Wednesday, March 24, 2004
1 Samuel 21-22 - Lies and Spies
Chapters 21 and 22 tell the story of the beginning of David’s career as a rebel. It is not pretty: the lies David tells result in an innocent town being slaughtered.
After leaving Samuel, David flees to Nob, where he approaches Ahimelech, the priest, and seeks to requisition bread. The priest wonders why David, a high military official, is alone. David lies, claiming to be on a secret mission:
1 Samuel 21:2 "The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, 'No one must know anything of the matter..."
Ahimelech only has bread that had been consecrated to God and was thus restricted to the use of the priests (Lev 24:9). David lies that he has troops with him, and embellishes his story by saying that his troops have "kept themselves from women." (21:4) Somehow, this qualifies them to use the sanctified bread.
[Jesus cites this episode in Mark 3:25-27+ in defense of his followers eating standing grain on the Sabbath and articulates the principle: Mark 2:27 "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath." ]
David then appeals to Ahimelech for a weapon, and...
1 Samuel 21:9 The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one."
Significantly, all of this was overheard by Doeg the Edomite, "the chief of Saul's shepherds." (21:7) By the end of the story, Doeg will have reported all this to Saul, to the great hurt of Abimelech and his town.
David takes Goliath’s sword and goes on to Gath. The interesting thing about Gath is that it was the hometown of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4). Here is the reversal of David’s essentially defenseless approach to combat with Goliath in which he trusted in the Lord to save.
The king of Gath became suspicious of David, and to save himself David feigned insanity:
1 Samuel 21:13 He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.
David has now humiliated himself, much as Saul did when he fell among the prophets and spent the night raving and naked. (19:24) So the king let him go and David "escaped to the cave of Adullam." (22:1) There, a band of raiders formed around him: his family, debtors, "and everyone who was discontented." (22:2)
Saul, of course, has been seeking information about David. Doeg tells his story. The priest, Ahimelech is immediately hauled before the King and charged with treason for aiding David. Ahimelech is dumbfounded:
1 Samuel 22:14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, "Who among all your servants is so faithful as David? He is the king's son-in-law, and is quick to do your bidding, and is honored in your house...."
To Saul, this doesn't matter. He orders Ahimelech's execution. No one among his courtiers is willing to kill a priest of God, but Doeg, the non-Jew, carried out the order:
1 Samuel 22:18 Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests; on that day he killed eighty-five who wore the linen ephod. 19 Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he put to the sword."
Only Abiathar, one of Ahimelech's sons, escaped. He fled to David:
1 Samuel 22:22 David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for the lives of all your father's house. 23 Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me."
This sense of responsibility is endearing, but late. The fact is that David's lies resulted in the genocidal attack on the town of Nod. This brings to mind another of Jesus' sayings:
NRS Matthew 26:52 “all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Except in this case the innocent perished.
After leaving Samuel, David flees to Nob, where he approaches Ahimelech, the priest, and seeks to requisition bread. The priest wonders why David, a high military official, is alone. David lies, claiming to be on a secret mission:
1 Samuel 21:2 "The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, 'No one must know anything of the matter..."
Ahimelech only has bread that had been consecrated to God and was thus restricted to the use of the priests (Lev 24:9). David lies that he has troops with him, and embellishes his story by saying that his troops have "kept themselves from women." (21:4) Somehow, this qualifies them to use the sanctified bread.
[Jesus cites this episode in Mark 3:25-27+ in defense of his followers eating standing grain on the Sabbath and articulates the principle: Mark 2:27 "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath." ]
David then appeals to Ahimelech for a weapon, and...
1 Samuel 21:9 The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one."
Significantly, all of this was overheard by Doeg the Edomite, "the chief of Saul's shepherds." (21:7) By the end of the story, Doeg will have reported all this to Saul, to the great hurt of Abimelech and his town.
David takes Goliath’s sword and goes on to Gath. The interesting thing about Gath is that it was the hometown of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4). Here is the reversal of David’s essentially defenseless approach to combat with Goliath in which he trusted in the Lord to save.
The king of Gath became suspicious of David, and to save himself David feigned insanity:
1 Samuel 21:13 He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.
David has now humiliated himself, much as Saul did when he fell among the prophets and spent the night raving and naked. (19:24) So the king let him go and David "escaped to the cave of Adullam." (22:1) There, a band of raiders formed around him: his family, debtors, "and everyone who was discontented." (22:2)
Saul, of course, has been seeking information about David. Doeg tells his story. The priest, Ahimelech is immediately hauled before the King and charged with treason for aiding David. Ahimelech is dumbfounded:
1 Samuel 22:14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, "Who among all your servants is so faithful as David? He is the king's son-in-law, and is quick to do your bidding, and is honored in your house...."
To Saul, this doesn't matter. He orders Ahimelech's execution. No one among his courtiers is willing to kill a priest of God, but Doeg, the non-Jew, carried out the order:
1 Samuel 22:18 Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests; on that day he killed eighty-five who wore the linen ephod. 19 Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he put to the sword."
Only Abiathar, one of Ahimelech's sons, escaped. He fled to David:
1 Samuel 22:22 David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for the lives of all your father's house. 23 Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me."
This sense of responsibility is endearing, but late. The fact is that David's lies resulted in the genocidal attack on the town of Nod. This brings to mind another of Jesus' sayings:
NRS Matthew 26:52 “all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Except in this case the innocent perished.
