1 Samuel 21 (Verses 1-15)

DAVID AT NOB AND AT GATH

A. David meets Ahimelech the priest at Nob
1. (1 Sam 21:1-2) David, fleeing from Saul, comes to the city of Nob
Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone and no one with you?" David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, 'Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.'"

Then David came to Nob: Before leaving his native land, David was determined to take counsel with the high priest of Israel. It is no doubt that David probably had an intimate relationship with the high priest due to his extensive service under King Saul.

Ahimelech: He was the 12th high priest. His name means brother of a king. He was the son of Ahitub and father of Abiathar.

Nob: Town of Nob was situated between Anathoth and Jerusalem. (Anathoth was the hometown of Jeremiah the prophet.) Nob means knoll or hill. At this time Nob was a city of priests (1 Samuel 22:19). although it is not specified among the places assigned to them by Joshua when the land was divided when the Israelites first settled the promised land. Here, as it is clearly inferred from 1 Samuel 21:6, the Tabernacle, which has not been mentioned since the death of Eli, was now standing.

Why are you alone and no one with you: In Mark 2:26, Jesus speaks of those who were with David and the young men are mentioned in verses 4 and 5. While David went alone to consult Ahimelech, he most likely took a few servants with him and had probably left them somewhere outside the Tabernacle, or more probable, he had instructed them to meet him with as many men as they could collect at a designated place. The arrival of the king's son-in-law without an escort would naturally strike the high priest as strange and therefore alarming.

The king has commissioned me: This is a plain lie, extorted from David by fear, and one that was very detrimental to all the priests there. After this incident, David declares his repentance for it ("Then David said to Abiathar, 'I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father's household'" 1 Samuel 22:22.).


2. (1 Sam 21:3-6) David asks for and received holy bread
"Now therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me fives loaves of bread, or whatever can be found." The priest answered David and said, "There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women." David answered the priest and said to him, "Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will their vessels be holy?" So the priest gave him the consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.

What do you have on hand: David, being in a great hurry to flee from Saul, hastily asks Ahimelech for anything which might be quickly given to him. Ahimelech probably had food in his home which could have been prepared for David, but David needed to flee and needed food he could take with him.

There is consecrated bread: The Tabernacle of the LORD had a table that held twelve loaves of bread, symbolizing God's continual fellowship with Israel. The importance of the bread is found in its name. Literally, "showbread" means "bread of faces". It is bread associated with and eaten before the face of God. To eat the showbread was to eat God's bread in God's house as a friend of the LORD. In that culture, eating together formed a bond of friendship that was permanent and sacred. The showbread remained in God's presence from sabbath to sabbath. The old bread was eaten by the priests in the holy place, and fresh bread was placed before the LORD. ("Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. You shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD. You shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be a memorial portion for the bread, even an offering by fire to the LORD. Every sabbath day he shall set it in order before the LORD continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel. It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the LORD'S offerings by fire, his portion forever" Leviticus 24:5-9.)

If only the young men have kept themselves from women: It was requisite that all who ate of the holy bread should have observed the same purity of the priests, particularly in the instance of abstinence from all women. Ahimelech suspects that David or his men might be lacking this qualification, and therefore inquires concerning it. Out of respect to David, Ahimelech does not mention David in the inquiry, only the young men. David, however, shows that he was intended to be included in the inquiry by stating "surely women have been kept from us".

The vessels: Their backpacks or other portable luggage into which the bread would be put. If these were Levitically unclean, they would defile the bread. David means to say, "Since we have just left home, you may readily suppose that no impurity has been contracted. It would be different if we were returning home from a journey, when on the way, especially in war, uncleanness might be contracted by the blood of enemies."

Jesus refers to this as an instance of the great principle that where moral and ceremonial obligations come into conflict; it is the latter which must give way because the rite is only the means and the moral duty the end. The high priest was bound to preserve David's life, even at the expense of a ceremonial rule. (See Matthew 12:3-4, Mark 2:25-26 and Luke 6:3-5.)


3. (1 Sam 21:7-9) David receives a sword and is spotted by one of Saul's servants
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds. David said to Ahimelech, "Now is there not a spear or sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword not my weapons with me, because the kings's matter was urgent." Then the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

Doeg the Edomite: He may have come over to Saul in his wars with Edom. ("Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment" 1 Samuel 14:47.)

The chief of Saul's shepherds: Herds were the main part of Saul's wealth. Being the chief shepherd would have been a person of great importance in Saul's court.

Detained before the LORD: The literal Hebrew here is "shut up in close seclusion within the precincts of the Tabernacle", perhaps either for some vow or for purification. From future accounts of Doeg's character, it is hard to believe that Doeg was detained before the LORD at the Tabernacle for some real spiritual reason. It is most likely that Doeg was there fulfilling some ceremonial requirement related to his employment for King Saul.

Is there not a spear or sword on hand: The sight of Doeg made David feel how helpless he was in case of an attack. David excuses his request for weapons by saying that he had left home unarmed because of the urgency of the king's business. The whole matter must have seemed very suspicious to Ahimelech, but in respect to David, Ahimelech replies that he only has Goliath's sword.

