“Feet of Clay” – FBC Morning Light (4/5/2024)

Well, a good Friday morning to you. Looking forward to the weekend, aren't you? Lord's Day on Sunday, gathering with God's people. I trust you're looking forward to that time together. Well, today in our Bible reading, we're reading in 1 Samuel chapters 21 and 22, as well as three different Psalms, Psalm 34, Psalm 52, and Psalm 56.

David’s Lie to Ahimelech in 1 Samuel 21

Again, we're reading chronologically through the Bible this year, so sometimes things get a little mixed, what seem to be a little mixed up. Well, anyway, what I want to look at is in 1 Samuel chapter 21, where it's really a very tragic situation that is a consequence that we fail to see that they were just men, that they had feet of clay.

They talk about writing a biography of an individual, if it's a hagiography, it overlooks all the bad things in the person's life and just talks about all the good that they are, were, or did. Well, we want to avoid that.

We do acknowledge that David was a man that God used, he loved God, but he had his chinks in his armor, if you will. He had feet of clay, to use another metaphor. And we see that come out here in chapter 21, because, here's the thing, David is running from Saul, Saul wants to kill him, so he's running for his life.

And he's got some men with him, and they're hungry, they need food. So they go to a village of Nob, and there are a bunch of priests in Nob, and he goes to the priest Ahimelech, and he asks Ahimelech for some bread.

But, when David first shows up, and Ahimelech sees David, Ahimelech asks him, why are you alone and no one is with you? Now here's where there's a fork in the road. David has a choice. Do I tell the truth, or do I cover with a lie?

If he told the truth, he'd be saying, the king is out to kill me, and I'm trying to save my life and the lives of these men. That would be the truth. But instead, what he says is, the king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.

Well, that's just a flagrant lie. That's just a flat-out lie. And then, on the basis of that, he says, now, therefore, what do you have at hand? Give me some bread, or whatever can be found with you.

And Ahimelech believes the story, gives him some bread. And then, David takes it all a step further. He doesn't have any weaponry, so David says, is there not here on hand, verse 8, is there not here on hand a spear or a sword?

For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste. Again, another lie. He said, I was in such a hurry to do the king's business, that I didn't even bring my weapons with me.

And the priest said, well, the only thing here is the sword of Goliath. He says, great, I'll take it. And Ahimelech sends him on his way, totally innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever. But there's a foreshadowing of disaster to come in verse 7, when it says, a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord.

His name was Doeg, and Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul. Now, one thing to catch here in that verse is that Doeg was detained there before the Lord. So the Lord, in his sovereign purposes, has Doeg there observing all of this.

The Consequences of Deception in 1 Samuel 22

Now, on the one hand, we might conclude that, or we might decide that, in trying to justify David, we could think that, well, maybe David was lying to protect Ahimelech. That is, that Ahimelech couldn't be charged with knowingly aiding and abetting a fugitive from the king.

That's a possibility, but more likely, it's more likely the case that David's lie was to get what he wanted, what he needed for himself and his men. Whatever the case, he lied to Ahimelech and put Ahimelech in jeopardy.

Here's where the jeopardy comes in chapter 22. Saul is whining that David's getting away, and nobody's helping him find David. Then Doeg steps forward, and he says, it just so happens that I was in Nob, and I saw this all transpire, that Ahimelech gave David food and gave him the sword of Goliath.

Saul then calls not only Ahimelech, but all the priests who were in Nob before him, and accuses them of treason and slaughters them all, because David lied to Ahimelech and didn't trust the Lord to work in Ahimelech's heart to make the decision whether or not to take the risk for David's sake.

This was a tremendous disaster that was caused by the feet of clay and this otherwise man whom we would so highly respect. So we need to be aware of this. We need to be aware that lying to save my own skin can put the welfare of other people in jeopardy.

A Prayer for Honesty and Trust in God

Oh, let's not go there. Father in heaven, I pray, deliver us from a heart of deception, and I pray that we would just be honest and trust you for the outcome, and we ask this in Jesus' name and for his sake.

Amen. All right, well listen, have a wonderful weekend. May the Lord bless you in it, give you a good day today, a wonderful Lord's Day as you worship with him, worship together with him.