperate. Saul is putting him under pressure and David is becoming more and more confused and irrational in his decision making. Yet he recognised that his deliverance from a difficult and dangerous situation has come from the Lord. Psalm 34 came out of this episode and is one of the great psalms of praise to God:
I will extol the Lord at all times, his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice
Glorify the Lord with me: let us exalt his name together
I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is he that takes refuge in him.
Perhaps David was foolish in his actions, but then aren’t we all at times? We must never forget God’s grace and mercy even in our foolishness.