Nov6–12: Abiathar: The Priest

Teaching Points

1. What were some of the functions of Abiathar when he was priest?

ANSWER:

• 1Sa 23:6, 9–13 – brought the ephod to David
• 2Sa 15:24, 29 – carried the ark of God
• 2Sa 17:15–22 – working for David from inside the city 

OBSERVATION:

• Both the ephod and ark were emblems of God’s presence and directive will. Without these, the nation of Israel seemed to be without divine aid.
• It’s also interesting to see how Abiathar secretly worked for David while he was outside the city.
• “In the city the priests might do him good service by learning the movements and purposes of the rebels, and secretly communicating them to the king by their sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 735. 

APPLICATION:

·      Sometimes God works for us when we cannot see Him doing it. We may be like David—in danger and outside the city, feeling rejected and alone—yet God sets in order things according to His providence on our behalf that we just cannot see or understand.

APPLICATION QUESTION:

·      Are you trusting in God even when you feel He’s not working for you?

·      What can you practically do to help you remember His love and care for you, even when it seems like He doesn’t?

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

·      Do you think what Abiathar was doing for David was deceitful? Please explain why or why not with the class.

2. Read 2 Samuel 15:13–29. What does this passage teach us about the character of David, even at this time of peril? What role does Abiathar play in this episode?

ANSWER:

• David:
• 2Sa 15:19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. 2Sa 15:20 Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.
• 2Sa 15:25 And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation: 2Sa 15:26 But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. … 2Sa 15:28 See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.
• Abiathar:
• 2Sa 15:24 And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city.
• 2Sa 15:29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.

OBSERVATION ON DAVID:

·      David must have been totally unselfish here. He could’ve rallied for himself all the men on his side and create a great divide in the kingdom.

·      But instead he asks Ittai and his men to go back. But they pleaded to stay and David lets them.

·      His unselfish spirit is also seen in that he asks Zadok the priest to take back the ark into the city Jerusalem.

·      This ark was a symbol of God’s victorious guidance and will on behalf of the king and the people.

·      Yet David lets this go, for he perhaps considers the place of the ark more necessary than himself in this situation.

·      David clearly shows the true spirit of humiliation and contrition. Remember how his sin with Bathsheba was still being visited upon. Therefore, he must’ve felt that all that was happening to him was just.

SOP ON DAVID’S CHARACTER:

·      2Sa 15:19, 20:

·      But David, with characteristic unselfishness, could not consent that these strangers who had sought his protection should be involved in his calamity. He expressed surprise that they should be ready to make this sacrifice for him.  {PP 731.3}

These men had been converted from paganism to the worship of Jehovah, and nobly they now proved their fidelity to their God and their king. David, with grateful heart, accepted their devotion to his apparently sinking cause, and all passed over the brook Kidron on the way toward the wilderness.  {PP 732.1}

• 2Sa 15:25, 26, 28:
• At sight of the ark joy and hope for a brief moment thrilled the heart of David. But soon other thoughts came to him. As the appointed ruler of God's heritage he was under solemn responsibility. Not personal interests, but the glory of God and the good of his people, were to be uppermost in the mind of Israel's king. God, who dwelt between the cherubim, had said of Jerusalem, "This is My rest" (Psalm 132:14); and without divine authority neither priest nor king had a right to remove therefrom the symbol of His presence. And David knew that his heart and life must be in harmony with the divine precepts, else the ark would be the means of disaster rather than of success. His great sin was ever before him. He recognized in this conspiracy the just judgment of God. The sword that was not to depart from his house had been unsheathed. He knew not what the result of the struggle might be. It was not for him to remove from the capital of the nation the sacred statutes which embodied the will of their divine Sovereign, which were the constitution of the realm and the foundation of its prosperity.  {PP 732.3} 

APPLICATION:

• David sensed his own just judgment in his fleet, yet didn’t try to revert the sentence by retaliating against the rebels.

APPLICATION QUESTION:

• How do you react in similar situations? When you know you’ve done wrong and someone else does wrong to you, do you retaliate back at them?
• Or do you, like David, accept the seeming “injustice” done to you and seek to glorify God in patiently enduring the test? Something to think about.

3. Read 1 Kings 1:1–8. What could have caused Abiathar, who had been so loyal to David, to do what he did here?

ANSWER:

• We are not too sure about why Abiathar did this. All we know is that somehow he turned from his loyalty by choosing to side with Adonijah. 

OBSERVATION:

• It’s interesting to this action by Abiathar. He was with David in all his trouble and pain. He was faithful, we can say, almost to the end of David’s life.

SPIRITUAL LESSON:

• Even though we prove valiant and faithful today as God’s ambassadors and representatives, we can still fall from grace.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

• What are some possible reasons for Abiathar to support Adonijah? Please try to stay as close to the Bible as possible when sharing your answers with the class. 

CONCLUSION:

• Abiathar the priest played a great supporting role for David. His life testifies of the kind of service God requires of His “priesthood” of believers today—a life willing to take risks for the glory of God.
• But we should not think it okay to venture off in our own way when we know and understand the revealed will of God.