Saul versus David

1 Samuel 21–23

Main Idea: The interactions between David and Saul reveal God’s favor and commitment to David the messiah, and they reveal characteristics of the coming Messiah.

1. Food for the Messiah and His Disciples
2. Unholy War
3. Blessing and Salvation from the Messiah

Introduction

After Jonathan saves David from Saul’s wrath, David goes to the town of Nob (a priestly city) and stays with Ahimelech, the priest. The interaction at Nob is in many ways beautiful because it shows God’s blessing of His messiah, David, the one who had been anointed as the next king. But it also gives a context for the coming Messiah, Jesus. Contrasted with the divine blessing and favor of David, we see the horrendous actions of Saul.

Food for the Messiah and His Disciples

Nothing is more satisfying than a good loaf of bread. When I (Heath) lived in England, we fell in love with the freshly baked bread that was offered day in and day out at the markets and bakeries. When I walked to my office at the University of Gloucestershire, I keenly remember the smell of the fresh bread coming out of the shops. It is a really good memory.

Bread is, in the ancient world, the staple food. You cannot get by without it. The bread might not have looked like bread we have in Western countries, but nonetheless, bread was essential for the ancient Israelites. David wanted bread when he came to Nob, for he was hungry (1 Sam 21).

Ahimelech does not have any freshly baked bread available to give David but instead gives him the holy bread called the “bread of the Presence” from the table in the tabernacle. The bread Ahimelech gives David is described in Exodus 25:23-30 and Leviticus 24:5-9, and it rests on a holy table in the tabernacle. The bread was there not to feed Yahweh (He wasn’t hungry!) but to signify something special.

Jewish tradition holds that the bread was baked in a U pattern so that there were two ends facing each other. The reason it was called the bread of the “Presence” is that the bread signified that at the tabernacle God’s presence met with the people face-to-face. In Leviticus 24:6 we see that there are 12 loaves on the table, no doubt signifying the 12 tribes of Israel. But the passage in Leviticus also stipulates that only the priests are to eat the bread: “It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, for it is the holiest portion for him from the fire offerings to the Lord; this is a permanent rule” (Lev 24:9).

So how is holy bread that has been reserved only for priests an appropriate meal for David? Technically it is not. It is an inappropriate meal. But in the context of 1 Samuel, this story reinforces the divine favor, anointing, and blessing of David. David experiences provision and fullness at Nob. God is committed to His messiah. And those who bless David will receive ultimate provision from God (though, as we will see, those who bless David will not receive immediate provision).

A lesson about generosity. A word no doubt needs to be said about showing kindness and giving to those in need. Although technically inappropriate, Ahimelech’s generosity toward David and his compatriots broke the letter of the law (Lev 24:9) but captured the spirit of the law. What is the spirit of the law? It is to love the Lord your God with all that you are (Deut 6:5) and love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18). Giving to a hungry person in need of food is worth breaking the letter of the law if you capture its spirit. Or as Leon Morris says, “Human need must not be subjected to barren legalism” (The Gospel According to Luke, 122). Ahimelech did right by giving David and his compatriots food to eat.

A warm heart of generosity and a love for those in need is an indicator that the gospel of Jesus Christ has captured us. A loveless and cold obedience to God does not reveal a warm heart to Jesus. We like the way the apostle John puts it:

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen. And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:20-21)

A lesson about Jesus. But the passage about David’s experience at Nob is more than just a lesson on generosity! We must understand that the passage sets a pattern for the coming Messiah, Jesus, as well. In Luke 6, Pharisees criticize Jesus and His disciples for eating grain in the field on the Sabbath day. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, and His illustration is the story of David at Nob in 1 Samuel 21. He says to the Pharisees,

“Haven’t you read what David and those who were with him did when he was hungry—how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat? He even gave some to those who were with him.” Then He told them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:3-5)

As David could eat holy bread because God had anointed him for a purpose, God anointed Jesus for a purpose as well, and He could eat grain in the field. Leon Morris captures the thought of Jesus’ words: “It is the Son of David who is Lord. If David could override the law without blame, how much more could the much greater Son of David do so?” (The Gospel According to Luke, 123). David’s encounter with the holy bread at Nob prepares us to see the greater Messiah, the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus.

