“A good turn gone wrong”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, July 21, 2023
1 Samuel 21:1-15 (Forward, p. 84) CEV p. 301
This is one of those truly sad—and regrettable—stories from Scripture. David, on the run from King Saul, convinces the priest Ahimelech to help him by means of a lie. It had not ‘got out’ yet that David is a wanted man, so David is able to lie to the priest and say that Saul had sent him out on a urgent and secret mission, so much so that he’d not had time to get proper provisions or weaponry. So, he convinces Ahimelech to give him some of the day-old show bread and the sword David had used to kill Goliath.
Sadly, Ahimelech would pay a costly price for this kindness, this good turn, for who were there to worship that day but Doeg the Edomite, one of King Saul’s most trusted men. He duly reported this encounter to Saul and as a result, Ahimelech and all but one of his family were killed. All of them were innocent, not having a clue that David was ‘on the run’ but nevertheless paid the price for this act of misplaced charity.
So, what does this say to us? Well, yes, sometimes the requests for help, for charity or assistance, that come to us are couched in misrepresentation or lies—or simply not the entire truth. And sometimes our charity, our giving, can backfire. But, does that mean that we should not try to help? As Ahimelech pointed out, though in vain, to the king, that he’d helped out David before and it was okay, so why should he suspect that this time was different? Well, as the story illustrates, and we know fully well, the situation and circumstances can change. What was fine before, may not be now, and vice versa. So, my conclusion is that it’s best to be use caution and sober judgment, but then be charitable anyway.
Forward notes: “The servants of Achish said to him, ‘Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” (verse 11)
“For good or for bad, our fame precedes us. When I was in college, a professor known for his severity asked one of my schoolmates a question about an author whose poetic work we had not covered in class. I was the
only other person to notice. I felt it was an unfair question and intervened. Otherwise, my friend would have flunked the final.
“Years later, as I worked in an art school, a colleague in my department told that very anecdote about that very professor. No one there knew I was the one who intervened, although I later told them.
“Others will remember some of the things we do, and occasionally those actions will come back to our lives. David did not want King Achish to know of his feats because he feared that if the people of Gad knew, they would kill him. Our works are not forgotten. Let’s make sure they are righteous.”
MOVING FORWARD: “How would you like to be remembered? What course corrections would help?”
A slight ‘course correction’: it should be Gath, not Gad (Gad is a territory of the Israelites, whereas Gath is foreign territory, part of what is now the Gaza Strip.