1 Samuel 21:3-6 Traditions

 ”Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.” And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.” Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day.” So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.“ I Samuel‬ ‭21‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Give me five loaves of bread: When David came to the tabernacle in Nob he was hungry and knew he needed food both now and later.

b. There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread: The tabernacle of the LORD had a table that held twelve loaves of bread, symbolizing God’s continual fellowship with Israel.

i. The importance and meaning of the bread are found in its name. Literally, showbread means “bread of faces.” It is bread associated with, and to be eaten before, the face of God. F.B. Meyer calls the showbread “presence-bread.” To eat the showbread was to eat God’s bread in God’s house as a friend and a guest of the LORD, enjoying His hospitality. In that culture eating together formed a bond of friendship that was permanent and sacred.

ii. The showbread was always to be fresh. Ahimelech would give David the old showbread, which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place. God wants our fellowship with Him, our time before His face, to be fresh.

c. If the young men have at least kept themselves from women: The showbread was not to be treated casually. In fact, it was to be eaten by the priests: And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place (Leviticus 24:9). While this passage in Leviticus does not specifically say that only priests can eat the showbread, it establishes the principle that it must be regarded as holy and can’t be distributed casually. So Ahimelech asked David for a basic level of ceremonial cleanness before he gave him the showbread.

d. Truly, women have been kept from us: David acted as if he had traveled with a group. What he said was true of himself, but there were no others traveling with him.

e. So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread: In giving David the bread, Ahimelech broke with priestly custom but not with God’s word. He rightly understood that human need was more important than Levitical observance.

i. When Jesus’ disciples were criticized for breaking religious custom by eating against traditions, Jesus used what Ahimelech did to explain the matter (Matthew 12:1-8). Jesus approved of what Ahimelech did, and Jesus honored him by standing on Ahimelech’s same ground.

ii. The point with Ahimelech and Jesus is powerful: human traditions are never more important than God’s word itself. If God had said, “Only the priests can eat this bread,” it would have been different. But God never said that. To put the only in there seemed logical, but it was adding to God’s word. We must never elevate our extension or application of God’s word to the same level as God’s word itself. (Guzik)

Traditions

Some Christian faiths use traditions in the form of a ritual mass for service and others use the Bible ”for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,“ Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We have always preferred a good Bible teaching church where you learn the word of God. But some churches wrongly believe that “works” is what brings salvation. 

Does your church adhere to a tradition of one type or another?

Blessings