Why does this matter for you and for me? Because we can see that Jesus provides all that we need. He is the Lord of provision and the Lord of care. He gives food to the hungry and presence to the lonely. In Him we meet God face-to-face. Jesus is the bread of the Presence.

Unholy War

The narrative has been building the tension between Saul and David to contrast the place of the kings in God’s plan. Saul rejected God and so God rejected Saul. But David committed himself to the Lord, and we can see that the Lord committed to David. The difference between Saul and David can be seen in terrible relief in chapter 22, where Saul retaliates against Ahimelech and the priests at Nob because of their kindness to David.

Saul is in Gibeah with a group of his followers and warriors, and he angrily stews over David’s successes and the love and favor he receives. He laments his own son’s fidelity to David (22:8). He thinks he is all alone and vulnerable. And, in fact, he is because he has stationed himself against the Lord’s anointed, the Lord’s plan, and the Lord’s purposes. Essentially, Saul is looking for any intelligence that will give him David.

Up stands a man named Doeg. This man is an Edomite, from the region just south and east of the region of Judah. Edomites have a contentious relationship with the people of Israel. They betrayed Israel on the trek to the promised land. They would betray the nation of Judah when the Babylonians came through and conquered the people of God in 586 BC (see Obadiah). So they have a bad reputation in the Bible, and deservedly so. The fact that Doeg is an Edomite actually casts a negative light on him as a character. It is this man who informs Saul that David was in Nob with his men. He knows this because he was there (21:7). Saul immediately receives this intelligence and summons Ahimelech and the priests of Nob to Saul’s place in Gibeah.

When Ahimelech and the priests arrive, Saul questions them about their loyalties. Fearlessly, Ahimelech commits himself to David and swears allegiance to David (22:14-15). Ahimelech makes a choice to follow God’s ways and God’s plan with the messiah though it may cost him much.

And it did. Saul immediately ordered Ahimelech and the priests to be put to death. None of Saul’s servants would lift a finger against these priests, for who on earth would murder a priest? Saul would! When he saw that none of his army would kill the priests at his command, he ordered Doeg the Edomite to commit mass murder (22:18). The text records that Doeg killed 85 priests for Saul. Moreover, under Saul’s command, Doeg destroyed the city of Nob, and he murdered everything that moved: “both men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep” (22:19).

Saul ordered unholy war. This is an act of genocide from a horrific leader. In many ways he has positioned himself as the anti-messiah. Instead of providing life and blessing to his people, as God’s messiah would do, he brings death and destruction. Saul’s inside qualities came out that day. The entirety of Israel would know that Saul was a terror. This narrative reminds us that the Scriptures don’t present the best world or the ideal world but rather the real world. Because of jealousy, fear, anger, and deep-seated sin, Saul committed murder. In this case there is no statement of an “evil spirit” from the Lord overtaking Saul. No. This is all him.

We may think we are above Saul, more moral than him, but in reality the text serves as a mirror for our false morality. The text of Scripture only presents one true hero: the Lord and His Messiah. Pretty soon we will understand that God’s Messiah is not found in David but will come in the true David—Jesus.

Blessing and Salvation from the Messiah

In contrast to Saul, David is the messiah who provides blessing and safety. One priest escapes the slaughter at Nob—Abiathar. Where does he run? He runs to David the messiah, the only hope he has. David says to Abiathar, “Stay with me. Don’t be afraid, for the one who wants to take my life wants to take your life. You will be safe with me” (22:23). David is a life giver while Saul is a life taker.

This verse reveals that blessing, protection, and salvation come from God’s messiah, David. Those who place their hope in him and what God is going to do through him will find the salvation they need. Saul is the antimessiah, at cross purposes with God and God’s true savior.

