In August of 1995, Jimmy Steele was found dead in his garage. Due to his injuries, the police initially thought a dog had mauled the man. However, after an autopsy, stab wounds were found. This led police to realize he was murdered. Steele’s wife and boyfriend, Bryce, were soon convicted of the murder. Jimmy’s story reentered the public sphere because of a news article that was published in 2016. The article tells the story of Jimmy’s mother meeting the killer in 2014. In the prison, the two talked. Jimmy’s mother walked away in a better place than when she entered, and Bryce has since taken responsibility for his crime.
Some say that there isn’t anything in the prison system that challenges criminals to take responsibility for their crimes. In fact, the separation allows them to detach themselves from the acts. However in some states, victims can reach out to criminals to confront them. This challenges the criminals to face what they did. Some find that the experience changes their perspective and sets them on a more honest path.
It’s this idea of taking responsibility for ourselves that brings us back to our study in the book of First Samuel, where we’ll be looking at two chapters, starting with First Samuel 21:1. As we open up to First Samuel Chapter 21, let’s take a brief look at where we are in the book.
In the last five weeks we have been introduced to David, the long awaited figure that the book of Ruth first discloses. In David we have seen a person that has a deep desire to follow and trust God, and due that he is a carrier of peace to king Saul, he then exercises a confident faith when he slays Goliath, and he loves the unlovable Saul even when the king tries to kill him. David has shown himself to be the seemingly perfect candidate for God’s chosen king.
Yet, last week we ended with David on the run for his life, and Saul descending deeper into sin. It was then that we talked about how we need recognize and avoid those things that cause us to sin, and we need to surround ourselves with people who will help us see our own descent into sin, that we might avoid it. Saul didn’t, and enters his downward spiral and as we’ll see, David isn’t immune either.
With that in our mind, we can begin to read chapters 21-22. However, what we see in these two chapters are a casual event, where something happens, and an effect event follows, where the cause works itself out. And in between, we get some minor information that is important to the overall story of David.
So let’s jump into the casual event in First Samuel 21:1-11.
v.21:1-9
1 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.
8 Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.” 9 And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”
Here we see that David is on the run and he goes to the city of priests, Nob, to get supplies. There he meets the grandson of Eli, Ahimelech, who is now the leader of the priests.
It’s in this interaction that we see the first crack in David’s faith. Instead of telling Ahimelech the truth, David lies to the priest on why he is there. Telling him that he’s about the king’s business.
David then requests food and a sword. Ahimelech informs David that he only has the holy bread and Goliath’s sword. But after the priest inquires of the Lord, he gives David both and sends him on his way. The giving of bread was an act of mercy and showed that the Law of Moses with its “do’s and don’ts” is based on this law, which all of God’s laws are founded on. It’s why Jesus would later point to this event in Matthew 12:3 as reason why it is okay to eat on the Sabbath. Jesus’ reasoning was, if David ate the holy bread because of mercy, then why couldn’t the Law Giver himself, Jesus, extend mercy to allow for picking food for nourishment to those who are hungry.
Going back to the event, David is then sent away with the food and the sword.
However, while all this is going on, there is a king’s man there who is watching. We’re told that Doeg, the Edomite is there and that he is, “detained before the Lord. (v.7)” Doeg is most likely a convert to Judaism, he came to the town of the priests but hadn’t left because it was the Sabbath and he wasn’t going to travel on the holy day as was the custom. But it is understood in the passage, that it is only a matter of time before Doeg relays the message of David’s whereabout to Saul.
v.10-15
Dropping down to verses 10-15 we read, “ 10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ’Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
It is here that we are given two back-to-back situations of David’s travels. First in verses 10-15 we’re told that David goes to the Philistine city of Gath where Achish is king. However, David hear’s people talk about his reputation and becomes fearful (v.12). So to hide who he is, David starts acting like a madman. He does this my marking up the gates with symbols, and allowing his spit to run down his beard.
Because of this, we see the second crack in David’s faith. First he lied to the priests, then he coward in front of his enemies. The man who once had unmoving faith to overcome a giant, now, sees his faith waning as he leads a life on the run. This shows us how the grind of life’s difficulties can take their toll on our ability to walk faithfully with God. As the conflicts and catastrophes happen around us, it’s easy to have our faith whittled away at. So this isn’t uprising to see with David. It’s understandable, though not where God desire us to be.
v.22:1-5
Dropping down to Chapter 21:1-5, we see that from Gath, David escapes to a cave about ten miles outside of Jerusalem. The news that Saul is out to kill David must be spreading, because David’s family finds him to flee for their safety.
