The Priest Helps the King but Pays a Heavy Price
Ahimelek (1) is a priest. He lives in Nob. One of the times when David flees for his life from King Saul, he goes to the priest in Nob.
David’s unexpected arrival troubles Ahimelek. But David lies. He assures the priest everything is okay, that he’s on an urgent mission for the king.
David asks Ahimelek for food and a weapon. The only food he has is some of the consecrated bread. He gives it to David. The only weapon he has is Goliath’s sword. He gives that to David too. Then David leaves.
When Saul learns that Ahimelek helped David escape, he orders the priest’s execution. While none of his men are willing to kill a priest, Doeg the Edomite has no such reluctance.
Doeg kills Ahimelek, along with all the other priests from Nob.
Only Abiathar, Ahimelek’s son, escapes. He flees and joins David. When David learns what happened, he realizes he’s responsible for the death of the priests.
When is lying justified?
When have we suffered for doing what we thought was right?
[Read about Ahimelek in 1 Samuel 21:1–9 and 1 Samuel 22:9–23. Discover more in Psalm 52.]
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Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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