Please Note

You are viewing the old version of the Forward Movement prayer site, which is no longer updated. It is possible that content may not reflect the latest updates, and may contain errors.

Daily Prayer: a resource of Forward Movement

The Forward Day by Day Meditation for July 16, 2021

We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, you can log in to Disqus with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account; just click "Login," or the appropriate logo below. Or, you can sign up for a Disqus account; just use the entry form below, or click the "D" logo to start the process. You can find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page. You can also listen to the Forward Day by Day podcast anywhere you find podcasts!

Please note: you won't be able to use the Comment feature unless you enable Javascript in your browser. In general, your overall experience on the Daily Prayer site will be greatly enhanced if you enable Javascript.

FRIDAY, July 16

1 Samuel 21:6 So the priest gave [David] the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.

When the Pharisees accuse Jesus and his disciples of not honoring the sabbath, Jesus responds by citing this passage from 1 Samuel. Jesus says to the Pharisees, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?” (Matthew 12:3).

I always thought Jesus’ words were meant to commend David, but I wonder if Jesus is really drawing attention to Ahimelech, the high priest. Levitical law stipulated that only priests had a right to the consecrated bread. But what priests did with the bread—whether they shared it or not, whether they chose to “do good” with it or not—was up to them.

Jesus is both priest and king, and he chooses to do good with the food at his disposal, allowing his disciples to eat it, even on the sabbath, because they were hungry. I wonder if he was hoping the priests of his day—as well as we, the royal priesthood of believers—would follow his example.

MOVING FORWARD: Did you know Forward Movement donates 30,000 copies of Forward Day by Day each quarter to nursing homes, hospitals, and prisons? Your donation can support this ministry. Visit forwardmovement.org/donate.

PRAY for the Diocese of Dogura (Papua New Guinea)

Ps 31 * 35 | 1 Samuel 21:1-15 | Acts 13:13-25 | Mark 3:7-19a