Today we begin 1st Samuel Chapter 21.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James version, click HERE.
“David got up and left, and Y’honatan went back to the city. David went to see Achimelekh the cohen in Nov. Achimelekh came trembling to meet David and asked, ‘Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?'”-1 Samuel 21:1-2
David is now a fugitive on the run.
But at the moment, no one but Saul, Jonathan, and David are aware of that fact.
So David has a short slice of time to plot his next move.
What does he decide to do?
We’re told he fled to Nob.
Nob was a city located a short distance north of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin.
He goes to see the COHEN or the “Priest” named Ahimelech (“My brother is king” in Hebrew).
In this context, “Priest” means the “High Priest”.
But, remember, two High Priests were competing with each other at this time.
One from the legitimate God-authorized line, and one from the illegitimate line.
Unfortunately, Ahimelech was from the line of Ithamar, which meant he came from the illegitimate line.
When David shows up out of the blue, Ahimelech is understandably startled.
Isn’t this the famous warrior who slew Goliath and the one whom young women chanted about in their songs?
What in the world is this well-known member of the king’s court doing traveling alone?
Ahimelech may not have had any idea what happened between David, Saul, and Jonathan, but his gut was telling him something wasn’t right.
Now, moving forward, we’re going to see an ungodly side of David emerge.
To survive King Saul’s assassination attempts, David will lie through his teeth and employ all manner of deception to achieve his goals.
This brings us to an interesting moral question.
Is there ever a time when it’s okay to sin?
David didn’t mean to do evil.
He was trying to save his own life.
But on the other hand, his behavior did hurt many innocent people.
Are there certain circumstances when it’s okay to engage in, let’s say, less than moral behavior?
Is there ever a time when it’s legitimately okay?
Like how an ambulance driver breaks the Sabbath to save a life.
I’d love to get your thoughts on this.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Looking for a reason to accuse Yeshua,
they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on
the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any
of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit
on the Sabbath, will you not take hold
of it and lift it out? How much more
valuable is a man than a sheep!
Therefore it is lawful to do good
on the Sabbath.”
-Matthew 12:10-13
It is never “OK” to sin, although sometimes it may be necessary to achieve a goal that is not sinful.
Bees are not a kosher animal, but they produce honey, which is kosher. People are sinful by nature (it’s called iniquity), but we can do righteous things.
As for the ambulance driver example, it is never wrong to do something that is good- Yeshua asked who wouldn’t lower a rope and lift out an ox or son who fell into a pit on Shabbat (Luke 14:5)? Saving lives is always good, and doing good on the Shabbat is not a sin.
David didn’t just lie to Ahimelech, but also lied when he was living with the P’lishtim, pretending to be raiding Israel when he was raiding other tribes. And let’s not forget about Bat-Sheba!
There are many examples in the Bible of righteous people, God-fearing people, doing things that are, technically, sins in order to achieve a goal that was not always sinful.
We cannot live a sinless life, which is why when God gave us his Torah, so we could know right from wrong, he also gave us the sacrificial system so we could cleanse ourselves of that stain of sin, which we (as human beings) cannot avoid.
So, again, I do not think it is ever OK to sin, but it may be necessary at times (such as when the wife asks, “Do these pants make me look fat?”) and thank God for providing a way for us to clean-up our act when we do sin: not by animal sacrifice anymore, but through the sacrifice of the Messiah, Yeshua.
Awesome comment Steve. No disagreements from me brother.
By the way, if the wife asks “Do these pants make me look fat?”, tell her “You fill them out beautifully dear.”
That way you’re telling the truth and it sounds like a compliment.