Bro Eden: Abiathar

Abiathar the Priest

Background of Abiathar: The ancestors of Abiathar was Eli. Now Eli had committed the sin of not honoring God but instead honored his sons above God. Thus God cursed Eli's line. First: There would be no old man in his family line. Second: All his descendants will die in the prime of their life.

Abiathar knew of this curse. But instead of grumbling and choosing to do something else rather than serve God, he chose to serve. Wholeheartedly. "Though God had cursed me, I shall continue to serve Him"

We can see this take place as he was tested time and again. First: When the priests (his relatives) were killed in Nob by Saul when Saul was pursuing David at the time (1 Sam 22), what Abiathar took was not food nor supplies nor money, but what he took was the EPHOD. Now what does the Ephod symbolize? It symbolizes the uniform one needs to wear to SERVE before the Lord. One cannot perform any of his priestly duties if he doesn't have the Ephod. Thus he in essense was saying: "Without his ministry, my life is meaningless".

Second: During the time of King David, when Absalom was rebelling against David, he allowed the people to flee with David first. And what was he doing? "He was offering sacrifices untill all the people had finished leaving the city" (2 sam 15:24) Are we just spectators or do we do God's work?

The Defeat of Abiathar:
1 Chronicles 22 records that David had ordered everyone to help his son Solomon, but Abiathar chose to help Adonijah instead. Thus rebelling against David. His service was taken away from him because of his unsubmissive spirit. When God one day takes away our service, this is the msot pitiful condition we will ever be in. Thus in 1 Kings 2:26-27, he was removed from his priestly duties and was ordered by Solomon to "return to his fields in Ananoth", "thus fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli" v27

Abiathar's Restoration
However, we can see that Abiathar could not help but SERVE. People can forget about him but God didn't forget him. As we can see those officials under Solomon's reign in 1 Kings 4:4 (Zadok and Abiathar -- Priests). It means that he might have repented and was given pardon. But it also states an important fact. A king cannot cause a priest to stop SERVING. ONLY GOD CAN.

Moral: We serve God not only in times of abundance, peace and security. But in hardships, trials and persecutions we ought to serve Him more. This is our identity. As priests we are called to serve, and not to be served. We ought to value this season when we are able to serve because the most painful thing in life is the day when our service will be taken away from us. Lastly, 1 Sam 2:30 says that Those who honor Me, I will Honor.