Offering Unpopular Prayers (1 Sam 22.10, 13, 16)
“I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub; he inquired of the LORD for him…”
1 Sam 22.10, 13, 16
“Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, by giving him bread and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him…”
“…Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? By no means!…”
Background
The three sentences above are about a prayer that a priest offered on behalf of David. It cost him his life. It is unlikely that, in our lives, a prayer for someone will have such dire consequences. But we can learn something from this passage about offering bold prayers for those whom others might not.
The priest was Ahimelech, the chief priest at the town of Nob. David, a fugitive from King Saul, came to him priest in need. David had been chosen by God to be the next king—a choice that infuriated Saul. He was jealous and vowed to capture (and possible kill) David. When David arrived at the temple in Nob, alone, Ahimelech did not know any of this. After all, David was married to the King’s daughter and had been a member of the court in good standing. David did not tell Ahimelech that he was now persona non grata. He only asked him for supplies. The priest, assuming he was still the king’s representative, gave him the supplies. He also “inquired of God” for him. This means that the priest sought an answer to a question for David. Such an act (also called an “oracle”) was a common function of many priests in the ancient world, pagan and Israelite. In Israel, it was often done using colored stones or drawing straws.1 A prayer was offered over the items, asking God to show them the answer, then the stones were thrown, or the straws were drawn. The result was God’s answer. Ahimelech was offering a prayer of intercession for David, asking God for a reply to a question. We do not know what that question was—in fact, in the passage about this meeting the prayer is not mentioned (1 Sam 21.1–9)—it is only referred to later in the passages above.
After meeting with Ahimelech, David returned to his hometown. Many of his family joined him in exile (some being fugitives themselves for various reasons). Saul thinks he is gathering a rival army, which would be treason. A reader might think that David is a traitor, but we are told there is a prophet with his group, named Gad, which indicates that God is still with David.
Saul becomes angrier and paranoid. Some of this is understandable: his own son made a covenant with David; his daughter married David and is loyal to him; God has rejected Saul and anointed David as the next king. But Saul begins to see plots against him where none exist. He questions his men about David, asking why they stand up for him, why no one tells him what David is up to, and why they do not feel sorry for him. One of the men, Doeg, speaks up. “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub; he inquired of the LORD for him…”
Subscribe to continue reading
Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.
