“Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul. 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. 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. And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath” (1 Samuel 21:7-10).
Introduction
The story of David begins to really heat up from this point. If he had fears in the past, then he is going to know them to the limit of his endurance and faith. The events which follow would probably never have taken place if he had not come to the tabernacle and lied before God. There are always consequences for all our actions. Once David began to tell lies he had to cover them with additional lies to make his reasons sound plausible. His sin was causing him to go on a downhill pathway of fear and terror.
Trouble ahead
Unfortunately for David one of Saul’s men, Doeg the Edomite, was performing his religious duties in the tabernacle. This man was a very devout supporter of Saul. “As herds would form the main part of Saul’s wealth, his chief herdsman would be a person of great importance” (R. P. Smith). Doeg was descended from Esau, “Esau the father of the Edomites” (Genesis 36:9). Some commentators believe that he was in the tabernacle that day because he was purifying himself so that he could convert to the Jewish religion. Doeg may have been converting for political reasons and to endear further his career in Saul’s court.
Doeg overheard what was said between David and Ahimelech. This, once reported, would mean that the king’s fury would come down upon the priests and David. He had found a more valuable way of gaining promotion in Saul’s court.
Goliath’s sword
We know that Goliath’s sword was huge and heavy, but since the priests had no weapons, David requested that he be given it. These verses tell us that David is still lying to get what he wants. Ahimelech continues to have the wool pulled over his eyes. If the priest had just stopped to think things through, then he would see the absurdity of David’s explanations. David knew that the priests owned no weapons, so we must see this as a ploy of David to get his hands on the sword of Goliath which was being kept as a memorial. David began to trust in the very thing that Goliath did, and it did not do the giant any good. Is it possible that David was thinking about returning the sword to Gath to raise money to purchase weapons for his men? The Philistines no doubt would have loved to have Goliath’s sword returned to them. After Doeg reports that he had seen David with Goliath’s sword (see 1 Samuel 22:10, there is no mention of it again in Scripture.
Towards Gath
Maybe David caught sight of Doeg because the text tells us that he “fled that day for fear of Saul.” He decided that going to Gath would be the best option for his safety. So we find him, with the sword in hand, going to Goliath’s home town. What a good idea!
Conclusion
Like David, many Christians trust in the power of the flesh and the world to win the victory over opponents. Those who are truly following Christ are in a similar situation as the priests in the story, because they have no weapons except for one sword. “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) …. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Like David, many Christians get excited over the wonderful things the world does and try to use the same for the work of God. Those who truly follow Christ focus on the fact that they worship an all-powerful God who worked wonders before man invented films, DVDs and computers. David lied his way into getting Goliath’s sword, but he did not need it. All that was required was the same faith he had when he went out to meet the giant. David would eventually lose Goliath’s sword. One day he would regain his faith.
© 12/4/2009