Today we take a turn and start following David and his travels as he is prepared by the Lord to be king. He goes through his own ‘wilderness wandering’ experience as a result. Be blessed as you read.
1 Samuel 21: David and the Holy Bread
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."
David Flees to Gath
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 behaviour 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?"
1 Samuel 22: David at the Cave of Adullam
1 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.
2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.
3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me."
4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah." So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
Saul Kills the Priests at Nob
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."
Things to think about…
1. Jesus refers to this situation, 1 Sam 21:1-7, when His disciples take wheat on the Sabbath, Mt 12:1ff. Just as the Sabbath was holy, this bread that David gives to his men was also holy – only to be eaten by the priests. David is holy – only because of God’s grace. He is actually about to begin a time of testing and embark on a low spiritual ebb in his life’s journey. Have you ever been to the point where you know it is only grace (the Lord’s bread) that has sustained you?
2. Saul’s armour was too big for David. One can only imagine how out of proportion Goliath’s sword would have been for David, 1 Sam 21:9? Yet David takes the sword of the one whom he had defeated with his own weapon, a sling, a stone and the Lord’s presence. We see here David is starting to trust in the weapons of the world rather than trusting in the Lord. Not only does he take the sword of a Philistine – he takes harbour in Gath – a major Philistine city. When he did eventually confront Saul – no sword was needed. Words of truth were all that were required. Our words and actions at times can either be the same as picking up Goliath’s sword or the sword of the Spirit depending on our heart attitude.
3. In 1Sam 22:1-5 we see all those who are in debt or distressed coming to David for shelter and protection – probably also from persecution by Saul. Note that David’s mum and dad are left in the land of Moab. Moab, like Egypt, though a pagan nation, was used to protect David’s family. Saul promised to grant freedom from taxes etc to the family of the one who destroyed Goliath. Yet here they are in exile. Saul was not a man of principal. He went back on his word numerous times – including taking his daughter Michal away from David after David had married her. Have you ever said you would do something and then failed to carry it out? Our Lord Jesus and his brother James both tell us to let our yes, be yes. Anything else is of the devil.
4. In 1Sam 22:6-23 we have one of the most tragic parts of history recorded in scripture. Saul would not kill the sheep, the cattle or even King Agag when he was commanded to so and yet here by the hand of Doeg the Edomite, all the Priests, children, woman, infants and livestock are all killed in the priestly city of Nob. Saul shows his true heart here. He is an unprincipled man who acts on instinct rather than faith. Only Abiathar escapes. The Edomites were of course the enemies of Israel. Doeg feels justified in his actions. How do you discern what actions are right and honourable and what are not? Does David deserve any blame in this tragic incident?. He knew Doeg was there watching. Should he not have dealt with this traitorous man while he had the chance.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sunday’s sermon “Samuel the Judge” – reading 1 Samuel 7:3-17
1. Who is that person that has spoken into your life? They might be a patent, or close friend or a lifelong mentor. They can tell you anything whether you appreciate hearing it or not?
2. Some people are spiritual guides/mentors for nations. Billy Graham is an example in more recent history. Samuel the prophet and the last Judge of Israel fulfilled such a role. Do you remember some of the characteristics about Samuel’s ministry that made him fit for the role.
3. Israel wanted a king. They had rejected God’s rule over them. What was the physical sign of God’s displeasure at the decision they made? Jay spoke about this on Sunday. What about recent flood events along the east coast of Australia. Is this just a case of a natural weather event or is it a judgement of God? Discuss.
4. Samuel was summoned by a witch at Saul’s request after Samuel died. Samuel’s message didn’t change. We will all die and breathe our last breath. But we will live on. Does this encourage or frighten you?
5. Pray for each other and current events locally and around the world.
Prayer Points
1. Pray about your support to the floods in Qld and also to the Polish Baptist Church in Chelm efforts to support Ukrainian refugees. This is the church we will be supporting. You will need google chrome to translate https://baptysci-chelm.pl/kontakt .
2. Pray for the flood clean-up and all those affected a second and third time round.
3. Sally Gauntlett in care. Please pray for Richard and the family through this challenging time.
4. Ross Goltz is in constant pain. Has constant hip and joint pain. Seeking specialist help. Please pray for relief.
5. Families that have just started attending CBC.
6. Ukraine to repel Russia and peace to come.
7. Christ to be seen through us in our community.
8. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. People visiting church on Sunday.
2. Folk returning after being stranded by the floods.
3. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
4. Flood cleanup is restoring communities around Ipswich and Brisbane.
Announcements
1. Donation funds been set up to assist a Polish Baptist Church with Ukrainian refugees. Please label your donation – Ukraine appeal. The same will be the case for those who have gone through the floods in Qld. Label Flood appeal.
2. A new cell group has started at the church for residents around Karalee. Wed 7pm at church.
3. Kidz@Church every Sunday
4. Members Meeting next Sunday after the service.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for March...
Q. 1. Did Christ remain in the grave after his crucifixion? A. No; he rose from the grave on the third day after his death.
Bible Reference – Luke. 24:45-47; 1Cor.15:3&4.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
