David Eating Sacred Loaves

In Mark 2:26-28, (as well as Matt 12:1-8 & Luke 6:1-5) Jesus and his disciples are accused of harvesting on the Sabbath. However, all they did was break off a few grains to eat. This was actually allowed under the law and didn’t count as a harvest because it didn’t involve a “basket or sickle”, so it wouldn’t have been a problem on the sabbath because they weren’t actually harvesting, they were just eating. Harvesting from your neighbor without permission would be stealing, but eating handfuls is allowed. Deuteronomy 23:24-25 says “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket. 25 And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.”

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