We must remember that there are plenty of false saviors in the world today. Saul was a broken savior. Following him led to death and destruction. Broken saviors promise the world but leave us empty and hollow. As we have served churches in North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Asia, and the United Kingdom, we have seen that people tend to embrace the following broken saviors:

1. Self: Especially Western society is awash with selfishness. This seeps into the church with what Eugene Peterson describes as the “replacement trinity,” my wants, my needs, and my desires (Peterson, Eat This Book, 31–33). My wants, needs, and desires are important but not nearly as important as being captured by the love of the God who created us. Knowing Him sets selfishness to the side so we can serve Him. Self is a broken savior.
2. Money: In the West, to be sure, but all around the world money is understood to be a savior. We go to college and get an education. That is good, but the motivation behind it is so that we can get money to take care of our lives. In fact, we have a terrible problem with treating money like a savior. It is broken. Money is a good gift from God, but it is not God. Our retirement accounts, bank accounts, and benefits packages do not save—only God can save. So when we measure our worth by the size of our bank accounts, we will be trusting in a broken savior.
3. Power: Power is like a liquor that slips down our throats and makes us drunk. Power and authority are granted by God at creation—He made humans to serve under His rule in a way that imitates His rule of justice and order. But humans have the strange tendency to twist power to their own ends rather than exercise power with justice. Just look at Saul: as king he uses his royal power to horrifically execute an entire city. This is power gone wrong. And when power slips through our fingers (as it does with Saul), we go crazy! Why? Because we have made power a god. Power is a gift from God, but it is not God. Power only works if we have submitted ourselves to the Lord and His care.
4. Sexuality: God made human beings as inherently sexual. It is good for man and woman to unite in marriage and have sex. It is right. But sexuality has become a broken savior that we hold tightly. We have made sexuality a right, not a gift, and as a result our practice of human sexuality has run amok, away from God’s good design. Sex is wonderful. But sex outside of God’s design leaves us broken and tattered. And for those of us who have experienced the wounds an unrestrained sexuality can have on our lives, we have come to know that this broken savior leaves us empty and cold. Sexuality is a wonderful gift but a terrible god.
5. Relationships: God made humans for relationship. He made us so that we would relate to God and our neighbor. However, we can treat relationships as the thing that will make everything OK. The problem is that relationships can never fill the hole that is in our soul. We were made for relationships, yes, but relationships with others (romantic or otherwise) will never replace the primary relationship with the God who made us! Relationships, on their own and put in the place of God, will be broken saviors.

Of course there are other broken saviors in life. And readers of this volume will no doubt think of others we have missed! However, the point is to show that broken saviors are all too present with us. But these second-rate saviors are like Saul: they cannot, and will not, save us.

We must understand that the only way we will experience blessing and salvation is to run to the Messiah, Jesus. Abiathar ran to David when he was in trouble. His action is instructive for us. We must learn to run to Jesus, the true Savior. In Jesus, we have the salvation and protection that only a true Savior can provide. So the encouragement is from the text.

David’s words to Abiathar could be Jesus’ words to us: “Stay with me. Don’t be afraid, for the one who wants to take my life wants to take your life. You will be safe with me” (22:23). But no one can take Jesus’ life. He has already given it up in death on the cross and gotten it back through the power of the resurrection. And He who has defeated death will protect you and me in life and in death. Jesus is the true Savior because blessing and salvation come through Him.

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does this passage help you understand God?
2. How does this passage of Scripture exalt Jesus?
3. How is Jesus like the bread of the Presence?
4. How does David’s action with the bread of the Presence relate to Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath?
5. Compare God’s command against the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 and Saul’s command against the priests at Nob in chapter 22. What are the similarities and differences? Write down your thoughts and discuss them with someone you trust.
6. How are Saul and David contrasted with one another in 1 Samuel 21–23? Write down your thoughts and discuss them with someone you trust.
7. In what ways does Saul represent the antimessiah? Write down your thoughts.
8. We have discussed in this chapter broken saviors. Of the ones we listed, which broken savior stood out to you? Why?
9. What broken savior was not listed but represents one you embrace? What obstacles prevent you from rejecting the broken saviors in our lives? Write your thoughts and discuss them with someone you trust.
10. Hear the words of David as if Jesus were speaking them to you: “Stay with me. Don’t be afraid, for the one who wants to take my life wants to take your life. You will be safe with me” (22:23). What do these words do to your heart? Do they engender love and gratitude to Jesus? In prayer express to Jesus your thoughts.