1 SAMUEL LESSON 24


     We will begin this lesson in I Samuel 21:1 "Then came David to
Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting
of David, and said unto him, Why [art] thou alone, and no man with
thee?"

     "Nob" means a knoll, or a hill. It is believed to be just out of
Jerusalem. Ahimelech suspicioned something was wrong, when he saw that
David was by himself. He was, probably, afraid of Saul. Saul did see
to it that sacrifices and offerings were made, but he was not as
respectful of the priesthood, as he should have been. Saul had a form
of religion. His belief in the LORD did not, however, keep him from
his own will.

     I Samuel 21:2 "And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king
hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know
any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have
commanded thee: and I have appointed [my] servants to such and such a
place."

     I would assume the reason he gave this excuse, was to save the
life of Ahimelech, if Saul found out about him helping David. Some of
this David has made up, but most of it is, probably, true. The
Scripture does not go into detail about this, but David's men will
join him later on. Perhaps, Jonathan got word to them, or perhaps,
David had gotten word to them earlier. David is on secret business,
and in a sense, the King was the cause of him going on this secret
mission. He was trying to get away from the king. He has twisted the
truth in this particular instance.

     I Samuel 21:3 "Now therefore what is under thine hand? give [me]
five [loaves of] bread in mine hand, or what there is present."

     To travel and not be seen of Saul's men, David will need food.
David is saying, give me whatever bread you have convenient.

     I Samuel 21:4 "And the priest answered David, and said, [There
is] no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if
the young men have kept themselves at least from women."

     This bread had been kept before the Lord on the table for 7 days,
and now, it was permissible for the priests to eat it. The request of
David for the food could not be denied, because of the greatness of
David in the sight of God and men. We do know that David had not been
with a woman in three days, because he had been lying in the field
waiting for the signal from Jonathan. The keeping themselves from
women for a period of time, meant they were ceremonially clean.

     I Samuel 21:5 "And David answered the priest, and said unto him,
Of a truth women [have been] kept from us about these three days,
since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and [the
bread is] in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day
in the vessel."

     David was, possibly, speaking of himself in this. He, possibly,
did not even have any food, when he was waiting the three days in the
field. Jonathan did not dare bring him any, for fear of someone
finding out where he was going, when he met with David. At this point,
David would have been very hungry. The bread had served its religious
purposes, while it was in the presence of God. Now, it will be eaten
by men who are not perfect, like the priests were not perfect. In a
sense, it is for common use.

     I Samuel 21:6 "So the priest gave him hallowed [bread]: for there
was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the
LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away."

     It appears, from this, that the bread had been taken out from
before the Lord the day before, to place fresh bread before the Lord.
It really does not matter. David was the chosen of God, and he was
very hungry. God provided for the children of Israel, as they came
across the wilderness. He is providing for David, here, in a most
unusual way.

     I Samuel 21:7 "Now a certain man of the servants of Saul [was]
there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name [was] Doeg, an
Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that [belonged] to Saul."

     "Doeg" means fearful. He must have been fearful of Saul. This
Edomite seemed to be in charge of everything that belonged to Saul. It
would not have been a natural thing, for him to be at the same place
as David. David had, possibly, hoped this would be a time, when no one
was there. Doeg sees David, and goes to tell Saul that Ahimelech has
helped him. This is a terrible thing.

     I Samuel 21:8  "And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not
here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my
sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required
haste."

     David did not even have the simplest of weapons with him. He
needed a sword and a spear badly. David had left in haste, to keep the
king from killing him.

     I Samuel 21:9 "And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the
Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it [is
here] wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that,
take [it]: for [there is] no other save that here. And David said,
[There is] none like that; give it me."

     We remember that, David brought this sword to the tabernacle,
after he had killed Goliath. This would be David's sword anyway.
Perhaps, he had left it as an offering to the Lord. This sword and,
possibly, the armour of this Philistine were kept here. The armour
would have been too large, but the sword would work just fine. The
ephod was in a very special place, so the sword had been given a
special place, as well.  David does take the sword. He feels that it
is a very special sword.

     I Samuel 21:10  "And David arose, and fled that day for fear of
Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath."

     David never dreamed that Saul would attack the priests for them
helping him. He thought Saul had more respect for the LORD, than to
attack the priests. He did feel that since he had been seen, Saul
would follow after him to kill him. He fled to Gath. Gath was the
first town on the Philistine border. Gath had a reputation for huge
men like Goliath. Achish was the king of Gath at the time of Saul's
persecution of David.

     I Samuel 21:11 "And the servants of Achish said unto him, [Is]
not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another
of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his
ten thousands?"

     They lived so close, they had heard of the songs the women sang
about David. Truly, David had been a fierce opponent of theirs. We are
not told here, but Achish, probably, admired David for his bravery in
fighting Goliath. It was not unheard of for a foreigner to be
accepted. Doeg was an Edomite, and yet, Saul had him over all of his
stock.

     I Samuel 21:12 "And David laid up these words in his heart, and
was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath."

     Even though David was momentarily safe with Achish, he still
feared he would turn on him and kill him.

     I Samuel 21:13 "And he changed his behaviour before them, and
feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the
gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard."

     Superstitious people are afraid of those classified as mad. This
means that David pretended to not be able to distinguish between
things. He was acting as if he were mad. "Scrabbled",  in this
particular instance, is speaking of him drumming his fingers endlessly
against the doors. He seemed even unable to handle the spittle in his
mouth. He let it drip down on his chin. This would indicate that he
had lost control of himself.

     I Samuel 21:14 "Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see
the man is mad: wherefore [then] have ye brought him to me?"  I Samuel
21:15 "Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this [fellow] to
play the mad man in my presence? shall this [fellow] come into my
house?"

     David has succeeded in making the king believe he is mad. They
had a strange belief that madmen were not to be interfered with,
because of their relation to a diety. Achish had them to take him
away, but not to harm him in any way. He will set him free.
                        1 Samuel 24 Questions


1.  Where did David go for help?
2.  Who was the priest David talked with?
3.  What question did he ask David?
4.  What does "Nob" mean?
5.  Saul did see that the __________ and ________ were made.
6.  He had a _________ of religion.
7.  What was more important to Saul, than his belief in the LORD?
8.  What reason did David give the priest for being alone?
9.  Why did the author believe he gave this excuse?
10. What are some of the possibilities of why David's men join him
    later?
11. How many loaves of bread did David ask for?
12. How did the priest answer David?
13. What would make it alright for David to eat this bread?
14. How long had the bread been on the table before the LORD?
15. How do we know that David had not been with a woman for three
    days?
16. What did the keeping of themselves from a woman for a period of
    time, make them?
17. What does David say about the bread, after he tells Ahimilech that
    he is ceremonially clean?
18. So the priest gave him ____________ bread.
19. When had this bread, probably, been removed from the table before
    the LORD?
20. Who was the Edomite, who kept Saul's herds?
21. What does "Doeg" mean?
22. What terrible thing does Doeg do?
23. What does David ask Ahimelech for in verse 8?
24. What was the only sword he had?
25. Where had it been kept?
26. How did David feel about this weapon?
27. Why did David leave Nob?
28. Where did he go?
29. Was he recognized by the Philistines?
30. Who was king of Gath?
31. When David became fearful, what did he do?
32. What effect did this have on Achish?
33. What was their strange belief about those who were mad?