So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.
— First Samuel 21:6
But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?”
— Matthew 12:3-4
As David was fleeing from Saul, he sought help from the priests of Nob. They gave him the holy showbread to eat which was supposed to be only for the priests (1 Sam. 21:1–6; Matt. 12:3–4). If Saul had eaten this bread, it seems it would have been counted against him. Yet because it was David who ate it, God seemed very happy.
The priests could not shelter David, however, because they all realized Saul was now tormented by an evil spirit.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, pages 59-60.
Tomorrow: “The Evil Power of Religion”