Bread And Swords Series

DAVID—A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

09—BREAD AND SWORDS

TEXT: 1 Samuel 21:1-6, 8-9

1 Samuel 21:1-6 KJV 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? [2] 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. [3] Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. [4] 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. [5] 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. [6] So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

1 Samuel 21:8-9 KJV 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. [9] 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.

I. INTRODUCTION—SANCTUARY

-All men need a sanctuary in their life. Whether you get to the place out of a choice for worship or under the pressure of the circumstances of life, all men need a place of sanctuary.

-A sanctuary is a holy place. It is a place where we can find the holiness of the Lord, the purity of God’s ways, and the safety that all of the things of God can bring to our lives.

-The Bible gives us a pretty good idea about the concepts of a sanctuary:

• It is the place where the Lord dwells—Ex. 15:17; 25:8

• It is a place associated with wisdom, understanding, work, and service—Ex. 36:1, 3

• It is a place to be shielded from impurity—Lev. 12:4

• It is a place associated with the atonement of sin—Lev. 16:33

• It is a place that must have reverence in it—Lev. 26:2

• It will have priests who will be in charge of it—Num. 3:28

• It will demand a penalty for those who defile the sanctuary—Num. 19:20

• It has resources of help and strength to go out in the day of battle—Ps. 20:2

• It has the power and the glory of the Lord in it—Ps. 63:2

• It helps the saints to see the real condition of the world—Ps. 73:17

• It has a border about it that the Lord has purchased by His hand—Ps. 78:54

• It has been established forever by the Lord—Ps. 78:69

• It contains the strength and beauty of the Lord—Ps. 96:6

• We are to lift our hands in the sanctuary—Ps. 134:2

• We are to praise the Lord in the sanctuary—Ps. 150:1

• We are to pray in the sanctuary—Isa. 16:12

• We are to possess the sanctuary with holiness—Isa. 63:18

-One of the most concerning things that you read in the writings of the Old Testament prophets is that the sanctuary can be defiled by the work and actions of those who are called to keep it holy.

-We need to, in fact we must have a reverence and honor for the sanctuary in such a way that God has liberty and power in our lives.

II. THE AREA OF THE TEXT

-The last time out, we found David in a predicament that would set the tone for the next several years of his life. After he left the stone of his destiny. . . the place where the arrows had gone beyond him. . . He would be put into a place that forced him into a condition of physical, emotional, and spiritual maturity.

-If you haven’t discovered it yet, you will come to understand that it is in the difficult places of life that elicits the most growth.

A. 1 Samuel 21:1-2—Pushed to the House of God