Good Morning Friends,
“David answered Ahimelech the priest, ‘Give me
five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.’ The priest answered David, ‘I
don't have any ordinary bread; however, there is some consecrated bread here –
provided the men have kept themselves from women.’ David replied, ‘Indeed women
have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men's things are holy
even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!’ So the priest gave
him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of
the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord.” (1 Samuel 21:2-6)
There were strict rules about the consecrated bread
in the tabernacle of God. It was holy and only to be eaten by the priests. David
and his men were very hungry and no other food was available. Ahimelech the
priest gave David and his men the consecrated bread to eat.
How did God feel about that act of disregard
for His commands and regulations?
Jesus points back to this incident in His
teaching and makes God’s opinion clear. His disciples were criticized for
taking handfuls of grain from the field on the Sabbath day and Jesus responded by
talking about what David did. “One Sabbath Jesus was going through the
grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads
of grain. The Pharisees said to him, ‘Why are they doing what is unlawful on
the Sabbath?’ He answered, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his
companions were hungry and in need? He entered the house of God and ate the
consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. He also gave some
to his companions.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man
for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.’” (Mark 2:23-28)
God’s attitude toward what David did speaks of
God’s heart: God loves people more than ritual and regulations. David was in
need, when nothing else was available, God was not displeased when David ate the
consecrated bread. The regulations were from God, but God loves people more. He
always has – He always will.
His, by Grace, Steve
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