Exiled Pt 2 - A Shortage of Crazy
This sermon was preached at Immanuel Fellowship Church in Ellisville Missouri as part of our "Exiled" series within 1 Samuel, exploring David’s time in exile before he took the throne. For more resources on faith and Christian living, visit our website or connect with our community.
You can email us at hello@ifcstl.com or call/text us at 636-431-4708
Pastor Craig McAlevey
Good morning, church! It's good to see you guys this morning. My name is Craig McAlevey, one of the pastors here, and it is an honor, a privilege, and a joy to be with you today.
We are continuing our series in 1 Samuel that we kicked off last week: Exiled: God’s Path in the Badlands.
Throughout this section of 1 Samuel, we find David on the run in exile, fleeing for his life because King Saul wants him dead. We are going to be in this journey with David for a little while.
I don't know if you consider your own journey of faith to be one of "exile," but scripturally, it is! Peter says as much in 1 Peter 2 when he addresses us as "strangers and exiles" in this world. As Christians, we are not of this world. Innately we know this, but practically, we often forget it.
To make life even more challenging as exiled Christians, we are all still a "work in progress." We are being sanctified, but we are still sinful. We still do and say things we don't want to do, because sin still lingers in us until the day God glorifies us with new bodies.
Because of this, the life of an exile is full of difficulty and loneliness. But the good news is that God is in the lonely places with us. Even in our exile, God glorifies Himself and sanctifies us.
So, how do we walk in faithfulness when we have to accept our place as exiles—especially when our own personal sinfulness and brokenness get in the way?
The core truth we see today is this:
God provides grace in the times of our desperation.
In 1 Samuel 21, we are going to see David make what at first seem like some questionable choices in a desperate situation. As we consider David's story, our own poor choices in moments of desperation might start to resonate. But beneath it all, we are going to see the very heart of God.
Lord, incline our hearts to Your Word this morning. We don't want simple words on a page, Lord; we want to see glorious truth. Unite our hearts to fear You. Satisfy us in Your Word—in Jesus, the Word made flesh. Do a humbling work in us today. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Fleeing to the Priestly City (1 Samuel 21:1–3)
Let's set the scene: David is in full-on exile and in immediate danger. King Saul sees him as an enemy and wants him dead.
Last week, Pastor Jesse took us through David's emotional farewell with Jonathan. After that tearful goodbye, where does David go?
Read 1 Samuel 21:1–3:
David went to the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Ahimelech was trembling when he met David. "Why are you alone," he asked him, "and no one is with you?"
David answered the priest Ahimelech, "The king gave me a mission, but he told me, 'Don't let anyone know anything about the mission I'm sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.' I have directed my young men to a certain place."
David flees to the city of Nob, just a few miles from Ramah. He is unarmed, without food, without shelter, and in desperate need of an ally. In his desperation, he feels his only option is to lie to the priest, Ahimelech.
The tabernacle had been moved to Nob, making it the primary priestly city. Ahimelech was terrified to meet David alone because Ahimelech had served as a spiritual advisor to Saul. Had Saul found out Ahimelech was harboring David, providing him food, and giving him weapons, it would mean death for the priest.
So David fabricates a cover story: he claims he is on a top-secret military mission for King Saul.
David was terrified. He was fleeing for his life, and in his desperation, he compromised and lied.
Have you ever been there? Have you ever lied out of desperation to cover your tracks? Or made poor, panic-driven decisions when you felt trapped?
Sin is insidious, and fear can normalize deception when our hearts aren't locked onto the One who holds us fast—Jesus Christ.
While David's lie will eventually have tragic consequences (which we will see in coming chapters), notice where David's desperation drives him: right into the place of God's presence.
Provision and Deliverance (1 Samuel 21:4–9)
After lying to the priest, David quickly changes the subject to his immediate physical needs:
[David said], "Now what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever can be found."
The priest answered David, "There's no ordinary bread on hand. However, there is consecrated bread—but the young men may eat only if they have kept themselves from women."
David answered the priest, "Women have indeed been kept from us, as is usual when I set out... So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, for there was no bread there except the Bread of the Presence that had been removed from the presence of the Lord..."
(Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief shepherd.)
David said to Ahimelech, "Do you have a spear or sword on hand? I didn't even bring my sword or my weapons, since the king's mission was urgent."
The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it for yourself, take it, for there isn't another one here."
David said, "There is none like it! Give it to me."
In these verses, we see a powerful double-picture of God's present provision and God's past deliverance.
1. God's Present Provision: The Bread of Presence
David asks for ordinary bread, but the only food available is the sacred Bread of the Presence (the showbread).
According to the Law in Leviticus 24, this bread consisted of twelve loaves set out on the tabernacle table to signify the twelve tribes of Israel. It was replaced with warm bread every Sabbath, and only the priests were ceremonially permitted to eat the old loaves.
This bread was a symbol of God's covenant promise—a tangible reminder that God lives among His people, sustains them, and supplies their needs.
The priest Ahimelech, recognizing David's dire circumstances, places human need above ceremonial restriction and gives David the holy bread to eat.
