Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction

At some point in life, all human beings face desperate situations.

Sometimes the circumstances are so distressful that they cause unbearable pain and agony and there seems to be no way out, no solution or answer.

The hardship, the adversity just erupts and we feel helpless and hopeless.

Emotionally we may suffer anguish, anxiety, and all kinds of physical and emotional difficulties such as /headaches/, ulcers, heart attacks, depression, and other disorders.

Our lives become dramatically changed and are often left devastated and in ruins.

From this point on to the end of First Samuel, David was to live a life of severe hardship and adversity.

He was now a fugitive, fleeing for his life.

The king himself was charging David with a capital crime and was fiercely pursuing him, determined to execute David.

This is the beginning of David's flight as a fugitive, an exile that would last about ten years.

!! A.           David Flees to the High Priest (v.1-9)

!!! 1.

The place David flees to (v.1a).

!!!! a)            ‘…David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest…’  (v.1a).

!!!!! (1)           Ahimelech was a priest, and he was where a priest should be - at the house of God, the tabernacle of the LORD, where the sacred altar and Ark of the Covenant were.

!!!!! (2)           Psalm 73 – David didn’t write Psalm 73 (it is a Psalm of Asaph), but he had the same heart Psalm 73 shows.

In that Psalm, Asaph describes how troubled he was at injustice and the prosperity of the wicked.

*It really troubled him, and didn’t make any sense at all.

He says,* “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.

(Psalm 73:16-17).

!!!!! (3)           Nothing made sense to Asaph until he went to the house of the LORD, then he could understand things in light of eternity.

That is how it should always be for us when we come to God’s house.

!!!!! (4)           So, David begins his days as a fugitive in a good way – he comes to the house of the LORD.

!!!!! (5)           We have a High Priest whom we can go to*: *

*Speaking of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews says that *"He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God…”  (Hebrews 2:17)

*And he goes on to say in Chapter four *"Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

(Hebrews 4:14-16, NASB95)

 

 

!!! 2.            The fear of Ahimelech (v.1b).

!!!! a)            ‘…Ahimelech was afraid when he met David…’  (v.1b).

!!!!! (1)           It seemed unusual to Ahimelech that a prominent man like David would wander around the villages of Judea all by himself.

It made Ahimelech think something must be wrong, so he asked David, *Why are you alone, and no one is with you?* 

!!!!! (2)           As the story unfolds, it seems that Ahimelech knew nothing of the conflict between David and Saul.

In fact, he knew that David was Saul’s son-in-law.

It seemed strange, and dangerous to him, that David was traveling alone.

!!! 3.            The lie of David (v.2).

!!!! a)            ‘…So David said…the king has ordered me on some business…’  (v.2).

!!!!! (1)           Essentially, a lie is a statement of what is known to be false with intent to deceive.

*Lies may be expressed in words.

One of the things the Lord hates is *"A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”

(Proverbs 6:19, NKJV)

*Lies may be expressed as error.

Paul writing about the end times says *"And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie," (2 Thessalonians 2:11, NKJV)

*Lies may be expressed in a false form of religion.

Paul said that there are those* "who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.

Amen.”

(Romans 1:25, NKJV)

A*nd, above all, a lie is incompatible with the divine nature*.

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will He not do?

Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

"   (Numbers 23:19, NKJV)

!!!!! (2)           So what David said was a plain lie.

David has come to the house of the LORD, but when he came he lied to protect himself.

David elaborated on his lie when he puts false words in the mouth of Saul to establish an environment of secrecy *(Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you)*, and when he refers to my young men (David was all alone).

!!!!! (3)           The lie of David lead to tragic results (1Sam.22:6-23).

Sin is expensive!

God may forgive you and restore you but the consequences of your sin may involve not only you but others who are innocent.

Perhaps the results may continue for years to come.

!!! 4.            The request of David for food (v.3-4).

!!!! a)            ‘…what have you on hand…?’ (v.3)

!!!!! (1)           David was on the run from Saul, and didn’t have time to properly prepare.

When he came to the tabernacle in Nob, he was hungry, and knew he needed food both now and later.

!!!!!  

!!!! b)            ‘…there is no common bread…but holy bread…’  (v.4a).

!!!!! (1)           Consecrated bread was set apart for use in the tabernacle to be eaten only by the priests (Ex.

25:30; Lev.

24:5–9).

The tabernacle of the LORD had a table which held twelve loaves of bread, symbolizing God’s continual fellowship with Israel.

!!!!!! (a)           What did the showbread /mean/?

Why would God have a bakery rack in the tabernacle?

The importance and meaning of the showbread is found in the name.

Literally, /showbread /means “bread of faces.”

It is bread associated with, and to be eaten before, /the face of God/.

To eat the showbread was to eat God’s bread in God’s house as a friend and a guest of the LORD, enjoying His hospitality.

In that culture, eating together formed a bond of friendship that was permanent and sacred.

Eating the showbread was a powerful way of saying, “LORD I love You and I seek Your face.

I’m in Your presence and I want to be transformed by seeing Your face.”

 

!!!! c)            ‘…if the young men have kept themselves from woman…’  (v.4b)

!!!!! (1)           What does he mean /“kept themselves from woman”/? 

*In Leviticus, the Lord said *"If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening.

And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening.

Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.”

(Leviticus 15:16-18)

!!!!! (2)           Ahimelech was only concerned that those eating the bread be ceremonially clean according to the standards of Leviticus 15.

Among other things, that chapter speaks of ceremonial cleanness as it relates to marital relations.

!!!!! (3)           Though this was not a spiritual mission or religious journey, David and his men were ceremonially clean.

!!! 5.            The sanctified vessels (v.5-9).

!!!! a)            ‘…truly, women have been kept from us and the vessels of the young men are holy…’  (v.5).

!!!!! (1)           The word /“vessel”/ means /“container” /or “pitcher.”

In the Old Testament, vessels contained wine for a drink offering to the Lord (Numbers 15).

!!!!! (2)           In the New Testament, it is used frequently in a literal and general sense, (Mark 3:27; 11:16, Acts 27:17 of the sail of a ship).

It is also used, */metaphorically/, of men:*

*When the Lord told Ananias to* “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.

And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine (*/the NASB reads “a chosen instrument” “a man of quality”/*)” (Acts 9:11-15, NKJV).

!!!!! (3)           Paul makes it clear that we ourselves are earthen vessels, containing the treasure of Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Paul tells us we are to keep our vessels—our bodies—pure.

!!!!! (4)           In Daniel 5, we see what happens when a holy vessel is used in an immoral manner.

The year was approximately 539 B.C. Belshazzar partied in Babylon as thousands of Medes and Persians besieged the city.