How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
The Jews had twisted the fourth commandment into a harsh strictness that Christ here corrects by His example. Works of necessity and mercy are lawful on the Sabbath; Christ's careful exposition proves the commandment stands firm for all ages, but His Church is freed from the rigid rules the Jewish elders had piled upon it.
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Commenting on Matthew 12:1-13
The tabernacle stood at Nob, not the temple; and what David ate was indeed the showbread, whatever some rabbis guess otherwise. The law forbade it to all but the priests, who divided it equally among the course on duty, save the high priest took half by right, though he commonly refused it for honor's sake. Whether David came on the sabbath, when alone the bread was removed and replaced, the histories do not say plainly, though Jewish writers dispute it keenly.
AI summary
The tabernacle was God's house then, not the temple. But look at the priests themselves on the sabbath: they killed beasts, kindled fires, skinned and burned them in sacrifice, works forbidden to any other Jew that day. Yet they were blameless, doing what the law commanded. If the priests could labor on the holy day for God's service, why not David for hunger?
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