Daily Devotional

“Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest” (1 Samuel 21:1). 

It was every parent’s nightmare—but the fear was needless. An officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the city of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, offered an eleven-year-old girl who seemed lost a ride home. 

Suspicious, the girl’s mother called the RCMP, which investigated the report of a “fake” policewoman. It found that it was one of their own trying to do a good deed. 

When David, on the run from a deranged King Saul, came to Nob and saw Ahimelech the priest, David and his men were famished. Ahimelech had only the consecrated bread in the sanctuary, but when David all but begged for help, Ahimelech shared it with him. Jesus noted Ahimelech’s good deed in Matthew 12:3, 4, using it to explain His hungry disciples eating heads of grain on the Sabbath. 

Even though David stretched the truth to get Ahimelech’s aid, what the priest did was a noble gesture of good will. David was anointed by the prophet Samuel. He was loyal to Saul, despite the king’s attacks. And he sought the priest’s help not just for himself, but also for his men. Ahimelech’s intent was to be helpful, not to suddenly oppose Saul. 

But Saul didn’t see it that way. From his perspective, Ahimelech not only gave David bread, but also the sword of Goliath, the giant whose defeat by David first brought the young man to Saul’s attention. Not only did Ahimelech feed David, Saul reasoned, but he also armed him to fight the king! 

Ahimelech’s defence was unavailing, as Saul had one of his henchmen slay the high priest and eighty-five other priests (and their families), leaving Israel dismayed and confused. Saul’s derangement, of which the adversary undoubtedly took advantage, had spilled over into yet another attack on the God who had placed him on the throne. 

Saul’s end was a sad one, but Ahimelech’s good deed was remembered by Jesus, whose answer to the Pharisees affirmed that goodness for the ages. As was that Canadian policewoman, Ahimelech was found to be genuinely helpful to someone in need. 

Lord, may I seize the opportunity to do good, in Jesus’ name, to someone today.