What Jesus Says About This Moment
In Matthew 12, Jesus points directly back to this passage in 1 Samuel 21! The Pharisees were criticizing Jesus' disciples for picking heads of wheat to eat on the Sabbath. Jesus responds:
"Haven't you read what David did when he and his attendants were hungry? How he entered the house of God, and they ate the sacred bread... I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (Matthew 12:3–8)
Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea ("I desire mercy, not sacrifice"), using David's story to establish a crucial principle: Human need and steadfast love take precedence over rigid legalism.
Jesus highlights that the ceremonial law was meant to bring rest and well-being, pointing toward God's ultimate desire to sustain His people.
When Ahimelech gave David the Bread of Presence, it was a shadow pointing to our ultimate provision: Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
Jesus is our provision in times of quiet satisfaction, but He is especially our provision in times of desperation! He is the constant flow of rest and spiritual nourishment for your soul.
2. God's Past Deliverance: The Sword of Goliath
When David asks for a weapon, Ahimelech hands him the very sword of Goliath—wrapped in a cloth behind the priest's ephod.
Think about the symbolism here! That sword was kept as a trophy of God’s miraculous victory over the Philistines. As David was preparing to step into a long, dark season of exile and battle, God placed in his hands the ultimate reminder of past deliverance.
It reminded David of what Pastor Sam highlighted earlier in this series: The battle is the Lord's.
David looked at that sword and said, "There is none like it! Give it to me." It was a physical testimony of how God had saved him in the past, assuring him that God would do it again.
Never forget your testimony. Never forget how God brought you out of darkness and saved you by grace alone through Christ alone. That past deliverance is fuel for your present faith!
Acting the Madman in Gath (1 Samuel 21:10–15)
Having eaten the sacred bread and holding Goliath's sword, David flees even further—right into Gath, the enemy territory and hometown of Goliath himself!
David fled that day from Saul's presence and went to King Achish of Gath. But Achish's servants said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Don't they sing about him during their dances: 'Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'?"
David took these words to heart and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; he acted like a madman around them, scribbling on the doors of the city gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
Achish said to his servants, "Look, you can see the man is crazy! Why bring him to me? Do I have such a shortage of crazy people that you brought this one to act crazy around me?"
Look at verse 12: "David took these words to heart and became very afraid..."
When you "take things to heart," it affects the very core of your being. In a moment of extreme helplessness and panic, David realized he was surrounded by enemies who recognized him. In sheer fight-or-flight desperation, he feigns madness—foaming at the mouth and scratching at the gates—so the enemy king will throw him out rather than execute him.
Whether this was David using his quick wits or simply a moment of total panic and desperation, taking those circumstances "to heart" forced David to confront his ultimate helplessness.
And that desperation drove David to the only place he could truly find refuge: The throne of God.
The Heart Behind the Story: Psalm 34
How do we know what was happening in David's heart during this humiliating moment in Gath? Because he wrote about it in the Psalms!
If you look at the inscription at the top of Psalm 34, it specifically notes that David wrote it when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech (Achish), who drove him out, and he left.
While David was scribbling on city gates and fearing for his life on the outside, look at what was happening in his heart on the inside:
"I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me and rescued me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:1–4)
David writes in verse 6: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles."
And in verses 17–18:
"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit."
David was at his lowest point. He had no army, no food, no home, no safety, and had to act like a madman to escape death. Yet, in that exact place of desperation, his heart was tuned to God. He knew that Yahweh is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
David was far from a perfect man. He made poor decisions, he lied, and he panicked. But he was a man after God's own heart because he was honest in his imperfection. When he failed, he turned back to God in confession, repentance, and praise.
Where Do You Turn in Desperation?
Church, where do you turn in your times of trial and desperation?
Faith and trust are spiritual muscles that require daily exercise. If we aren't trusting God in the small, everyday moments, panic sets in quickly when giant trials hit—and panic leads to poor decisions with tragic consequences.
1 Samuel 21 shows us the danger of legalism and human panic, but more importantly, it foreshadows Jesus Christ—the One who takes our burdened, desperate hearts and breathes new life into us.
In Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus extends this invitation to every exiled, exhausted heart:
"Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Responding to Jesus doesn't take a complex religious ritual. It simply takes:
Acknowledging your sin and realizing you cannot save yourself.
Confessing your need for a Savior.
Turning to Christ and accepting His unconditional love and grace.
God provides graciously in your time of desperation. The question is: How will you respond to Him today?
Reflection & Response
As we close, take a moment to reflect on your own heart:
Are you trying to handle a desperate situation in your own strength or through deception?
Are you running to temporary, fleeting things to satisfy a soul that only Jesus can rest?
Do you need to step out in praise today because God has rescued you out of your dark place?
Take these moments to bring your heart before the Lord, confess your reliance on Him, and rest in the grace of the Bread of Life.
This sermon was preached at Immanuel Fellowship Church in Ellisville Missouri as part of our "Exiled" series within 1 Samuel, exploring David’s time in exile before he took the throne. For more resources on faith and Christian living, visit our website or connect with our community.
You can email us at hello@ifcstl.com or call/text us at 636-431-4708
