The Chosen Discussion
Teachers
Lesson Summary
The class began by recounting the episode in 1 Samuel 21 where David, hungry and on a mission, begged Ahimelech for the consecrated showbread. The teacher explained the Hebrew concept of Pikiach Nefesh—saving a life—and how it provided a lawful exception to the strict Sabbath prohibitions found in Numbers 15:32‑33. By emphasizing that human life supersedes ritual, the discussion illustrated how the law operated with compassion. The conversation then moved to the New Testament, drawing parallels to Jesus’ ministry: He healed on the Sabbath, fed the hungry, and extended grace to those who had fallen, such as Mary Magdalene and the denying Peter. The teachers highlighted that the writers placed these stories to show that everyone, even the most faithful, needs a fresh start. The class concluded with practical questions about how believers should respond when they fail, encouraging a return to Christ’s forgiveness rather than withdrawal, and reaffirming that redemption is continual and gracious.
Key Scriptures
And David came to the priest Ahimelech at Nob. And Ahimelech saw David, and he asked him, "Are you the man who is come here, David, alone?" And David said, "Yes, I am. And I am come, I pray thee, to the king’s house for a business; but there is no one in the city that will give me a hand of bread, or give me a piece of bread, or any thing." And Ahimelech said to David, "Why is the face of the man so sad, and the countenance of the man so pale?" And David said, "Because we have been persecuted for the sake of the ark of God, and for the sake of the Lord’s covenant, and for the sake of the Lord’s law." And Ahimelech said to David, "The bread of the Presence is here, which is set near the altar, and the bread of the Presence which is to be eaten by the priests, and by the Levites, and by the Nethinims."
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, "If a man commit a trespass, and he be guilty in any one of the commandments of the Lord, and he doeth that thing, then the soul that sinneth, being guilty, shall die. And if the soul have committed a trespass, and the priest shall present for the soul that sinneth the guilt offering, in the sight of the Lord, for the thing that he hath done, then the soul shall be forgiven. And the soul that sinneth, being guilty, shall not be forgiven except he bring a guilt offering for his sin, and so it shall be forgiven. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Tell the children of Israel, When ye come into the land which I give you, and ye keep the sabbath, and ye rest on the seventh day, and on the seventh day, all work shall be done; and on the seventh day, nothing shall be done; and it shall be a sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. And the man that doeth any work on the sabbath, he shall surely be put to death. And the man that doeth any work on the sabbath, and that work is not done by the priest, and the Levite, and the Nethinim, and the stranger that is in the land, shall surely be put to death. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Tell the children of Israel, When ye come into the land which I give you, and ye keep the sabbath, and ye rest on the seventh day, and on the seventh day, all work shall be done; and on the seventh day, nothing shall be done; and it shall be a sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. And the man that doeth any work on the sabbath, he shall surely be put to death. And the man that doeth any work on the sabbath, and that work is not done by the priest, and the Levite, and the Nethinim, and the stranger that is in the land, shall surely be put to death."