Rules and Rituals
Opening Prayer
Ask God to give you greater clarity on any religious decisions or moral dilemmas you may be facing today.
Read 1 Samuel 21:1-15
[1] David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” [2] David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. [3] Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.” [4] 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.” [5] David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” [6] 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. [7] Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd. [8] David asked Ahimelek, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s mission was urgent.” [9] 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.” [10] That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. [11] 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’?” [12] David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. [13] So he pretended to be insane in their presence; 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. [14] Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? [15] 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?” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How does David preserve his life and those of his men?David, in fear for his life, takes a few men and escapes to the town of Nob and the priest Ahimelek. Here he is not entirely truthful when he explains his reason for being there (2). Later he deceives King Achish by feigning insanity when worried about his safety (13). Understandably, David is no longer playing by the rules, and neither is the priest Ahimelek in offering bread to David and his men. The only bread Ahimelek has to give is consecrated and reserved for priestly worship. Yet, as Jesus himself points out (cf. Matt. 12:1-8), there are times when real need comes before rituals of worship and rules of religion. Different Christian traditions hold dear many different rites and rituals, and that can be wonderful. But it is possible to go too far, losing sight of the intentions behind what we do in worship. Ahimelek broke the rules to help God’s anointed, David. So also there are times when we need to let go of our adherence to rules, style, or rituals. Then we can hear from God in a fresh way and serve others more effectively.
Apply
How are you holding on to traditions that no longer matter or sticking to rules that have no purpose?
Closing prayer
Lord, give me the wisdom to know how to be obedient to You even when I’m confused.
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