The sword of Goliath: David was happy to have this great weapon. As David held this sword, he should have remembered how he came to win it. He did not do it with lies and half-truths. He did it with a bold trust in God, a trust that believed God and trusted Him to sort out the consequences. David can have the sword of Goliath in his arsenal, but he would be better equipped if he had the faith that killed Goliath. Is David now trusting in the Philistine's sword more than his shepherd's tools which killed Goliath? There was nothing wrong with Goliath's sword. The LORD use it before to slay Goliath (1 Samuel 17:51) but only in the context of strong faith.

It is wrapped in a cloth: The Hebrew word used here translated as "cloth" is also used in Isaiah 9:5 and means military attire. It may have been that Goliath's sword was wrapped in Goliath's war mantle. Either way if it was just a plain cloth or Goliath's mantle, the sword would have been wrapped up to protect it from rust and moisture.

There is none like it; give it to me: Goliath's sword instantly reminds David of his great achievement and of God's incredible deliverance from the giant. Knowing that something is precious and wonderful makes us want it. Being in a time of trial or stress makes us want the wonderful item all the more. If this was true of Goliath's sword, it is even truer of the sword of he Spirit, God's Word. We should always say of God's Word, "give it to me".


B. David at Gath

1. (1 Sam 21:10) David flees to Gath
Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath

Then David arose and fled that day: David's attempt to protect himself with clever lies instead of trusting God to protect him did not bring lasting results. David had to flee. The cause for this sudden flight was, of course, the fear of Doeg, one of Saul's most trusted servants. "Not an hour must be lost," thought David. "My deadly foe will hear that I am here, and I shall be trapped like a hunted beast of prey."

Went to Achish king of Gath: The term "king" is a loosely used term here. Achish was one of the Philistine lords. Achish is called "Abimelech" in Psalm 34, written by David in grateful commemoration or his escape. Abimelech seems to be the official title of the kings of Gath, handed down through many successive centuries. ("Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines" Genesis 26:1.)

Gath: In David's blind fear, he escapes to the first city on the Israel-Philistine border. Gath was about 25 miles from the Tabernacle at Nob. Gath was the hometown of Goliath. Perhaps David did not think highly of himself that he should be recognized several years after he killed Goliath. David, just a young boy when he slayed Goliath, no doubt now was a man with a beard. As for David carrying Goliath's sword, it probably was not a very distinct sword. It was not remarkable for its size and was probably just a regular looking sword copied after those from Greece.


2. (1 Sam 21:11-12) David's predicament in Gath
But the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tent thousands'?" David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.

Is this not David: Although David in his humility did not suspect how wide spread his fame was, he was evidently well known in Philistia as in his own land.The popular folk-song of the Israelite women was no doubt known on frontier towns such as Gath. At once, David was recognized. David evidently hoped not to be recognized but to be admitted to serve as a soldier or in some other capacity without many questions being asked. We find Cushites, Maachathites and other foreigners in the service of David when he becomes king. There probably was desertion of service of one's own king for one of an adjacent land. In that day, kings had absolute authority. If you disagreed with the king, either you stayed silent or moved to another land. Any displeasure against the king resulted in one's death.

David took these words to heart: This discourse deeply affected him and made him think he was not safe there. When he discovered that his fame was spread among them as having slain thousands of the Philistines, he concluded that the Philistines would take revenge on him now that David was in their city.


3. (1 Sam 21:13-15) To escape, David pretends madness
So he disguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?"

He disguised his sanity: The title of Psalm 56 states that it was written by David "When the Philistines laid hold on him in Gath," and though it is not expressly said here that he was arrested, the words "acted insanely in their hands" together with the mention of his "escape" in 1 Samuel 22:1 seems to imply that he was a prisoner.

Acted insanely in their hands: The literal Hebrew is "he roamed here and there, restless, and in terror."

Scribbled on the doors of the gate: Literally, the Hebrew verb means "to make the mark of the tav". Tav is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet and anciently was written as a cross. The gate, on the leaves of which David scrawled, was probably that of the court or waiting room, in which the servants of Achish passed their time when attending the king. Probably David had witnessed these symptoms of madness in Saul during his fits of insanity.

Let his saliva run down into his beard: This was an especially convincing sign of insanity because in that culture only a man out of his right mind would allow something like this to happen. An indignity to the beard was considered an intolerable insult and would not have been permitted by a normal person.

Why do you bring him to me? Do I lack madmen: David's plan worked. Achish decided that this was not David...or if it was David, they would let such a pathetic man go.

Was David walking in the Spirit or in the flesh when he pretended madness? Some commentators believe David was in the flesh and trusting himself. But, the change of Psalm 56 happened before David's escape. It makes sense that the LORD would guide David into a path of escape that would humble him. When David tried to protect himself with lies and tried to find refuge among the ungodly, he really was acting crazy. When David repented, asked for mercy and again trusted in the LORD, it was as ig the LORD said. "You have been acting like a madman. Keep the act going, and I will get you out of this."

Psalm 34 is David's declaration of joy when he escaped from Gath with his life. The title of Psalm 34 reads, "A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed."

Psalm 34 begins beautifully: "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears" (Psalm 34:1-4). David was overwhelmed with gratitude to the LORD. David is especially joyful because the LORD got him out of a mess that David had made himself. God's amazing goodness is shown when He delivers us when we really do not deserve it.