And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.” (ESV)

I’ve never been a king. I imagine none of you can say you’ve been king (except maybe in high school for prom), but I have been a leader. Many of you have been leaders. Some leaders are in name and title only, some lead without the name and title. Some leaders have authority, power, and influence but abuse it. Some leaders have no apparent authority but still have power and influence.  

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We get a pretty stark look at different leadership styles in this section of 1 Samuel. Backing up to 1 Samuel 21, we see an interesting story play out. David was on the run from Saul, as Saul was out to kill him. David ends up in the city of Nob and goes to a local priest, Ahimelech. So far, so good. David did the right thing by going to the house of the Lord.  

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And then…he lied. When questioned by Ahimelech about traveling alone, David said that he was on a secret mission from Saul and that he and his men were hungry. This was a flat out lie that would have severe consequences, as we will soon see. David asked for five loaves of bread, but Ahimelech had no common bread but only the holy bread. So, he questioned David about his men’s purity. Carrying on the lie, David promised his men were ceremonially clean – which was true of himself, but he had no men with him.  

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While this seems innocent to this point – a little white lie to nourish his body and stay safe – in the crowd was a man loyal to King Saul: Doeg.  Doeg informed King Saul of David’s location and that Ahimelech had fed and armed David. In a horrifying act of revenge on Ahimelech for providing for David, King Saul had him and 84 of his priests murdered.  

In the meantime, David ran from place to place trying to evade Saul (read 1 Samuel 21-22 for more details and interesting demonstrations of bad leadership). One of Ahimelech’s priests had escaped and informed David what Saul did – which brings us up to our current passage, “And David said to Abiathar, ‘I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.’”

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Here’s what we see...Saul had the title of king and yet he did not act very kingly – chasing after David because the people favored him and murdering an entire family of priests out of rage and vengeance.

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While David, not owning the title of king yet, acted in a very kingly way (albeit after stumbling along the way). After inadvertently causing the death of 85 men, David accepted his responsibility in that and admitted his role in their deaths. Additionally, even though it might have placed David in the spotlight even more, he offered protection and provision to the sole survivor of this mass murder.  

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So, whether you’re a leader in name and title or not, you can walk with the power and influence God has given you today.  You may have to give up that title or even the desire for it to step into the calling God has for you. You may have to give up comfort or safety. You may have to give up worldly authority or influence. The upside-down Kingdom of Heaven looks completely different than the world.  

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Even Jesus gave up his place of glory to come down and serve us. He gave up heavenly comfort and safety to save a broken world. Sometimes, stepping into what God calls us to do requires a sacrifice or to surrender a fear.  

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Where in your life are you looking for worldly authority instead of heavenly influence?  Ask God to focus your heart on the kind of leadership that really matters today.  

God, may we always honor you wherever you have called us and in whatever you have called us to. God, you are faithful, so even if we are not actually living in our calling yet, let us also be faithful to you. Let us wait with a holy expectation and a trust that you are with us and that you will do what you say you will do. With the power of your Spirit and in the precious name of Jesus ~ AMEN!