Abiathar Series

ABIATHAR

When Absalom rebelled against his father and attempted to seize the throne, Abiathar remained loyal to David. Abiathar was among those who fled the capital city with David (2 Samuel 15:24). Zadok and the Levites carried the ark of the covenant, "and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city" (2 Samuel 15:24). Although David admired the loyalty and faithfulness of the priests, he ordered them to return to the city with the ark. This proved helpful because they could then send word to David about Absalom's plans (2 Samuel 15:27–29; 17:15–16). David was restored to his throne, and Abiathar to his priestly office.

Things changed as David's son Solomon took the throne. Abiathar was not loyal to the new king. Adonijah, another of David's sons, put himself forward as king with the help of Joab (one of David's nephews) and Abiathar (1 Kings 1:5, 7). Once the threat from Adonijah was neutralized, King Solomon dealt with the conspirators. One of Solomon's actions was to remove Abiathar from the priestly office. This fulfilled the Lord's word of judgment over Eli and his descendants, which impacted Abiathar since he was related to Eli (1 Samuel 3:12–14; 1 Kings 2:27). It was only because of the priest's loyal service to David that Solomon did not kill him. Solomon told Abiathar, "Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared all my father's hardships" (1 Kings 2:26). Zadok replaced Abiathar as a priest under Solomon (1 Kings 2:35).

Abiathar lived most of his life in faithful service to the Lord, but he did not finish well. Instead of siding with the rightful king of Israel (2 Samuel 7:12; 1 Kings 1:17), Abiathar assisted one of David's rebellious sons who desired to rule. He allowed earthly matters to become his focus, which cost him the priestly office. Like Abiathar, we can easily get caught up in worldly schemes and lose sight of God's plan. Rather than seeking our way or chasing what seems politically expedient, we should seek to follow God faithfully. Then, when our time on earth is done, we can state with the apostle Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful" (2 Timothy 4:7, NLT).

Abiathar

father of abundance, or my father excels, the son of Ahimelech, the high priest. He was the tenth high priest and the fourth in descent from Eli. When his father was slain with the priests of Nob, he escaped, and bearing with him the ephod, he joined David, who was then in the cave of Adullam ( 1 Samuel 22:20-23; 23:6 ). He remained with David and became a priest of the party of which he was the leader ( 1 Samuel 30:7 ). When David ascended the throne of Judah, Abiathar was appointed high priest ( 1 Chronicle 15:11; 1 Kings 2:26 ) and the "king's companion" ( 1 Chronicle 27:34 ). Meanwhile Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, had been made high priest. These appointments continued in force till the end of David's reign ( 1 Kings 4:4 ). Abiathar was deposed (the sole historical instance of the deposition of a high priest) and banished to his home at Anathoth by Solomon because he took part in the attempt to raise Adonijah to the throne. Thus, the priesthood passed from the house of Ithamar ( 1 Samuel 2:30-36; 1 Kings 1:19; 1 Kings 2:26, 1 Kings 2:27 ). Zadok became the sole high priest. In Mark 2:26, reference is made to an occurrence in "the days of Abiathar, the high priest." However, from 1 Samuel 22, we learn that this event occurred when Ahimelech, Abiathar's father, was a high priest. The apparent discrepancy is satisfactorily explained by interpreting the words in Mark as referring to the lifetime of Abiathar and not to the term of his holding the office of the high priest. It is not implied in Mark that he was an actual high priest at the time referred to. Others, however, think that the loaves belonged to Abiathar, a priest, at that time ( Leviticus 24:9 ) and that he either gave them to David or persuaded his father to give them.

The Biblical Account

The Scriptures represent Abiathar descended from Phineas, the son of Eli, and through him from Ithamar, the son of Aaron. He had two sons, Ahimelech and Jonathan, the former of whom was, in Abiathar's lifetime, prominent in the priestly service. He was the son of Ahimelech, the head priest at Nob, who, with his associates, was put to death by King Saul for alleged conspiracy with David.?1 Sam 21:1-9; 22:7 ff; 2 Sam 8:17; 15:27 ff; 1 Ch 18:16; 24:3,6,31.