The Consecrated Bread

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

THE CONSECRATED BREAD

1 Samuel 21:1-6

21:1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?" 2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' 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 things 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.

NIV

Was it lawful for David to lie to save himself from starvation? Saul had not given David any commission, but Saul did want David dead, so David asked the priest for bread, and the only bread available was the shewbread. From the text, we understand that this showbread had already been taken from the presence of the temple and replaced with new hot bread; however, the bread was now only to be eaten by the priests. David lied again about being alone, as Ahimelech must have thought he would have attendants with him, being the son-in-law of the king. The Gospel of Mark provides a clue, as Jesus makes reference to David and his companions eating the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. As Jesus came through the line of David, and it was prophesied that David’s throne would be forever, and Jesus is the high priest, we would think Jesus meant that it was right for David, being the forefather of Jesus, in a sense, to eat the consecrated bread. But what lesson do we learn that can apply to us? We know that God has made us into a royal priesthood, and that would mean we have the right to eat the consecrated bread, metaphorically, for there is no tabernacle or temple with all the furnishings, including the table of shew-bread. However, God has consecrated us, making us a sacred temple where the Spirit can dwell. In addition, Jesus is the bread of life, which would be consecrated bread and thus when we receive communion together as the temple of the Holy Spirit, we eat the bread of life, the body of our Lord, as he told his disciples, the bread is his body given for them, so we are eating the consecrated bread of life. Of course, we are not physically starving as David was, but we might see that we could be spiritually starving if we are not a part of or in union with Jesus. We can see this in eating the bread of life in a way other than as communion. We need to consume all of Jesus, that is, take all of him within our soul and Spirit, being full of Jesus, digesting his every word, his every teaching, his very being. This might be seen as being full of the Spirit, which is different than being religious or doing religious activities. This would be living under the influence and power of the Spirit, being full of Jesus, the consecrated Bread of Life.