Rewarded Sacrifice

For those familiar with the Bible, the story of David fleeing King Saul before he himself is crowned king is likely a tale that is both comforting and disturbing. That David, a man after God’s own heart, would endure such dire circumstances seems unjust, but his relative faithfulness throughout the endeavor make his eventual crowning all the more deserved (until the whole Bathsheba debacle, that is). Despite having grown up with a basic understanding of this story, I recently noticed a minor detail with major implications.

In an attempt to evade Saul in 1 Samuel 21, David goes to Ahimelech the priest in the town of Nob. Admittedly, I sometimes catch myself zoning out when I read passages with multiple names/places I don’t recognize. However, buried in this little passage is a passing comment where David asks the priest if he has a sword he can use to defend himself (David lies and says he’s on mission for Saul and left in such a hurry that he didn’t bring a weapon). The priest responds that the only sword he has is Goliath’s, which David promptly takes for himself. Although the Bible doesn’t clearly delineate, it’s obvious that David himself actually relinquished Goliath’s sword as an offering at the sanctuary of Nob after he defeated Goliath with mere stones. In his humility, David made the precious sword a physical symbol of his gratefulness, commemorating how the Lord ordained one of the most legendary victories of his time. Instead of taking credit for himself, proudly displaying the sword on his mantel or office desk like any normal person would have done, he gave it back to the Lord, likely assuming he would never again hold it. And now here he is, running for his life, and what sword does he get to defend himself but the one he had passed off as an offering years prior. To me, this brief exchange about the sword between David and the priest is actually representative of the larger exchange between David and Yahweh: David offered his prized possession to show all those around him that the victory against Goliath was the Lord’s, and the Lord is giving back the offering at the time when David most needs it. What’s more, had David taken the sword for himself, he wouldn’t have it at this very moment; it would have been back at his home with all his other possessions. Only by giving up the sword was he able to regain it. In other words, God will use our sacrifices to Him for our own good. By no means do I believe that this somehow equates to a verifiable formula, where you can quantify the blessing-to-sacrifice ratio. We don’t get to dictate if, how, when, and where the Lord will bless us, and we certainly shouldn’t sacrifice with the expectation of blessing. God isn’t a vending machine. Still, I believe this passage makes it clear that the Lord delights in rewarding obedience, using our conscientious losses for our eventual gain. All this to say, if you feel like the Lord is asking you to give up something you hold dear, rest assured that He will repay you more than you can imagine for your obedience and humility. Maybe it’s a career choice, a relationship, a monetary offering, a temporal offering, or some other thing only you know. Whatever it is, I am utterly convinced that if we act in God’s name, whether it be letting go of our weekend plans to instead volunteer or sacrificing our ego by listening before speaking, the Lord will repay us in ways we can’t even imagine. He’s the God of the details, after all.