Mercy and Lies: 1 Samuel 21:1-6
God meets all with mercy when we err in our ways, so long as our heart remains repentant and inclined to Him. God is love, and part of love is forgiveness. In our weakness, we stumble and fail. God’s righteousness is bigger than our failings.
David is on the run. He goes to Ahimelech, Eli’s son, for help. David’s spiritual closeness to Samuel helps him believe Ahimelech will provide aid. David is looking for a place to hide and pick up supplies. Exile is difficult; he needs help until he gets his feet underneath him.
The problem comes when Ahimelech asks David why he is alone. David lies, although some believe David is being spiritual. How is this possible?
David tells Ahimelech the king sent him on a journey. While I believe this to be a lie, others believe David is referring to God when he references the king. In that case, perhaps David did receive word from God about exile. I don’t buy the explanation personally, but I will acknowledge the possibility.
Because David seems pressed for time and in unusual circumstances, Ahimelech offers David the bread of the presence. He doesn’t have common bread to offer, so he gives the bread offered before God. Ahimelech sees a need and steps in to fill it. He acts in grace, even when he has a reason to have his suspicion aroused.
At this point, the story takes an odd turn. Ahimelech tells David the men with him can eat the bread so long as they are ritually clean. Since this was bread offered before God, there is a need for concern regarding the ritual purity. The question, however, is what men Ahimelech is talking about. Ahimelech just asked David why he was alone, yet now he speaks about David’s men.
There is no easy explanation about this oddity in the text. It could be this story is a synopsis of a larger explanation and David had men accompanying him which he sent elsewhere while he collected food. This would help those men to not be identified by Saul’s spies. It could be that there were originally two stories about David meeting Ahimelech and they became conflated into one story. It could be Ahimelech thought five loaves was too much for a single person, so he assumed David had others he was collecting supplies for.
In the end, what is important is how we see Ahimelech respond with grace even though David lies about his circumstances. Ahimelech acts righteously; David thinks of himself and shrouds himself in untruth. Even though David feels the need to lie, God still cares for him. This is no different than when Abraham lied to Pharoah about Sarah being his sister instead of his wife. God meets David’s unrighteous act with mercy. God meets all with mercy when we err in our ways, so long as our heart remains repentant and inclined to Him.
