APRIL 2

CONSECRATED BREAD EATEN. 1Sam. 21:1-6

David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?"

David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a cer­tain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mis­sion and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."

But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on hand; 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 and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.

 

GOLIATH'S SWORD TAKEN. 1Sam. 21:7-9

Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul's head shepherd.

David asked Ahimelech, "Don't you have a spear or a sword here? I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king's busi­ness was urgent."

The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one."

David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

 

PHILISTINES THREATEN. 1Sam.21:10-12

That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances:

" 'Saul has slain his thousands,

and David his tens of thousands'?"

David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath.

 

David prays for confidence.  Psa. 56  

For the director of music. To the tune of  "A Dove on Distant Oaks." Of David. A miktam.

 

When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me;

all day long they press their attack. My slanderers pursue me all day long;

many are attacking me in their pride.

 

When I am afraid,

I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me?

 

All day long they twist my words;

they are always plotting to harm me. They conspire, they lurk,

they watch my steps,

eager to take my life.

 

On no account let them escape;

in your anger, O God, bring down the nations. Record my lament;

list my tears on your scroll?—

are they not in your record?

 

Then my enemies will turn back

when I call for help.

By this I will know that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise,

in the lord, whose word I praise— in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

 

I am under vows to you, O God;

I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me'J from death

and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God

in the light of life.'

 

 DAVID FEIGNS INSANITY.  1 Sam21:13-15 

So he pretended to be insane in their pres-ence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, "Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring

him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow

here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?"

 

David gives thanks for God's encouragement.  Psa. 34        

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away,

and he left.

 

I will extol the lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the lord with me;

let us exalt his name together.

I sought the lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

T

This poor man called, and the lord heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the lord is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the lord lack no good thing.

 

Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the lord. Whoever of you loves life

and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

 

The eyes of the lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the lord is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles. The lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

 

A righteous man may have many troubles,

but the lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.

 

Evil will slay the wicked;

the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The lord redeems his servants;

no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

 

SUPPORTERS ASSEMBLE. 1Sam:22:1,2

David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it,  they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or  discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

 

David prays for refuge from his enemies. Psa. 142

A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.

 

I cry aloud to the lord;

I lift up my voice to the lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him;

before him I tell my trouble.

 

When my spirit grows faint within me,

it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk

men have hidden a snare for me. Look to my right and see;

no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge;

no one cares for my life.

 

I cry to you, O LORD;

I say, "You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living." Listen to my cry,

for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison,

that I may praise your name.

 

Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

 

WARRIORS JOIN DAVID. 1 Chron.12:8-18

Some Gadites defected to David at his strong­hold in the desert. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.

 

Ezer was the chief,

Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third,

Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,

Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,

Jeremiah the tenth and Macbannai the eleventh.

These Gadites were army commanders; the least was a match for a hun­dred, and the greatest for a thousand. It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

 

Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold. David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you."

Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:

"We are yours, O David!

We are with you, O son of Jesse! Success, success to you,

and success to those who help you, for your God will help you."

So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.

 

PARENTS LEFT IN MOAB. 1Sam. 22:3-5

 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, "Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?" So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.

 

But the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.