David and the Shewbread

Okay, let's try this one more time and see if we can get it straight.  We continue to hear folks, even some Christians, who would like to use Jesus' reference to David and the shewbread as a justification for a kind of ‘situation ethics’ reasoning. 

Do you remember the incident (Matt. 12:1-8)?  On a Sabbath day the disciples had passed through a field and gathered some grain to eat.  The old law allowed such gathering (it was not stealing).  But the Pharisees criticized them as doing that which was "unlawful".  Their complaint was about the ‘work’ involved in gathering the grain.  While not forbidden by the law of Moses, the Jews had invented certain traditions which prohibited this.

In response to this criticism by the Pharisees, Jesus said: "Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?" (vs. 3,4).  He went on to rebuke the Pharisees for "condemning the guiltless" (vs. 7). 

The point here is clear.  The Jews regarded David as their great national hero.  In the matter of the shewbread, David sinned. (We must take Jesus at His word - David's deed was "not lawful".) The Pharisees overlooked this clearly sinful act.  But, in the case of Jesus' disciples, they criticized something that was not wrong (notice that Jesus said it left them "guiltless").  Jesus was simply pointing out the inconsistency of the Pharisees in this matter.

And so, we have here no justification for any ‘situation ethics’ type of reasoning.  Jesus was not holding up David as a worthy example.  He was not saying that the law can be broken under extreme circumstances.  He was not justifying the disciples in a sinful deed.  He was pointing out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His day.  Learn the lesson!

- by Greg Gwin