Rev. David Holwick D The Life of David, #4
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
January 26, 2014
1 Samuel 21:1-7, Matthew 12:1-8
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I. Do you ever cross the line?
A. More people do it than we realize.
Gil Hodges was one of the greatest baseball managers.
Once, when he ran the Washington Senators, he discovered
four of his players had broken the nightly curfew.
Immediately he called a team meeting and said, "I know who
you are but I do not wish to embarrass you.
You know the rules -- you will each be fined $100.
I have placed a cigar box on my desk.
I expect the four of you who broke curfew to put your money
in the box by 3:00 p.m."
At the end of the day, Hodges found $700 in his cigar box.
#29531
B. Rule breaking can also serve a higher purpose.
The Smithsonian Institute has preserved a short section of
a Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth's lunch counter.
If you are as old as I am, you know why.
One of my vivid memories as a kid was watching civil rights
protests on TV.
This lunch counter recalls one of the earliest episodes.
On February 1, 1960, four black college students sat at that
counter and ordered food.
They were denied - they were sitting in the "Whites Only"
section.
They knew they were breaking the rules, but they refused to
move.
One of them, Franklin McCain, noticed a little old white lady
nearby who eyed him very suspiciously.
Eventually, she finished her doughnut and coffee.
And she walked behind McCain - and put her hand on his
shoulder.
She said in a very calm voice, "Boys, I am so proud of you.
I only regret that you didn't do this 10 years ago."
They stayed at that counter until the store closed.
The next day, 15 other students joined them.
On the third day there was 300. Later, 1,000.
It took six months of protest, but that Woolworth lunch
counter was eventually desegregated.
#64329
1) How do you know when breaking the rules is justified?
2) A lot of people who do it are just rationalizing it.
3) It is something we should give careful consideration to.
II. David is desperate.
A. He flees to the tabernacle.
1) Jonathan has told him that his father, King Saul, is
definitely out to kill him, so David runs for his life.
2) Where can he go?
a) He ends up at Nob, a village known for its priests.
b) It had the tabernacle (a tent-like temple) and wasn't
far from Jerusalem.
3) Priest Ahimelich is nervous - has he heard rumors of trouble?
a) He could be nervous because David has a reputation as
as warrior.
b) Or, he recognizes David's authority, just as Samuel had
caused nervousness when he visited Bethlehem. 16:4
B. David decides on deception.
1) He tells the priest he is on a secret mission from the king.
a) Mind you, he doesn't even have a sword...
b) His buddies are somewhere else too.
1> Maybe he does have buddies out there, but after
this episode he shows up at the next city alone.
2> Five loaves would not be much for a group of men.
3> I think he is just making it up as he goes along.
2) Some say David is not being deceptive.
a) The passage doesn't condemn David for what he says.
b) The "king" may be God himself who has indeed given
David an anointing and a mission.
c) Ahimelech's name means "The King [i.e., God] Is My
Brother" so it suggests wordplay by the writer.
d) Saul's son Jonathan also believed that God had "sent"
David away. 20:22
e) Overall, it still sounds fishy to me.
C. Holy bread is offered to him.
1) Background on Bread of the Presence. Lev 24:5-9
a) A symbolic meal for God, changed every Sabbath.
b) When it is replaced, the old bread is to be eaten only
by priests, in a holy place.
2) Stipulation is that he and his men must be consecrated.
a) No "messing around" was allowed.
b) Holy warriors usually did this, and David says he
treated all his missions as holy.
c) Entire passage has a strong emphasis on holy vs. secular.
3) David then receives Goliath's sword.
D. The tragic aftermath.
1) The conversation is overheard by Doeg the Edomite.
2) Ahimelech and his town of priests are wiped out by Saul.
3) But David formed a life-long bond with the one surviving
priest, Abiathar.
III. Jesus liked this passage. Matthew 12:1-8
A. He used it to get his disciples off the hook.
1) They were picking grain as they walked through a field
on the Sabbath.
a) Gleaning from a field was allowed. Deut 23:25; Lev 23:22
b) Reaping on the Sabbath was not allowed -- it was
considered work.
2) Jesus does not argue the Pharisees have twisted the law
but he does use the Bible to justify his actions.
a) He uses the example of David and the priestly bread.
b) He also argues priests have to work on the Sabbath
so they shouldn't get bent out of shape by this.
B. It is not cut-and-dried.
1) Jesus is not from the priestly or Levitical line.
2) His life is not in danger and none of them are starving.
3) The only points in common are that bread is involved and
rules are getting bent.
IV. Jesus says you have to look higher.
A. Consider priorities - some laws are higher than others.
1) Compassion (human need) trumps ritual requirements.
a) People are more important than rules. Matt 12:12
b) This is why Jesus healed people even on the Sabbath.
c) After all, priests will rescue one of their animals
on a Sabbath, so why not help people?
2) We need to appreciate the original spirit and intention
of God's law.
a) "It is permissible to do good on the Sabbath."
B. Consider authority - higher authority trumps lower authority.
1) Who gets to declare what is forbidden?
a) Religious leaders like to think that they have this
power.
b) Or if not them, then sacred texts like the Bible,
which they control the interpretation of.
c) But multiple principles and laws may apply to any
situation so you still need a referee.
2) Jesus (and David?) outrank priests and teachers of the Law.
a) Jesus is the "Lord of the Sabbath."
1> You could also call him the Lord of the Law.
2> Notice that Jesus also canceled dietary laws like
the prohibition of eating pork and shellfish.
b) If Jesus says something is acceptable, then it is.
V. How far can we take it?
A. The principle of a higher law can be abused.
1) It is often called upon in controversial moral stances.
a) I know believers who think we can endorse homosexual
marriage because the love between these people
overrides laws against homosexuality in Leviticus.
b) Should love trump laws against murder, for that matter?
1> It easily becomes a slippery slope.
2> The only limits would be our own imagination.
2) The shaky morality of Situation Ethics relies on this.
a) It is not like every law of God is up to my personal
opinion.
B. There will always be disputes over the highest ethical demands.
1) The authority of Jesus should guide us.
2) From the life of Jesus, we know that the needs of the
poor and sick were high priorities for him.
3) He also favored the innocent, the young and the weak.
4) Any religious rule that hindered people from getting into
a right relationship with God was evil.
a) Salvation was always his highest priority.
C. True obedience can be found in the human heart.
1) Jesus felt that generosity is measured by your spirit and
not your wallet, such as the widow who gave two coins.
a) Christians believe in tithing, giving 10% to God.
b) But we also believe in helping out people who are
hurting.
c) I can see situations where a Christian could stop
tithing so they could give aid to someone.
2) Don't let your religion get rigid.
a) A loving attitude can go a long way in honoring God.
VI. When in doubt, look to Jesus.
A. Christians don't have to memorize a lot of rules.
1) We are supposed to seek inner guidance from Jesus.
2) The Bible calls this being led by the Holy Spirit.
a) It is true that some people claim to follow the Spirit
and yet do immoral things.
b) That should not excuse us from following his leading.
B. If you seek Jesus with all your heart, you will do right.
1) He is the Lord of the Sabbath and everything else.
2) Is he your Lord?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#29531 “Guilt In a Cigar Box,” Dick Innes (Weekend Encounter, copyright
ACTS International, 2004) quoted in Wit And Wisdom by Richard
G. Wimer, May 25, 2005.
#64329 “They Refused To Move,” David Holwick, adapted from the article
"The Woolworth Sit-In That Launched a Movement," by Michele
Norris, National Public Radio, February 01, 2008,
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18615556>
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
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