As he fled from Saul, David went to the tabernacle at Nob and obtained bread from Ahimelech the priest, explaining to Ahimelech – falsely – that he was on a secret mission from the king (I Samuel 21:1-4). Ahimelech had no ordinary bread; he only had the Bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:30), which was reserved for the priestly descendants of Aaron (Leviticus 24:9). He nevertheless gave this to David, along with the sword of Goliath (I Samuel 21:9-10).

One of Saul’s servants, Doeg the Edomite, saw this interaction between David and Ahimelech, and later told Saul about it (21:8, 22:9-10). Saul considered this treason on Ahimelech’s part. Ahimelech protested that David had long proven his loyalty to Saul; if Saul had decided otherwise, Ahimelech insisted, nobody had told him anything about it (22:14-15).

But Saul ruled that Ahimelech had to die for this betrayal, and all his family with him (22:16). He ordered his soldiers to kill them; but the soldiers would not raise their weapons against the priests of the Lord (22:17). Saul then called on Doeg the Edomite, and he killed 85 men in the priestly family; then Saul ordered the destruction of their town and everything in it: “men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys and sheep” (22:18-19). We might notice that this listing is virtually the same as the command that Saul himself had not fully carried out for the destruction of the Amalekites (15:3); but in this instance, Saul would not keep any of the animals alive. Yet his vengeance was not quite perfect; one of Ahimelech’s sons, Abiathar, managed to escape the slaughter in order to flee to David in the wilderness (22:20).

It is an awful snapshot of the progression of Saul’s downward spiral, as he ordered the death of a whole community, including children and infants, because Ahimelech had failed to know that Saul had secretly decided that he wanted David to be killed. It is certainly a grim and graphic story. Yet if we are willing, it can also offer us a kind of parable of warning. Like Saul, we can end up desperate to appear strong and in control, even while we engage in increasingly destructive behavior.

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Help us, Lord! Like Saul we are so prone to escalate our way to ever-more-severe vengeance when our will is checked. So much hurt and destruction comes from our own rage and bitterness. Teach us repentance; teach us humility. You alone are the Lord: and we are not.