So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here."
And David said, "There is non like it; give it to me." (2 Sam 21:9)
Here, David was running for his life because Saul has ordered that David was to be killed. In Chapter 21, David came to the priest, Ahimelech, at Nob. I'm guessing he was hungry because he asked Ahimelech for 5 loaves of bread. He also was in need of a sword to protect himself when/if someone attacked him. Ahimelech gave David showbread, which was the holy bread, consecrated to be offered to God. He also told David that the sword of Goliath is in his possession, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Then David took the sword and left.
David was clearly in a difficult situation - the king wanted him dead. He was in desperation and needed a sense of security or reassurance of his safety. So what did he take? Rightfully so, he took the sword of Goliath. It made total sense because now he can protect himself... even though this sword has probably very large, given that it had to be proportional to Goliath, who was approximately 9 feet tall. So I'd say the sword was probably 5 feet long and weighed more than the average human. Needless to say, it probably wasn't going to be of much help to David, but he took it anyways - something is better than nothing.
The speaker gave a very interesting insight about Ahimelech's response that I had not thought about before. He told David that the sword of Goliath was wrapped in a cloth, located behind the ephod. The speaker explained that the sword represents one's experience, skills, and specialties. That makes sense - fighting with a sword requires the building of fighting and swordsman skills, which is enhanced with experience. What about the ephod? Interestingly, the ephod represents intercessory prayers. The ephod was worn by the high priest, and it bore the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel engraved on it as a memorial. In a sense, it was showing that the ephod was a means of intercessory prayers for Israel. Exodus 28 explains the purpose of the ephod:
"Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel... And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial." (Ex 28:9, 12)
It sounded like there was a reason why Ahimelech worded his statement the way he did in 2 Sam 21:9. He wanted to tell David to seek after God for help through prayer, not by his own strength and experience. That's why the ephod was in front of sword. Furthermore, the sword was wrapped in cloth, almost as if it was meant to be hidden. I feel as if Ahimelech didn't tell David to not use experience/skills to resolve his issue, otherwise he could've hidden it and say that he didn't have a sword. Rather, I think Ahimelech was telling David, "Look, there is a sword there. It's available for you to use if you need it. But it's behind the ephod. You may want to check out the ephod first before you grab the sword."
I don't blame David for doing so. As a soldier/warrior, the first instinct is to grab a sword. A soldier's "best friend" is his weapon when in battle. But if he had stopped before going with his gut feeling and thought about what Ahimelech said, he may have found a better solution, which he experienced a few chapters ago when fighting against Goliath -- God.
I'm sure we can see ourselves in the same boat as David was. When I encounter difficulties or start to worry about upcoming events/situations, my first reaction is to find ways to address the issue from experience, consultation, research, etc. Not that it's wrong to do so, it's human nature, but I forget that we have God who can help me and give me a way if I ask Him first. I still may need to use our my experience and specialties to resolve the issues, but if I inquire of God first, God may give me an easier way out or a way that I may not have thought of. It's always a test of faith. Life is a test of faith.
So, what's it going to be? The sword or the ephod?
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