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?
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1 Samuel 21
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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.
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Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
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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.
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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.
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So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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And he changed his behavior 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.
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Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
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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?
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Chapter Study & Analysis
Overview
1 Samuel 21 follows David’s flight to Nob, where he receives the hallowed bread from Ahimelech the priest. Fearing for his life, David then flees to Gath and feigns madness to escape King Achish.
CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS
1. God’s Provision in Crisis: God provided bread for David even in a place of worship (v. 6). God is more concerned with the life of His servants than with the rigid application of ritual.2. The Danger of Deceit: David’s lies at Nob eventually led to tragedy (v. 2). Even when we are afraid, we must strive for truth, as our shortcuts can have unintended consequences.
3. Humility in Survival: Seeing a future king feign madness (v. 13) reminds us that the path to the throne often goes through the valley of humiliation.
Practical Lessons
FORMAL PRAYER
Give us this day our daily bread, O Lord. Deliver us from the temptation to use deceit for our own preservation, and help us to trust in Thy providence even when we are most afraid. Amen.