But David does something unexpected. He takes his family down to a strong hold along the Dead Sea called Mizpeh. This place is a home to a Moabite king. David does this because his family has connections to the Moabites through Ruth. And so, due to the familial connection, David is able to find a safe place for his family.
Yet, David cannot stay. He is told by a prophet of God named Gad, that he has to move on. So he does, and David heads off to a new place.
It is in Chapter 22, verse 6 that we get the effect part of the event that we saw at the beginning of Chapter 21. Let’s pick up reading in 21:6.
v.22:6-23
6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.
20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”
There are several things to notice about this passage. First, we can see Saul’s further descent into sin and madness. First, he tries to turn the tribe of Benjamin against David (v.6-7). We saw something similar in the days of the Judges, where it was the tribe of Benjamin against all of the Israel (See Jdgs 20). History is repeating itself. But then Saul accuses his servants of not telling him about his son’s treachery (v.8). So he tries to bring others into his fight against David, and then tries to sniff out those who are not going to be loyal to him. Finally, after one does come forward with information about the whereabouts of David, Saul sends for the priests and accuses them of conspiracy (v.11-13). Saul is looking for those who are with him and are willing to kill all others who are not. Yet not once, do we see Saul seek God to correct his actions.
However, God is in Ahimelch’s pleading which is similar to Jonathan’s back in Chapter 19. The priest uses similar reasoning as to why the king should not be after David, and because of all the good things about David, there was no reason to doubt David was anything but loyal to the king.
Yet unlike when Jonathan pleaded his case, this time Saul would not listen to any reasoning and has the priests, their family, and their assets destroyed.
But notice that it is not a Hebrew who gives up David, (v.9-10) nor is it a Hebrew who dares strike the Lord’s priests. Doeg the Edomite, might be a convert, but his allegiance is more with the king than with God (v.18-19). This shows us how far Saul is from both God and the people. That the Hebrews will not give up David, nor will they carry out the king’s order to kill God’s priests.
But also notice that Saul did not fulfill God’s order of total destruction of the Amalekites in Chapter 15, but he does act on his own order of total destruction of what is God’s. Saul shows that he has fallen completely away from the Lord, he is truly like the worthless men of the Judges era, and God has given him fully over to that worthless mindset.
The chapter ends with one survivor getting the message of Nob’s destruction back to David. And it is here that we see the reason why David was chosen by God. We have seen the cracks in David’s faith in two instances in these two chapters. First, David lied to the priests, which got them killed. Secondly, he was afraid of the Philistine king and so acted like a madman to avoid being caught. In both instances, David did not rely on the Lord for his help. His circumstances chipped away at the confident faith he showed when facing Goliath. And yet, he takes responsibility for his sin.
David states, “I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. (v.22)” He recognizes that it was his actions that led the destruction of men, women, children, and their assets. This a monumental act of humility. Someone who stays on course to settle down in sin will never admit they are wrong in a situation. They will justify their reasons because of the circumstances they find themselves in.
David could have easily pointed to Saul as to why he was justified in lying and that it was Saul who ordered the killing, so David had no reason to feel guilty. Yet, David shows what true faith rests on: a realization that we do, do wrong, and must be honest about it.
And this is what God is calling us to today. It is very easy to justify our own actions in situations. We say things like, “They hurt me, so that’s why I did this” or “They deserved what happened, because I had to do this.” Now, what I’m not saying is that there are not real justifications for why we cannot be around certain people, or why certain actions have to be taken. But if we’re not able to see anything wrong with anything we do, there is a barrier of sin that is between us and God that needs to be knocked down.
David did nothing wrong and yet Saul was out to kill him. David only told one lie, nothing that warranted the deaths of so many. It was Saul, not David, that ordered the destruction of Nob. It was Doeg, not David, who carried out Saul’s order. And yet, David took responsibility for his own role in the whole thing. The word, “occasioned” means that David bordered the situation. In others words, he recognized that his lie created the spark that lit the flame. He wasn’t responsible for how he got there, or the aftermath, but he took responsibility for his part in the whole thing.
God is calling us to assess situations rightly to see where, if any, fault is with us. If we are unwilling to take a hard look at ourselves, we have already take a step in the direction of sin. If we see ourselves as always right, then we will be found more wrong than all others.
So my challenge for you this week is to take something that you have been harboring. It might have been something recent, or it might be something that you’ve carried around for years. Take it and go before the Lord and really wrestle with it. There is a reason it still plagues you. It could be that there needs to be active forgiveness, or it could be that there was un-repented sin. Either way, taking it before the Lord and dealing with it is the only way for that burden to be laid on Jesus and off of you.
Let us be a people who are honest with ourselves, because it is better to be humble and deal with the sin we participate in, then to have God call us out on it. Let us be the humble people God is calling us to be. Amen.
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