WEEK 4 ● Day 1
READ 1 SAMUEL 21–22
As we’ve worked our way through the first part of 1 Samuel, we’ve seen that when David was first being chased by King Saul, he was basically in survival mode. He acted first and talked to God about it later. How often do we do the same thing? When we’re in crisis mode, sometimes God is the last person we talk to.
1. Reflect on a crisis you’ve walked through. How did you approach God during that time?
In this week’s psalm and story from 1 Samuel, we’re going to see David realize that his actions have consequences —and that he needs to consult God’s direction first and act second.
To understand the larger context, though, first we need to back up just a smidge. This week’s psalm corresponds with events that happened after David’s award-winning insanity performance, but it’s important to look at some details prior to his flight to Gath. Go ahead and read 1 Samuel 21–22.
Ready? Okay, good.
Because David fled Saul’s wrath in such a hurry, he was massively unprepared, setting off without anything more than what he wore on his back. No food, no weapons. Though most of us cannot even imagine the struggle for these immediate needs, it’s not as uncommon as we may realize. I have friends who came to the US as refugees, and to them, David’s predicament is devastatingly familiar. Another friend fled from an abusive husband, running with her children with nothing more than gas in the car. She, too, can understand some of David’s urgency and distress.
David, finding himself without support or supplies, rushed a short two miles to the city of Nob, which was a perfect choice for the fugitive. Why did David beeline to this particular town?
Let’s just briefly meet two men, in case they’re new to us. Here in 1 Samuel 21:1, we see that David went specifically to see Ahimelech. Who was this guy? He was likely Eli’s great-grandson, the grandson of the priest who raised Samuel (1 Samuel 1–3).[1] Samuel, as we know, was the incredible prophet who anointed young David’s head with oil, setting him apart as the Lord requested (1 Samuel 16), and prior to that was the one God used to select Saul as king (1 Samuel 9–10). Samuel continued as Saul’s spiritual adviser until God withdrew his blessing over Saul’s kingship (1 Samuel 15).
So Ahimelech is a man whose family legacy is interwoven with some very important figures in David’s life. Ahimelech would “get” what was going on without David having to explain all the behind-the-scenes details. It makes sense, right? In fact, we know this was not the only time David had come to him for prayer and wisdom because the priest tells King Saul in the next chapter,
Do you think that was the first time I prayed with him for God’s guidance? Hardly!
David is not unlike us. When difficulties come, we run somewhere safe, to someone who “gets us.” Right?
This week has been particularly hard with one of my kids. Trauma springs up without warning and blows us over with the intensity of a hurricane. I was wrapping up a phone call with my mother-in-law in the front yard, filling her in and telling her how over my head I felt, when a kind neighbor walked by and cheerfully asked how I was doing. Did I blurt out all the junk we’d been wading through this week? No. I simply smiled, waved, and said I was “doing well!” I was too emotionally exhausted to explain it all to her.
But the next morning, I was able to chat with two of my best friends, who are also going through extremely hard situations. They “get” trauma because they have lived it. I don’t need to spell out PTSD and how our child can’t think rationally when triggered . . . because these women have walked similar roads.
2. If something devastating happened and you needed a safe or supportive place to go (emotionally, physically, spiritually, whatever the need may be), where or to whom would you run? Why?
There was one little hiccup in David’s plan. Ahimelech’s brother Ahijah was the man who took over as King Saul’s spiritual adviser after Samuel stepped down. In other words, Ahimelech’s brother was priest to the very king he was running from! David was probably unsure where Ahimelech’s allegiance lay.
3. Instead of stopping to pray, asking for God’s protection or guidance in the situation, what did David do instead?
David completely and totally fabricated a story because he was scared. We all know he’s not the only one who has ever done this!
4. Share about a time when you lied because you were afraid of what might happen if you told the truth:
5. What is your reaction to David deceiving Ahimelech the priest? Would you do the same to keep yourself safe? If not, what would you do instead?
Matthew Henry’s Commentary says this about the interaction:
He [David] told Ahimelech a gross untruth. . . . What shall we say to this? The scripture does not conceal it, and we dare not justify it. It was ill done, and proved of bad consequence; for it occasioned the death of the priests of the Lord, as David reflected upon it afterwards with regret. . . . David was a man of great faith and courage, and yet now both failed him, and he fell thus foully through fear and cowardice, and both owing to the weakness of his faith. Had he trusted God aright, he would not have used such a sorry sinful shift as this for his own preservation. It is written, not for our imitation, no, not in the greatest straits, but for our admonition.[2]
6. What was the difference between David’s reaction to Ahimelech and his approach to the king of Gath and his men?
A few years ago, while digging into this text in 1 Samuel, I realized something. This movement from Ahimelech to Gath was really where David shifted from survival mode to speaking with God first about things. From here on out, his posture changed: He meditated and prayed to his Lord before acting.
Where are you turning to other people or your own strength during hard times instead of first going to God? Our best and most life-giving choice is to lean into Him, allowing Him to direct us and still our anxious hearts. We are not stuck in our pain. We can choose to say yes and listen to Him in the darkness.
Talk to God about the situations and ways in which you may be turning to everyone but Him. Ask Him to meet your heart in those places instead.
Amen.